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Can the 36ers respond following their first defeat?
Nicholas Quinlan • October 16th, 2025 4:09 pm
John Casey believes Adelaide 36ers fans have nothing to be worried about despite conceding their first loss of NBL26.
Following last season, when the 36ers finished 6th and were knocked out in the play-in game, the side came into the off-season intent on bolstering their line-up.
The big-name recruits included the reigning five-time MVP, Bryce Cotton from the Perth Wildcats and the re-signing of former NBA Sixth Man of the Year, Montrezl Harrell, who was then subsequently released before the season following his provisional doping ban.
Despite the loss of Harrell, which forced them to pivot and sign import big Nick Rakocevic, the 36ers have started the season with a 3-1 record, which is the second-best win percentage in the competition.
But a 24-point loss to the Sydney Kings, which saw Cotton held to just seven points, has left some doubts over their title chances.
However, the esteemed NBL commentator felt that the 36ers’ depth on the bench, alongside their talented starting five, would be good enough to overcome that poor performance.
“There’s no doubt that their first five is as good as any in the competition,” Casey said.
“But there are a lot of good teams in the competition, and the depth becomes crucial in terms of what you can get from them.
“Matt Kenyon has been outstanding off the bench as a defensive specialist, Isaac White has done a good job so far, Blake Jones we haven’t seen a lot of; he’s the big coming in to replace Ben Griscti, who suffered that terrible injury in the pre-season Blitz where the backboard or the ring landed on his neck.
“He’s hoping to play again this year, but he’ll be out for some time.
“Che Brogan came in for his first NBL minutes, and I like what he brings to the table.
“And Nick Rakocevic, the most recent recruit, he’s been great since arriving…and Keanu Rasmussen was there last season and is now coming off the bench.
“They’ve got the good support they need, I think the team pound for pound is as good as anyone, whether it’s the first five or their overall depth as well.
“I’m not going to be too concerned about that performance because they will learn from that, and every team suffers a bad night here and there, and that was Adelaide’s.”
The 36ers will look to rebound following that loss to the Kings when they take on South East Melbourne Phoenix at the Adelaide Entertainment Centre on Thursday night.
