Five burning questions
What’s all this talk about the league getting better? It’s true. Townsville have gone, Brisbane are back and every club has spent up and recruited well. The import quota has grown to three and some world-class Aussies have rolled back. There will be no gimmes in a league that will require you to be somewhere near your best on a nightly basis. Who’s the team to beat? Has to be Melbourne. Cedric Jackson at the point, Chris Goulding and Todd Blanchfield on the wings, David Andersen in the frontcourt, and Tai Wesley heading the supporting cast. You are going to have to be locked in for 40 to beat a team with that much talent. Who are their biggest challengers? The Perth Wildcats. That’s a given, though they’re not as imposing physically with Matt Knight out for the early rounds. Brisbane will be tough when Cameron Bairstow returns to show his NBA calibre, Sydney still have pieces to add, while Illawarra and Cairns showed their qualities pre-season. We’d like to say the Breakers too. Who’s an excitement machine to watch out for? Try Terrance Ferguson at Adelaide. The US high school phenom is 18 years old and headed for the NBA lottery. This would be his "one-and-done" college year, but he’s elected to bide his time and sharpen his game in the pros. Super athlete with nice range, though will find the physicality tough. What do the Breakers have to do to contend again? There’s a long list. Get healthy. Get Corey Webster back in that mid-season mode of 2015-16. Get the best out of Kirk Penney. Get quality minutes from Alex Pledger and Rob Loe in the five spot. Get Ben Woodside’s A game back. Get Mika Vukona knocking down his short jumper. Get Akil Mitchell making free-throws. Easy. First round draw (tipoffs NZT) Oct 6 Brisbane Bullets v Perth Wildcats 9.30pm Oct 7 NZ Breakers v Melbourne United 7.30pm Illawarra Hawks v Adelaide 36ers 9.30pm Oct 8 Sydney Kings v Brisbane 7.30pm Perth v Cairns Taipans 11.30pm Oct 9 Melbourne v Adelaide 5pm TAB title odds: Melbourne $3.30, Perth $3.50, Sydney $4, Brisbane $6, New Zealand $7, Adelaide $8.50, Illawarra $12, Cairns $26.