General Excellence
UFC 271 Wash Up, Chris Wood's Low Key Prowess, Steven Adams Assist King, White Ferns Nuggets & More
Podcast
TNC Variety Show 50
The Niche Cast: The Empty Vessel
Reading Menu
Israel Adesanya, Carlos Ulberg, Blood Diamond UFC 271 Debrief (UFC)
Welcome To The Annual Wellington Phoenix Midseason Revival (Football)
Football Ferns at the 2022 She Believes Cup: Squad Yarns (Football)
Kiwi Steve in the NBA #7: The Road Not Taken (Basketball)
Don’t Look Now But Sean Marks Is At It Again (Aka The James Harden/Ben Simmons Trade) (Basketball)
2021/22 Ford Trophy: Central Stags Stay Undefeated (Cricket)
2022 Women's World Cup: Aotearoa's White Ferns Squad (Cricket)
Scotty’s Word
UFC 271 Wash Up…
It’s 8am in Aotearoa and in other tabs I have the Sydney Morning Herald and Stuff sports pages open. There is nothing about the UFC on SMH after Tai Tuivasa’s epic KO win over Derek Lewis and one must scroll down to see a story about Israel Adesanya on Stuff, nothing about Blood Diamond or Carlos Ulberg. I love this - all the Niche Cache has to do is cover this stuff to be different?
This isn’t new. The Niche Cache started because the sports coverage we wanted was not present in Aotearoa and whether it’s Kiwi-NRL, Flying Kiwis, UFC, Steven Adams/Sean Marks, Lydia Ko or any other Aotearoa sporting glory; we’re just filling the void. It’s genuinely funny to observe Aotearoa mainstream media’s priorities.
I did a UFC 271 debrief yarn here. Blood Diamond’s loss was weird and no dramas there, he will do what Carlos Ulberg did and learn from his debut loss to provide a composed clinic to win his second fight. Adesanya oozes greatness and this was amplified in the octagon against Whittaker, as well as outside the octagon (as usual) with his new contract.
Things were weird prior to this fight. Adesanya only signed the ‘bout agreement’ a week before the fight and usually both fighters sign these months out. One can assume that Adesanya wanted to get his deal sorted and a lot of good faith was shown by both parties to get the deal done, thus ensuring the fight took place. We still have no details about Adesanya’s new deal and all information about the deal is strictly PR speak - all headlines are generated from Paradigm’s (Adesanya’s agency) press release about it being the biggest deal etc.
Want to know about Adesanya’s star power? We know he’s signed to Puma as part of their global sports push and Adesanya has now taken over from Conor McGregor as Paradigm’s biggest UFC star.
Adesanya shared his belief that his UFC deal will help spread the abundance throughout the UFC and lead the way to better deals for fighters. While this is admirable and part of Adesanya’s mana, I must note that Adesanya’s unique in how he is self-sustainable outside the UFC. Not everyone has that leverage, Adesanya does and flexed it to the fullest.
For those who don’t know the UFC vibe, Adesanya isn’t just one of the best fighters and in my opinion the brightest UFC star. Adesanya’s run through the middleweight division puts him among UFC greatness and he is on the brink of being of of the UFC’s greatest fighters regardless of weight class. Adesanya has shown no signs of losing the plot like McGregor (the UFC name you all know) and has been far more dominant than McGregor in the UFC.
Let’s tie that narrative of Adesanya and Team City Kickboxing leaving Aotearoa with the lack of Adesanya fights in Aotearoa. Kiwis are insecure about Aotearoa and any slight against Aotearoa perks up emotions while we also look around the world for validation. So when there is a slither of a negative narrative around Adesanya/CKB/Aotearoa, it triggers those insecurities.
Most of what the Niche Cache covers happens overseas. We love domestic Aotearoa sport and fill that void too, although the greatness and Aotearoa sporting excellence goes down around the world. This is not new and whether it’s historical Aotearoa sporting excellence or Sir Edmund Hillary doing his thing (insert adventurous kiwis here), Aotearoa’s excellence is most evident in how kiwis perform overseas.
Keep this in mind as Aotearoa’s borders open up. The pandemic has created an illusion with kiwis returning to Aotearoa in bulk or kiwis not wanting to leave Aotearoa due to issues in getting back to Aotearoa. Thus we have this adventurous Aotearoa mana evident in our sporting excellence, general achievements around the world and regular blokes/wahine wanting to explore that has been paused. Sporting excellence hasn’t stopped due to the pandemic but our adventurous spirit has been curtailed.
