Preview: SE Melbourne v Illawarra (Round 8)

When: 4pm (AEDT), Sunday 27 November, 2022
Where: John Cain Arena, Melbourne
Broadcast: 10 Peach; 10 Play; ESPN; Foxtel; Kayo; Sky NZ
Live scores & stats

Who won last time?

Illawarra 85 (Harvey 22, King 16, Froling 11) d South East Melbourne 72 (Madut 21, Williams 13, Creek 12) – Round 2 at WIN Entertainment Centre

Tyler Harvey got his patented floater game back on track and Illawarra locked the Phoenix offence down to 29 points in the middle quarters to secure their only win of NBL23, Mitch Creek struggling through injury and the absence of Ryan Broekhoff, Trey Kell, Gary Browne and Zhou Qi biting hard. All-but big Zhou are now in uniform, while Peyton Siva and Michael Frazier II have since joined the Hawks, making Sunday’s clash a completely different battle.

What happened last game?

Illawarra very nearly made it win number two against arch-rivals Sydney, only missed free throws, a well-timed Kouat Noi moving screen and a clutch triple from Shaun Bruce denying them a dream win in front of more than 11,000 people. South East Melbourne lived the dream in front of 10,000 in the Throwdown, holding United to 69 points in one of their club’s greatest defensive performances, while offensively Creek and Alan Williams owned the interior.

What’s working?

High-post Sam – In the final seven minutes in Sydney, the Hawks ran their offence through Froling eight times – all-but one in the middle cylinder – and scored 15 points on 7/8 shooting on those possessions, Tyler Harvey scoring nine of those via his connection with his big man. With Sam delivering 16.7ppg at 65 per cent, 11.3rpg and 2.7apg in his past three outings, he looks like an elite centre in the NBL and a centrepiece of the Hawks.

Front-foot D – The Phoenix held Melbourne to 69 points at 39 per cent, just six triples at 28 per cent, kept them to a miserly four o-boards from 39 misses, forced more turnovers than they allowed assists and did it while only fouling 17 times. It was a masterful defensive performance and South East Melbourne drew high praise from Dean Vickerman for the disruptive way they “blew up” Melbourne offences through their intensity and understanding of the scout.

What needs stopping?

Mitch Creek’s bully ball – Who did Illawarra turn to in NBL22 to defend dangerous four-men? Antonius Cleveland. George King was supposed to fill that three-four role but he is now departed and the 193cm Michael Frazier has taken his place. Can the bull-strong Frazier defend Creek? Because if he can’t then Deng Deng and Tim Coenraad will have the job, and that’s asking for trouble against a man who’s averaged 24.7ppg in his past six outings, with 20.2 of those coming from ‘ones and twos’ as he bullies his way to the basket.

Missing bunnies – Illawarra made a mockery of the Cooks-less Kings defence at times last week, seemingly getting into the lane whenever they wanted. Tyler Harvey was superb, landing 9/12 two-pointers from the middle cylinder, but his teammates went a less-than-stellar 16/38, including 3/13 in the third term when they created look after look that Froling, Will Hickey, Mangok Mathiang and Lachie Dent were unable to land. Jacob Jackomas would be delighted with the ball-screen and DHO execution, now his team just needs to finish.

Who’s matching up?

Gary Browne v Peyton Siva – This derby of the dimers features the NBL’s top two assist men. Browne has dealt 32 dimes to eight turnovers his past four games, a ridiculous four-to-one ratio, while shooting 13/22 from two-point range. Peyton has issued 22 helpers in his two full games, while also pinching six steals. He needs to cut down on his 12 turnovers, however, and improve his 2/17 long-range shooting or he’ll be feeding South East Melbourne in transition.

Trey Kell v Tyler Harvey – T-Raw scored in every way possible last round as he made Justin Simon look like a defensive novice, landing four triples at 44 per cent, three long twos at 50 per cent while going 6/8 in the lane on an array of floaters. Kell has been inconsistent defending off-ball movement, and his ability to pass that test on Sunday is vital, while a continuation of his 2/2 three-point shooting from the Throwdown would be welcome.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">??? <a href="https://twitter.com/YoungTRaaw?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@YoungTRaaw</a> <br><br>Watch now 10 Peach &amp; 10play | Live on ESPN via Kayo &amp; Foxtel<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/hawknation?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#hawknation</a> <a href="https://t.co/kYa1hIj9sK">pic.twitter.com/kYa1hIj9sK</a></p>&mdash; Illawarra Hawks Basketball (@illawarrahawks) <a href="https://twitter.com/illawarrahawks/status/1594198971576381440?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 20, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Who’s saying what?

Jacob Jackomas’ undermanned team are working their tails off, and it’s fair to say he’s had enough of those taking pot shots at his side.

