The "tough SOB" driving Adelaide's turnaround

The tides have turned in Adelaide. Where there was early discontent around the performances of the 36ers now there is hope around the immediate future of the side.

Adelaide defeated New Zealand at Spark Arena in Thursday’s Round 5 opener to make it two wins in a row for the first time this season, and although there is still plenty of water to go under the proverbial bridge in NBL24, they’ve snuck back into the top six for the first time this season.

The addition of DJ Vasiljevic looks to have been the catalyst for the turn in fortunes, and the two-time NBL champion was named Foot Locker Player of the Game against the Breakers for his 24 points and five assists.

“He’s a tough SOB,” Bruton said of his newest signing. “When it comes down to it from a junior to a senior to a pro, that’s who he is and he carries that.

“He’s got the respect from everyone – not only on our team, but in the league. You see what he puts on display, in Sydney he wasn’t able to showcase his ball-handling as much as he is here, with the talent they had on that squad and how they played.

“I need him to do more in the way 'AC' (Antonius Cleveland) got to do more last year. Clearly his ability to not only create scores, but also score the ball makes him a danger every time he has it.

“Seeing him stepping out and shooting the deep ball brought back memories.”

After being utilised largely as a three-point threat during his time with the Kings, early signs are pointing to a more expanded role for Vasiljevic in Adelaide’s system.

In his three games with the 36ers so far, he’s more than doubled his assist-per-game average from last season to 3.8, and he’s taking approximately six more shots, for five more points per game.

“I played my role to the best of my ability and got two championships out of it, but now I just want a bigger role here, and CJ’s provided it,” Vasiljevic said.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">DJ silences the crowd with a deeeeeep three ?<br><br>Catch the action live on ESPN via Kayo | Sky Sport in NZ ? <a href="https://t.co/5inUlEAlLM">pic.twitter.com/5inUlEAlLM</a></p>&mdash; NBL (@NBL) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBL/status/1717453105133146509?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 26, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

“He said he wants more from me so I’m going to take the opportunity win or lose, I want to be that guy so we’ll keep moving forward.”

The 36ers have now moved to a 3-5 record for the season after starting the campaign a dismal 0-4. They have also played more games than anyone else in the NBL so far this season at the time of writing.

Those three wins have come in the last four games, and Bruton has praised his players for sticking to the game plan, even after the rough early season results.

“You guys will write what you write, but we’re in it every day and when you go through it – we’re human. Our guys read what you guys write and for me it’s managing the individual players and understanding what we need to get done,” he said.

“The only thing that matters is the 40 minutes, or the 10 minutes – whatever we’re playing – and off the court behind the scenes from how we play, to the energy we bring every day, to getting up, we’ve got to drive the right culture and the right energy.

“Every game is huge, every game is a finals game – that’s the way I see it anyway. Every time you get an opportunity to play, you’re going to be sad if you lose after a game, and if you’re not you didn’t give it your all.

“How they all played together and played off each other and the way we stuck to the game plan was really good all the way through.”

Adelaide now has to wait until Round 6 for it’s next game, when it takes on Perth on Saturday, November 4.