Preview: Perth v SE Melbourne (Round 5)

When: 9.30pm (AEDT), Friday 28 October, 2022
Where: RAC Arena, Perth
Broadcast: ESPN; Kayo; Foxtel; Sky NZ

Who won last time?

South East Melbourne 102 (Munford 24, Ashley 17, Creek 15) d Perth 100 (Cotton 28, Frazier 22, Hodgson 12) OT – Round 21, NBL22at RAC Arena

Could there have been a more dramatic way for Perth’s playoff streak to come to an end? Club legend Bryce Cotton misses a wide-open three to put his club ahead late, then makes up for it with a tough deuce to force overtime. Then, after drawing Perth within two late in the extra period, the three-time MVP and arguably greatest Wildcat of all-time missed a pull-up he would usually make in his sleep, and 35 years of history is put to bed.

What happened last game?

Perth was knocked out cold by the JackJumpers in Hobart, producing one of their club’s most embarrassing displays in a 31-point blowout. There was little pride in the red and white as Tasmania racked up the highest score and biggest winning margin in its history. Round 4 went a lot better for the Phoenix, obliterating New Zealand in Auckland before escaping with a one-point win over the Bullets, their full line-up looking impressive.

What’s working?

The starters – The quintet of Alan Williams, Mitch Creek, Ryan Broekhoff, Trey Kell and Gary Browne finally got on the floor together, and their average plus minus was +25.5 in two wins by a combined 23 points. Perhaps most impressive was the South East Melbourne starters having a two-to-one assist-to-turnover ratio, with their two import guards dishing 28 dimes to nine miscues.

Short memories – Consider these stats, Perth missed six more shots than Tassie last Saturday, but grabbed two fewer offensive rebounds. The 'Cats forced just nine turnovers after leading the league with 19 per game heading into that clash. To be blunt, they were the Mildcats last week and are best to flush that memory and get back to their usual selves.

What needs stopping?

Bryce’s bricks – In Perth’s fateful loss to South East Melbourne to end last season, Cotton shot a wayward 2/14 from long range, the second-most number of threes he’s ever missed in a professional game. From then on, he’s hit 12/52 treys at 23 per cent in six games, after draining 37 per cent across six years in the NBL up to that point. Can he rediscover the three-point magic?

Bryce’s drives – The scoring champ is still doing plenty of damage though. He was 7/12 on twos and 8/9 on free throws in that loss to the Phoenix, and from that day he’s shooting at 60 per cent inside and 30/32 from the charity stripe. SE Melbourne must limit his penetration, not least because the Wildcats are 37-7 all-time when Cotton has six or more assists.

Who’s matching up?

Bryce Cotton v ??? – Two seasons ago, Keifer Sykes was South East Melbourne’s lockdown defender, while last year it was Izayah Le’afa. Who is that man in NBL23? Is Gary Browne ready to dog a player of Cotton’s perpetual motion? Can Ryan Broekhoff’s length be effective? Will Junior Madut be the man? Or will it be all of the above and more? We’ll find out Friday night.

??? v Mitch Creek – Last season, Vic Law loved nothing more than going head-to-head with the likes of Creek, while previously Nick Kay could seemingly defend anyone. Is TaShawn Thomas the man to take on the task this year? If so, can Brady Manek handle Alan Williams’ brute force inside? Or does Luke Travers come back into the starting five to guard Creek?

Todd Blanchfield v Ryan Broekhoff – Coach Simon Mitchell would have been happy to see Broekhoff drain 3/8 from range on return last week, because 40 per cent ‘NBA Rowdy’ will open up the lane big time. In wins this season, Blanchfield has hit 2.3 triples at 44 per cent, compared to 1.0 at 20 per cent in two losses. These marksmen are both crucial to the result.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Trust in Rowdy ?<br><br>? <a href="https://twitter.com/ESPNAusNZ?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ESPNAusNZ</a> ?? <a href="https://twitter.com/kayosports?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@kayosports</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/Foxtel?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Foxtel</a> <a href="https://t.co/7C2bxdLr0X">pic.twitter.com/7C2bxdLr0X</a></p>&mdash; South East Melbourne Phoenix (@SEMelbPhoenix) <a href="https://twitter.com/SEMelbPhoenix/status/1583734920966721536?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 22, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Who’s saying what?

You'd think the Phoenix crew would be a happy lot after posting back-to-back Round 4 wins to get their season back on track, but they weren’t.

“The thing is we’re not really playing that well, we’re really not,” Mitch Creek said.

“I think our frustration as a team and the coaches comes from we can be so bloody good, but we sometimes we choose to have dumb-arse moments.