“I don’t think it’s criticism, I think it’s bulls**t,” he said emphatically.

“I think it’s unfair and bullshit. What it is, these guys are professionals and they're dealing with kicks in regards to injury after injury.

“Myself and management are trying to get it right for them and we need to do a better job to help them perform.

“We've got a young group and I'm pretty proud of the guys we’re investing in went today.”

He was speaking after his young lineup – minus imports Peyton Siva and Michael Frazier and livewire Australian Daniel Grida – did everything but dethrone the champs in Sydney.

“You’ve got to tip your hat off to them right now, we’ve got development players running our team,” he said.

“Guys that are fighting for roster spots doing a great job, we’ve got guys everyone likes to have a crack at because they're not doing well, doing well now and picking themselves up.”

Emerging guard Davo Hickey hosted a coming out party at the Q with nine points, eight rebounds, three assists and three steals in 23 minutes to almost lead the Hawks home.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Davo Hickey with the 3??<br><br>Watch now 10 Peach &amp; 10play | Live on ESPN via Kayo &amp; Foxtel<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/hawknation?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#hawknation</a> <a href="https://t.co/I7QS8Jcwao">pic.twitter.com/I7QS8Jcwao</a></p>&mdash; Illawarra Hawks Basketball (@illawarrahawks) <a href="https://twitter.com/illawarrahawks/status/1594209765366059009?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 20, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Star 22-year-old Sam Froling outplayed Brazilian national team centre Tim Soares en route to 17 points, eight boards, three dimes, a block and a steal, while back-up Mangok Mathiang had nine points and five rebounds in 17 minutes.

“Sammy’s Sammy right now, it’s been a bit hard for him to adjust as that lone big. It was always going to take Mangok that bit of time and I was really impressed with them today,” Jackomas said.

What Froling, Hickey and Lachie Dent did best was create opportunities for Tyler Harvey, so he didn’t have to bang his head against a defensive brick wall, instead dominating efficiently with 32 points from 23 shots despite the attention of Justin Simon.

“It was a slow burn for him. I think a lot of times in this situation when you're the lone American you try to shoot yourself into the game which usually shoots yourself out of the game,” Jackomas said.

“Justin’s a hell of a defender, they threw everything at him because he was the lone guy. He was really poised and he was a class act today.”

He’s not the lone American this Sunday with the inclusion of Frazier, who didn’t get to shine in an interrupted Perth season last year, but hasn’t lost any confidence in his ability at NBL level.

His final game as a Wildcat delivered 22 points at 57 per cent, including 5/10 from distance, and the American is confident that's reflective of his talents.

“I’ve been in the league for a year now, I know how the league is played. I think my game fits the solid play, definitely I can help this club win," he said.

“I can shoot the ball, I can make plays for others, I’m a great defender, I can rebound the ball. I think just having me out on the floor, people will get a chance to see (the real) me.”

While his inclusion is important, the return of Siva from a calf complaint is vital given the match-up with the in-form Gary Browne.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">???????? ?????? ??? ???????? ?????? ? <a href="https://twitter.com/Gbrowne14?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Gbrowne14</a> <br><br>?? Tickets v Hawks ?? <a href="https://t.co/YYDaCLptfh">https://t.co/YYDaCLptfh</a> <a href="https://t.co/7161I3a72Q">pic.twitter.com/7161I3a72Q</a></p>&mdash; South East Melbourne Phoenix (@SEMelbPhoenix) <a href="https://twitter.com/SEMelbPhoenix/status/1594489441401286656?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 21, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

The Puerto Rican produced some stunning two-way basketball against Melbourne to finish with 16 points at 50 per cent, 11 assists, five rebounds, two steals and a solitary turnover.

“Defensively he was up the floor, I thought that was a really impressive game,” coach Simon Mitchell said.

“He made a couple of shots early, he had 11 dimes and one turnover. That’s what you want from your point guard, you get that and full-court defensive and pressure on the ball, forcing turnovers and controlling the ball.”

Browne’s leadership spearheaded an outstanding defensive display, which coach Simon Mitchell described as “far superior to some of the crap we served up in the Melbourne game last time”, and a marked improvement from their visit west.

“I thought there was a bit of a sting in the tail coming from some of our defensively lapses in the Perth game, there was a point to prove,” Mitchell said.

“There were some early transition baskets but I thought for the most part we were pretty good at keeping them out of the open floor, and did an unbelievable job on the defensive boards as well as the offensive boards.”

A follow-up win could have SE Melbourne in third place by round’s end, and Browne knows it’s about making the standards they set in the Throwdown a regular habit.

“We’re just trying to find rhythm within the games that we’re playing, whether it’s at home or on the road,” he said.

“We see it we know who we are, we've just got to execute every play. We don’t want to say every game, we want to show up and take it play by play.”