Ponder that. Ponder how Aotearoa is now and what things might look like as kiwis do what we do best in exploring the world, performing at the highest level around the world and connecting with folks around the world.
White Ferns Nugget…
Good White Ferns win in their first ODI vs India, although all that matters is the World Cup. The most important White Ferns thing on my mind is the decline of Suzie Bates, Sophie Devine and Amelia Kerr in ODI cricket ahead of the World Cup. This feels counter-intuitive because most folks aren’t tapped in to WF mahi, however these stats present a key theme to track…
Suzie Bates
Career: 41.69avg
2006-18: 43.76avg
2019-22: 29.12avg
Sophie Devine (batting)
Career: 30.31avg
2006-18: 32.19avg
2019-22: 23.45avg
Amelia Kerr (bowling)
Career: 25.86avg
2016-18: 20.58avg
2019-22: 35.22avg
Cronulla Sharks Update…
Last Friday’s mini Cronulla Sharks Kiwi-NRL breakdown didn’t include Oscar Amosa who was recently signed to join Sharks SG Ball. I’ll keep an eye on the Sharks SG Ball team lists as I keep learning about the Kiwi-NRL takeover.
Wildcard’s Notebook
The Woodsman in Newcastle
Chris Wood has now played four games for Newcastle and is yet to score a goal. He did get the ball into the net against Everton but was a mile offside. Bound to be a bit of pressure on him after that. Big money striker signing who hasn’t scored yet? The last couple games I’ve seen player ratings which had him down near the bottom for his team. Pretty easy take to say that he’s having trouble settling into his new squad.
Except that isn’t true. The truth is that even if the goals haven’t been there, his contributions have been massive for Newcastle. He’s up there being a target, holding the ball up, flicking it on, providing an anchor that allows his team to operate higher up the park. Think it’s a coincidence that Allan Saint-Maximin has bounced back into form these last few games? It’s not. Same deal goes with Newcastle’s improved defence lately with Wood providing a superb and unselfish work-rate. Last two games he’s spent time near the end defending on the left wing covering for ASM. Obviously he’s far from the only difference maker but it’s madness to exclude him from that chat.
This a slightly different role to how he was usually used at Burnley (but focussing on the same attributes tbf). It’s now less about hanging on the last man and being a target for those early crosses, instead he’s being asked to drop in a bit more and facilitate.
That means that many of the moves he’s involved in end up with Saint-Maximin or Ryan Fraser getting the chances – though Wood does still hover dangerously in the area whenever possible and if a few of his teammates were a little more keen to get that ball in for him then this all might not need saying. Several times you’ve seen him with two hands in the air asking why a mate shot when he was in a better position.
With Burnley this season, Wood averaged 12.8 aerial duels per game. With Newcastle he’s won at least 11 in every match so far, let alone the rest of them he’s challenged for. And he’s won more than 50% in each. Every time the keeper goes long he looks specifically for Chris Wood… but aerial duels aren’t what people look for, right? People do notice a hefty work rate and Wood’s certainly getting credit for that. Yet there’s a real Steven Adams quality about the way he’s doing subtle little things that are helping his team to win.
Again, that’s not the trendy thing to say. Strikers are supposed to score goals and for sure you can tell that it’s on his mind when he plays. Wood is desperate to open his Newcastle account. But plenty more goes into being a Premier League striker and his manager can see it even if others can’t.
Ever since he signed, Eddie Howe made a habit of shoehorning in Chris Wood praise at any opportunity no matter what the question was that was asked of him. Like, he’s going out of his way to say these things...
“It’s worth highlighting Chris Wood’s impact. I think his physicality and ability to make life very uncomfortable for the opposing centre-halves has been key as well in the last couple of games. The balance of the team’s been very good. He’ll want that goal, but, I think, it’s not lost on me the difference his presence and physicality have made to that front line. There’s been a lot of balls he’s had no right to get a touch on, or just knock a defender, than means we’re able to get up the pitch and spend longer in their half. Also his work rate and team work. He’s covered for Maxi [Allan Saint-Maximin] a couple of times when he’s out of position. For a striker of his type to do those unselfish things has made a big difference. I don’t think you can under-estimate all the aspects of his way that have helped the team.”
Not only that but when there was a delay in the game with about 15 mins left this morning, in the 1-0 win over Aston Villa, here was Howe making a point of dishing out some instructions to Chris Wood on the sideline while others sipped at their drinks.
