Preview: SE Melbourne v Melbourne (Round 7)

When: 5.30pm (AEDT), Saturday 19 November, 2022
Where: John Cain Arena, Melbourne
Broadcast: ESPN; Kayo; Foxtel; Sky NZ
LIVE SCORES & STATS

Who won the last time?

Melbourne 110 (Goulding 30, Humphries 20, Ili 15) d SE Melbourne 85 (Williams 30, Creek 24, Browne 16) – Round 6 at John Cain Arena

This threatened to be a classic Throwdown as Alan Williams dominated the interior for South East Melbourne and the teams headed to half-time just three points apart. But this would be Chris Goulding’s afternoon as he drained seven trifectas and threw the Phoenix defence into chaos, Melbourne’s starters combining for 91 points at 63 per cent in a 25-point rout.

What happened last game?

The United first five were schooled by their Adelaide counterparts on Thursday night, and their chances crueled by a 14-point third term. The return of Mason Peatling was a huge positive though, as was Rayjon Tucker’s inspired play. The Phoenix certainly lacked inspiration early on in Perth two nights ago, but the brilliance of Mitch Creek kept them in the game and some intense defence almost put them in a position to pinch it.

What’s working?

Tucking in – There was a level of urgency about Rayjon on Thursday that augurs well for the rest of the season. The NBL is intense and physical, and Tucker showed he now has the refuse to lose attitude required, scoring 18 points in the final 11 minutes on a string of aggressive drives and clutch step-up triples. Melbourne will need more of the same in the Throwdown, along with Tuck’s athletic defence to curb Phoenix play-maker Gary Browne.

Feeding Sauce – Eight shots, 16 points and three assists, that was Alan Williams’ return on Thursday. It doesn’t take a strategist to know he needs more touches. The Phoenix also need the ball out of Gary Browne’s hands sooner so he gets forced into less contested long heaves. Finding Williams on the short roll is a good solution, where he plays off two feet, finds open men and finishes with a soft touch, as shown by his 30-piece in the last Throwdown.

What needs stopping?

Power forwards – Robert Franks was the difference for Adelaide on Thursday, Melbourne with no answers as Robo racked up 21 points and got to the foul line 12 times. That’s on the back of Mitch Creek and Keanu Pinder having their way with the United defence, which has leaked 22.6ppg to star opposition bigs in the five games since Jordan Caroline was moved on.

Shooting guards – For the Phoenix, it’s star guards who are the problem. With relentless backcourt stopper Izayah Le’afa now departed, Bryce Cotton ran up 32 points on Thursday, while Chris Goulding knocked in 30 two rounds ago. That pair were too slippery for Trey Kell, and could shoot over Gary Browne, so is Ryan Broekhoff the match-up for CG43 this time?

Who’s matching up?

Trey Kell v Xavier Rathan-Mayes – Kell is a proven defender, but perhaps the on-ball dominance of XRM, rather than the constant cutting of the NBL’s best shooters, is more to his suiting. After producing a brilliant final quarter and overtime in the win over Adelaide three weeks ago, Kell has managed just 16 points on 6/23 shooting in two losses, and South East Melbourne need more, and that starts with outplaying Melbourne’s playmaker at both ends.

Alan Williams v Isaac Humphries – It’s fair to say Williams put on a clinic last time the teams met, with 30 points at 62 per cent and six o-boards in his 14-rebound haul, leaving Humphries a frustrated man. But Ice was still a key part of United’s win, exposing South East Melbourne’s poor ball-screen defence and lack of size without Zhou Qi to register 20 points at 70 per cent, with all seven of his baskets at the rim. This will be a hell of a rematch.

Mitch Creek v Mason Peatling – This rivalry got going when Creek owned Peatling in the NBL21 semis, went to new heights when Mason decked Mitch after his infamous poster jam on Matthew Dellavedova last season, and renews now that Peatling is finally back from injury. Peatling showed how important he is to Melbourne with 11 points, three boards and quality defence in 15 minutes upon return on Thursday, while Creek reminded his foe how tough the assignment will be with 32 points, eight rebounds and four dimes in Perth.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">The business decision came a little too late ?<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NBL22?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NBL22</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NBLCrossover?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NBLCrossover</a><br><br> <a href="https://t.co/U068pPKMjq">pic.twitter.com/U068pPKMjq</a></p>&mdash; Kane Pitman (@KanePitman) <a href="https://twitter.com/KanePitman/status/1469874946868277249?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 12, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Who’s saying what?

The start of the third quarter in Perth could almost be described as un-Phoenix like.

Trailing by 13 at half-time, they brought a new-found intensity out of the sheds. On the first possession Gary Browne climbed into Mitch Norton’s cylinder, bumping him as he tried to initiate the offence.

