The Adelaide 36ers have slipped to 2-3 in the NBL27 season after the New Zealand Breakers beat them 88-72 in Adelaide on Sunday, with centre Isaac Humphries yet to play a game this season.
The loss came two days after the Illawarra Hawks beat Adelaide by 22 points in Wollongong, leaving coach Trevor Gleeson's side without a win in its past two outings.
Humphries, a 211cm centre who wears number 8, has missed the entire campaign while the club seeks a second opinion on a knee issue, according to the club. Gleeson has said he will not discuss replacement options until there is clarity on Humphries' situation.
NBL commentator Derek Rucker said Humphries was the player Adelaide could least afford to lose.
"I think Isaac Humphries is the one that they miss," Rucker said. "They just need his size, another alternative inside."
Against the Breakers, Bryce Cotton scored 19 points on 8-for-18 shooting, but the rest of the Adelaide roster managed only 24 points combined on 8-for-28 shooting. Rucker said the team's reliance on Cotton, and its lack of three-point shooting beyond him, was becoming a problem.
"The lack of a consistent offensive scoring distribution diet is really hurting the 36ers," Rucker said.
Rucker also questioned the team's energy level against the Breakers.
"I would have liked to have seen them come into this game with a bit more hunger and vigour," he said.
He said Adelaide's bigger issue was at the defensive end.
"The offence is going to come together, but I think it's the defensive intensity that they've got to find as soon as possible," Rucker said.
Humphries signed a three-year deal with Adelaide in 2024 that was meant to keep him at the club through the NBL27 season. He previously spent the 2022-23 season at Melbourne United before rejoining the 36ers.
Adelaide's round-one win over Melbourne United this season also came without Humphries, as well as Josh Jenkins, both sidelined by injury at the time.
Rucker said he still believed Adelaide had the roster to recover its season, provided the results did not slide further, adding that the 36ers could turn things around if they stayed around .500 through their first 10 games.