Adelaide: 'We Didn't Get It Done'

The Adelaide 36ers’ dream of a championship this season has just about been put to rest, as the South Australian side languishes in eighth spot on the ladder with three games to go.

CJ Bruton's team isn't completely out the mix, but it would take some sort of a miracle to play finals. Ultimately, it's now out of their hands and reliant on other teams faltering. 

The 36ers made bold “championship or bust” claims at the start of the season after defeating NBA team the Phoenix Suns in the pre-season, but things simply haven't gone their way. 

While the Adelaide fans have turned out in droves at their games, unfortunately, the team hasn't returned the favour. After 25 games, they've slipped to an underwhelming 11-14 record. 

“We’re all a little disappointed, we had high aspirations going into the season after the pre-season that we had,” captain Mitch McCarron said.

“We were hoping to have some momentum build and we just didn’t get the job done.”

A star studded lineup featuring the likes of Robert Franks, Antonius Cleveland, Ian Clark and McCarron, has struggled over the past month. 

After looming as a serious finals contender, the 36ers have dropped their last five games. 

But McCarron said he and his teammates still have a point to prove. 

“We’ve got three games left to play for the club and play for the fans,” he said.

“At the end of the day that’s all that matters, play hard, play for each other, play good ball and enjoy the rest of the season.”

Coach CJ Bruton said there was no point reflecting on what could have been, particularly with three games remaining. 

“There’s more than a few moments like that, but in our lifetime, we don’t get to go back and re-do,” Bruton said.

“We get to learn from our mistakes, we get to come together, build, and look for how we are going to improve when we get a chance.

“There’s definitely some moments ... they’re not worth speaking about right now.”

But the time will no doubt come to reflect, and some tough questions answered. 

“We’ll have to have an internal review of everybody, players, staff and the club,” McCarron said.

“Everyone’s going to have to look down and say, 'was I good enough in the role that I was supposed to do?' ... I’m sure everyone will have to look in the mirror at some point.

“Every club has to go through that [internal review], whether you win or you don’t about next year’s roster. For now, we have got to try and just get three wins.”

The 36ers play the Cairns Taipans on Monday at 7:30pm AEDT, with the game live on ESPN via Kayo and Foxtel.