That forced the entry pass to Jesse Wagstaff to be closer to half-court than the basket, and Mitch Creek stepped up and pushed Wagstaff as he caught the ball, putting Perth further on the backfoot.

Shortly after, as Todd Blanchfield tried to cut, Creek gave him a hug, preventing the off-ball movement that would open up good looks.

In the final term, Browne turned side-on out of his stance, bumping Mitch Norton to the ground as he tried to advance the ball, instantly throwing Perth out of their set.

When the Wildcats had perfectly executed a pick-and-roll for an open bucket, Trey Kell wrapped his arms around TaShawn Thomas, preventing him from opening up and receiving the dump off for a dunk.

Teams that defend by the rulebook rarely prosper in the physical NBL, while those prepared to push the letter as far as possible usually do.

The reality for South East Melbourne is they have given up 106.5ppg in their past two outings and 97.8ppg in their past five.

“Giving up that many points is definitely concerning and certainly disappointing, but also very curable. It's going to take a commitment from everyone to get on the same page from a defensive standpoint,” coach Simon Mitchell said.

“Our energy needs to come from the defensive end which involves getting stops, and that feeds the offence.”

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Court vision ?<br><br>Watch: ESPN2 via Kayo Sports or Foxtel <a href="https://t.co/4iJNfluuD5">pic.twitter.com/4iJNfluuD5</a></p>&mdash; Melbourne United (@MelbUnited) <a href="https://twitter.com/MelbUnited/status/1589127095640543232?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 6, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

The defensive lowlight was undoubtedly the Round 6 Throwdown, where Melbourne ran up a ridiculous 110 points.

The Phoenix defence was so bad they allowed United’s chief inside threat, Isaac Humphries, to score 20 points on 7/10 at the hoop, while their number one marksman Chris Goulding had 30 on 7/12 from outside.

For good measure, the rest of the Melbourne roster shot 54 per cent, leaving Mitchell seething.

“That was trash, absolute trash,” he said.

“The effort I thought was really poor, really poor, and I can’t put a finger on why.

“I didn’t recognise a scout being executed, guys got down on themselves early, ball pick-ups weren’t there, our tags on the offensive boards weren’t there.

“We were letting guys get free, we got beat in transition (and they) executed on all their plays they shouldn’t be executing on us.”

Alan Williams provided plenty in his first Throwdown, but he was left downcast afterwards by the fact his team was simply out-hustled.

“Especially in a Throwdown, the build-up for this game is massive, I just felt like we just didn’t live up to the expectations that we set for ourselves,” he said.

“I’ll just say flat out, we just didn’t perform the way that we should perform, regardless of who’s out, we have a next man up mentality, and I think as a total group today, we just didn’t put forth enough effort to earn a win in this game.”

That challenge will only get bigger in Saturday’s rematch, with energizer bunny Mason Peatling back in uniform and showing he hasn’t missed a beat when it comes to energy plays.

“It was great to have him out there, just his energy and the way he goes about things, we just love it, it's what we’re about,” assistant coach Rhys Carter said.

“He’s on the floor, he’s creating extra opportunities for us through offensive rebounds, through deflections, through helping people defensively.”

Now he has a new partner-in-crime, with import Marcus Lee arriving with a similar reputation.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">.<a href="https://twitter.com/MelbUnited?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@MelbUnited</a>&#39;s new big man Marcus Lee is a posterizing presence in the paint ?<br><br>Interior defenders ?????? ? <a href="https://t.co/yIXe7GfYVV">pic.twitter.com/yIXe7GfYVV</a></p>&mdash; The NBL (@NBL) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBL/status/1593121761364627458?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 17, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

“He’s a guy that is always willing to go the extra mile for his teammates,” college teammate Isaac Humphries said.

“Whether that’s protecting the rim, attacking the glass, setting great screens or finishing around the hoop.”

Coach Dean Vickerman is excited to finally have an import who can replace the athleticism, speed, shot-blocking and rebounding of injured Next Star Ariel Hukporti.

“There’s certainly no question about the energy he’s going to bring to our program,” Vickerman said.

“Once Ariel went down, our need as a team was really to find a replacement for his role, and we believe that in Marcus Lee we’re getting that.

“He’s a guy that is in his prime, a 6’10 rim protector who has great defensive mobility and the ability to sprint the floor, which are some of the things that Ariel would have given us.”

Perhaps more excited is Chris Goulding, who now has Peatling and Lee setting bone-jarring screens to free him up.

Goulding had a 10-point, three-turnover, -18 stinker on Thursday night against Adelaide, but he saves his best for the Throwdown, as he showed in his Round 6 demolition job.

“When CG is in that mindset, he was not only putting the ball in the hole, he was threatening with creating with his passing ability,” Vickerman said.

“It opened up a lot of things for other people.”