You see this with Ria Percival and her coach Rehane Skinner a lot too (shout out Ria on her second WSL goal this morning in the 2-0 win over am). And of course Steven Adams is in the same category in his own sport. They’re the folks that their coaches trust to feed those little adjustments during games. Chris Wood is already viewed as a leader out there.
As for the man himself, as I say he’s feeling the pressure. There was a moment when he should have spread the ball wide for Fraser in the Villa game but chose a low percentage shot instead. Strikers deserve some wiggle room for selfishness sometimes plus Wood has been in that Fraser role more than a couple of times already. Seemed like a sign that he was feeling the lack of goals.
But prior to that Villa game he did a club website interview saying all the right things that prove he’s been listening to what his manager keeps saying...
“Look I’m very pleased. Obviously goals are what I need to be scoring and I’m under no illusion that’s what I’m about. But when were winning games and the teams performing well that’s all you can care about at this point in time. Because the goals will come. I know that. I’ve been in the Premier League long enough to know that they do come if you keep working hard and doing what you do right week in and week out. As long as I do that, work hard for the team and find a base to build off and for the other boys around me to score goals, then I don’t mind that because I’m going to put in my all, put in my effort, and I know it’ll be a good thing for the team.”
Ultimately the thing that matters most, and which best reflects the impact that Wood has had, are the results that his team has had in these games. When he signed, Newcastle were deep in the relegation mire. Since he’s arrived they’ve ripped off 10 points from a possible 12 and the one draw they had should have been a win – they conceded an 87th minute equaliser.
Newcastle Before Wood: LLDLDDLLDLDDLDWLLLD (11pts from 19 games)
Newcastle With Wood: DWWW (10pts from 4 games)
This is what the league table looks like since his transfer...
Steven Adams Assist King
Speaking of Steven Adams, he’s been on fire lately with at least 4 rebounds and 11 rebounds in four of his last five games. The one game he didn’t reach those numbers was because he barely played 20 mins as they blew out the Clippers... although that doesn’t have to be a hindrance as he had 15 points, 11 rebounds, 4 assists & 3 blocks in only 15:50 against Charlotte on Sunday NZT. Just an insane level of efficiency as the Grizzlies won yet again.
Here’s a selection vid of assist that Adams has dished out to Desmond Bane...
The description there points out that Adams has 65 assists to Bane, the second most by a big man to guard combo after Nikola Jokic and Monte Morris with 87. Jokic, at this point, is pretty much the greatest passing big man of all time so that’s some golden company to be keeping.
Adams and Bane have this amazing understanding with Bane’s cuts to the basket. Those 65 assists gave led to 146 points so there are a few threes in there but predominantly they’re twos. The next guy on the Adams Assist Recipient list is Ja Morant: 23 assists for 48 points. Jaren Jackson and Zaire Williams are next, each with 17 (for 38). Then Dillon Brooks 16 (35).
This isn’t only him getting boards and whipping the ball out to open triple shooters. He’s setting guys up at the rim more often than he does that, passing out of those high post situations where he can hand the ball off or fling it into the path of a runner. Playmaking moves. Empowered passing. Such a weapon of his.
As for the assists that he’s received himself... Ja Morant has given him 31 of the buggers and next is Tyus Jones with 10. Only 69 of his 146 buckets have been assisted. Shows that they aren’t really running offensive plays for him (well, not as a shooter anyway – they clearly are as a passer) and that was kinda the main point in why they traded for him. Free up the touches that Jonas Valanciunas required, spread them out amongst their emerging young core, and then speed up their game in the process.
Here’s a fun stat graph with Adams on court/off court and the difference in what his team does in those scenarios. When Adams is out there, they obviously have a big jump in offensive rebounding, the Grizzlies also turn the ball over less, and most crucially... their effective field goal percentage is better...
They do drop their free throw rate but that’s to be expected. After making 15 straight FTs to start the season, he’s dropped back to 56.7% from the line for the year. He’s not trying to get to the line. Plus his screens are so damn good the blokes around him probably aren’t getting caught on those drives either. Clean lanes when Adams is around.
His minutes fluctuate depending on match-ups and also the sheer amount of blowouts that the Grizzlies are winning. But the efficiency of what he’s doing at the moment is nuts. His per-36 minute rates are on course for career best marks in offensive rebounds (6.2), total rebounds (13.3), assists (4.4), and personal fouls (2.5).