Adelaide already planning for NBL finals

The f-word is no longer taboo in the Adelaide 36ers camp.

Following Thursday's 101-68 demolition of the Brisbane Bullets, Sixers coach Joey Wright has finally declared his ladder-leading team, riding a five-game winning streak and sitting comfortably clear of second-placed Illawarra by four wins, a certainty to be in the finals in a month's time.

"I would think so," Wright said.

"I've talked to a lot of other coaches around the league and we think .500 is the magic number to get in at the bottom.

"With how close it is, maybe even a team under .500 gets in as well."

Adelaide handled the banged-up Bullets with such ease that Wright, mindful of the short break ahead of Sunday's clash with Sydney, was able to manage his roster's playing time with 11 players seeing between 10 and 25 minutes court-time.

"That was definitely a focus," Wright said.

"In the second half we didn't want to run guys for more 3-4 minutes at a time."

The blowout margin allowed Jerome Randle (22 points at 100 percent) to sit out almost the entire fourth quarter and preserve a rare night of shooting perfection.

"He (Randle) was perfect all the way through," Wright said.

"Six-of-six (from the field), three-of-three (three-pointers), seven-of-seven from the (free throw) line, he did a great job.

"22 points in 20 minutes, that's an excellent effort."

Conversely, the form of Bullets guard Jermaine Beal is one of many concerns for Brisbane coach Andrej Lemanis, whose team is firming as wooden spoon favourite.

Needing to step up with Adam Gibson (calf), Cam Bairstow (knee) and Anthony Petrie (knee) sidelined, Beal is mired in a horror form slump.

A dual NBL champion and 2014 grand final MVP, Beal suffered successive brain fades in two tight losses the previous round before recording a double-bubble (zero points, zero assists) in Adelaide.

'"Of course (Beal's form is a concern)," Lemanis said.

"You always want everyone playing to their best ability.

"We've got to continue to help him find his way to being successful within the group."