“We overcomplicate it, overthink it, try to do too much when the simple play is what’s most effective.”

Those brain fade moments were the bane of SE Melbourne supporters’ existence last season, as their team coughed up game after game after game from winning positions.

But last Saturday in Melbourne, they got the job done down the stretch, with new point guard Gary Browne making some key plays.

“With three-and-a-half to go I said, ‘C’mon man it’s time to go in there’,” Simon Mitchell said of his sideline conversation with the returning Browne.

“He said ‘Kiz (Adnam) is doing really well’, and it’s like, ‘This is your team man, go and drive us home’. He said, ‘I got you, I got you’.

“You could see it switched him on and he went out there and he drove us home, and that’s what you want out of your prime time point guard.”

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="und" dir="ltr">? <a href="https://twitter.com/Gbrowne14?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Gbrowne14</a> <a href="https://t.co/8HILM63Dbn">pic.twitter.com/8HILM63Dbn</a></p>&mdash; South East Melbourne Phoenix (@SEMelbPhoenix) <a href="https://twitter.com/SEMelbPhoenix/status/1584075498677624833?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 23, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Browne finished off the superb work of Creek, who put the Phoenix into a winning position with 31 points at 58 per cent, 3/6 from deep, 8/8 at the stripe and three assists for good measure.

“That’s one of Creeky’s best games I think, he carried us, he took us over the line tonight, it was an heroic effort on both sides of the ball,” coach Mitchell said.

“No one knows what he’s going through right now, he’s not on the (training) floor at all ... to play the way he did today was as good a game as I've seen him play.”

The World Cup Boomer was loving the talent suddenly around him with a full roster available, with Browne, Adnam, Trey Kell and Ryan Broekhoff spreading the floor, and Alan Williams and Zhou Qi as great passing targets around the rim.

“You’ve got Rowdy, Kizzer and Alan you can’t help off in the paint, and Gary, who are you meant to help off? That’s a good question,” he said.

It’s an ominous question for the Wildcats, who were spread out mercilessly by the JackJumpers last week as they drained 17 triples at 48 per cent thanks to a combined 14/23 from Matt Kenyon, Jack McVeigh, Milton Doyle and Sean Macdonald.

Then the Tasmanians exploited them on the drive, shooting 67 per cent from two-point range as Rashard Kelly went 7/9 inside.

“Tasmania were very good, Perth Wildcats not so good,” coach John Rillie said succinctly.

“It’s one of those things where it just snowballs, they make a couple of their confidence gets going and all of a sudden everyone’s feeling good about themselves.

“Our pressure and our containment, contesting those shots wasn’t at the level to be disruptive tonight. They capitalised on our mistakes that’s for sure.”

One important offensive learning is how to cope when opponents put the clamps on Bryce Cotton.

Tasmania held the five-time scoring champion to just six field-goal attempts, driven by their outstanding ball pressure to deny him catches in dangerous positions, then backed up by their excellent help.

Ultimately, his teammates didn’t do enough to make Tassie pay for the overplay, nor create shots for their maestro.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">More of these please, BC.<br><br>? Watch live on ESPN via Kayo &amp; Foxtel <a href="https://t.co/pbx9QtNEG3">pic.twitter.com/pbx9QtNEG3</a></p>&mdash; Perth Wildcats (@PerthWildcats) <a href="https://twitter.com/PerthWildcats/status/1583763554150539270?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 22, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>


“It’s a team game, we know he’s going to get that attention and to his credit, he is an unselfish willing passer, he lets the game come to him,” Rillie said.

“So for us, it’s always going to be about making the right decision, making the right pass, trusting your teammate because then when that happens the attention doesn’t have to be so centred on Bryce.”

One promising sign was the ability of new import TaShawn Thomas to score inside when his number was called.

Having starred year-on-year in tough European competitions, the 203-centimetre athlete has the skills, touch, length and passing ability to be a huge threat, and Rillie will be hoping after a six-day break he can go to him more in the block and the roll-out.

“When we brought TaShawn in we knew what he was capable of doing,” Rillie said.

“He’s battling an ankle injury that he’s done a couple of times, people who've watched the game can see what he can become for us.

“Very promising but you can see it’s going to take a little time to get his conditioning.”

Perth’s rookie play-caller has remained calm, knowing a big early-season loss is only significant if you make it so, while it will be forgotten if they can overcome the Phoenix.

“You have to take a step back, players evaluate it, coaches evaluate it, then you come together and brainstorm,” Rillie said.

“We can’t let the final score affect us moving forward .. we are aspiring to be an elite team in this competition, sometimes you have to go through these growing pains so you understand and feel what that’s about.”