Sydney Kings coach Andrew Gaze says his team have handed back their early-season advantage with their form slump and may need to emulate some of what new NBL ladder leaders Adelaide are doing.
The red-hot 36ers moved clear at the top after beating the Kings 82-80 in Adelaide on Friday and 103-96 in Sydney on Sunday.
Adelaide clinched the head-to-head series with Sydney, having won all three of the games against the Kings during their current streak of seven straight victories.
Gaze lamented the fact Sydney were being swallowed up by the pack after dropping three consecutive home games.
He refused to use their hectic schedule - they have played two to four more games than each of the other teams - as an excuse, though some of his stars including Brad Newley and Kevin Lisch were off-colour on Sunday.
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"It's bitterly disappointing, we played the good part of the first half of the season to a point where we gave ourselves a little bit of an advantage,' Gaze said.
"We've handed it all back now, we are now in the middle of the pack."
He labelled the 36ers' Nathan Sobey and Matt Hodgson as two of the competition's most-improved players and said Adelaide coach Joey Wright had his team playing at a pace that was hard to guard.
"I'm envious of the way they are playing and we've got to look at them and see if we can emulate some of the things they are doing because Joey has got them playing as good as anyone right now,"' Gaze said.
One bright spot for Sydney on Sunday was a match-high 29-point haul from guard Jason Cadee, who felt the Kings carried their frustration from Friday's loss in to Sunday's game.
"Obviously frustrations are high but but we have to stay together," Cadee said.
"If we don't do that we're in trouble, but we've got a good group of guys and a good coaching staff."
Even though Adelaide shot a terrific 56 per cent from the field on Sunday, Wright said he would keep them grounded as he wasn't impressed with some of their shot choices.
"We'll talk about those shots extensively at our next video session," Wright said.
Brisbane and Illawarra, who meet in the round's final game on Monday, are level behind Adelaide and Sydney, after experiencing different fortunes.
The Bullets scored a 100-90 home win over Melbourne, nailing 59 per cent of their field goal attempts.
Illawarra lost 99-82 at Cairns, and NZ Breakers scored a 69-57 home win over Perth, who shot a miserable 30 per cent from the field.
