Illawarra rise to fourth in NBL power rankings

By Liam Santamaria

Every week this NBL season, I’m releasing my power rankings.

They drop each Tuesday on NBL Overtime and then run here the following morning.

Here’s my money-back guarantee: they won’t ever correlate with the ladder. They also don’t reflect where I think each team will finish. Instead, like most ‘power rankings’, they represent how each team is currently tracking when you consider form, injuries, illness, recent opponents, etc. In other words, the team on top is the one other teams do not want to be playing right now.

With that in mind, here are this week’s power rankings:

 

1. MELBOURNE UNITED

Previous rank: 1

United continue to defend at an historic level and the way in which it sparks their transition game is, at times, absolutely devastating.

That’s now five wins in a row for the defending champs, ahead of two massive clashes in Round 15.

This week: vs Perth, @ South East Melbourne

 

2. SYDNEY KINGS

Previous rank: 2

The Kings may not be in the number one spot, but they do possess the longest winning streak in the league right now as they’ve notched up six in a row.

Jaylen Adams and Xavier Cooks continue to impress, while Jarell Martin belongs right alongside those two in All-NBL discussions.

This week: @ Cairns

 

3. PERTH WILDCATS

Previous rank: 4

This is it! It’s the big finish for the Wildcats on the road this week as they smash out the final three away games on their regular season schedule.

Load up the popcorn as the first one, Thursday night against United, will be must-watch TV.

This week: @ Melbourne, @ Brisbane, @ New Zealand*

 

4. ILLAWARRA HAWKS

Previous rank: 5

The Hawks rise a spot on the rankings this week on the back of their stirring win over the Phoenix in Round 14.  That’s now three wins in a row for Brian Goorjian’s squad, and five victories from their past six games.

The challenge now is to go down to the Apple Isle and keep the good times rolling. One thing’s for sure: they better not take that game easy because the last time they played Tassie, the JackJumpers lit ‘em up.

This week: @ Tasmania

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="pt" dir="ltr">Goorj ?<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NBL22?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NBL22</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/illawarrahawks?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@illawarrahawks</a> <a href="https://t.co/8cvkkOsXRp">pic.twitter.com/8cvkkOsXRp</a></p>&mdash; The NBL (@NBL) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBL/status/1500387478058184706?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 6, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>


5. SOUTH EAST MELBOURNE PHOENIX

Previous rank: 3

Every time the Phoenix look like stringing a bunch of wins together, they trip themselves up. This week, after notching up another trio of consecutive wins, it was a home loss to the Hawks that sent them back to square one.

And to be honest, that performance was a disappointing one. Up double digits late in the third, on your home floor, against a fellow playoff contender… you really need close that game out.

This week: @ Melbourne

 

6. TASMANIA JACKJUMPERS

Previous rank: 6

Hats off to the JackJumpers for grinding out another win while they deal with the absence of starting centre Will Magnay. It helped that the Breakers were missing their own star big man, but it was a job well done nonetheless.

That’s now two wins for Tassie from their past four games as their impressive debut season rolls on.

This week: @ Cairns, vs Illawarra

 

7. BRISBANE BULLETS

Previous rank: 7

Things went as expected for Brisbane across Round 14 as they succumbed to United but took care of the Breakers.

Their next match-up is against the Wildcats and, interestingly, the Bullets have played Perth tough over the past few years, splitting their past ten clashes. The problem is: Nathan Sobey’s been a key element of that success, with his D on Bryce Cotton, and a healthy Nathan Sobey ain’t walking through that door.

This week: vs Perth

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">??<br><br>With round 1?4? in the books, here&#39;s how the <a href="https://twitter.com/AAMI?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@AAMI</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NBL22?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NBL22</a> ladder looks! <a href="https://t.co/sWyhwM3R66">pic.twitter.com/sWyhwM3R66</a></p>&mdash; The NBL (@NBL) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBL/status/1500955181491851264?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 7, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>


8. ADELAIDE 36ERS

Previous rank: 8

The 36ers were outplayed by Perth in their most recent game but it’s worth remembering, over the last two weeks they’ve also taken both Sydney and SEM right to the wire.

The bottom line, however, is that they’ve now lost four in a row which makes this week’s game against the league’s bottom team – in their own home city – a must-win affair.

This week: @ New Zealand* (in Adelaide)

 

9. CAIRNS TAIPANS

Previous rank: 10

The Snakes didn’t grab a win in Round 14, in fact they’ve lost six of their past seven, but they rise off the bottom thanks to their improved play.

Scott Machado’s looking good, Kouat Noi’s back in the line-up and they’re becoming more effective at using import Stephen Zimmerman. All of that saw the Taipans compete well against Sydney over the weekend and makes their upcoming home double particularly intriguing.

This week: vs Tasmania, vs Sydney

 

10. NEW ZEALAND BREAKERS

Previous rank: 9

I’m sorry, but with Wetzell (back spasms) out of the line-up, this team’s just not going to win games.

Illawarra shot a season-high 55.5 percent against the Kiwis in Round 13 and then Brisbane broke that mark on Monday, shooting 55.9. I mean, I get it, nobody’s had it tougher than the Breakers these past two years but scoring on this team is like a training drill right now.

This week: vs Adelaide* (in Adelaide), vs Perth*