36ers wary claws are out

Adelaide guard Mitch McCarron says recent wins have lifted the vibe within the 36ers camp, but admits his side is in no position to rest on its laurels ahead of Saturday’s meeting with Perth.

The 36ers opened the NBL24 season with four straight defeats, but have since rebounded to win three of their last four games and climb to seventh on the ladder.

Conversely, the Wildcats are under immense pressure to get a result after slipping to a 2-5 record on the season, and suffering a home defeat to a severely undermanned Brisbane side in Round 5.

“I think they’re going to come out with some fire,” McCarron said of the Wildcats. “But we’re not in a situation where we can relax by any means.

“We’ve got a couple of wins in a row now and we’re confident, but we’ve got to come out now and play with the same energy we’ve had over the last couple of weekends.

“Winning helps everything, even if you’ve got some issues, it chucks a little Band-Aid on it. We feel good as a group right now, we’ve been set for a little bit, we’ve had DJ integrated for a little bit. We’re playing with some confidence and we’re feeling good.

“I think everyone’s been happy, I’m sure CJ’s been stoked, but we haven’t been perfect either. We’ve still had some patches of inconsistency, so we’re not relaxed by any means, we know we can keep getting better and that’s the goal.”

The addition of star wing DJ Vasiljevic has had a massive impact on Adelaide’s ability to win games, but it’s also increased the competition for minutes at the shooting guard and small forward positions for CJ Bruton’s side.

Trentyn Flowers exploded for 18 points in the final quarter to lead Adelaide to victory over Illawarra in Round 3, but has logged minute totals of 15, zero and six in the three games since.

Flowers is not the only 36er to be experiencing drastic fluctuations on a night-to-night basis, and McCarron says it’s up to the players to rise when afforded the opportunity.

“That’s a challenge on the individual, to understand you’re not going to pop off every single game,” he said. “We’re asking people to play roles on this team and have success in those roles. Sometimes that means having a few shots, sometimes it means more.

“Trentyn comes out against Illawarra, has an incredible game, doesn’t play as much, but his attitude hasn’t changed. He’s been great at practice, he’s ready to go and I’m sure he’ll have another big one soon for us.

“We’re just asking that everyone comes ready to play, and at the end of the day we’re just trying to win games. At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter who fills the box score, if we win the game everyone gets a tick.”

Adelaide travels to Perth to take on the Wildcats on Saturday night at 8pm AEDT, live on ESPN via Kayo.