Preview: South East Melbourne vs Adelaide - Round 16, NBL24

Tuesday, January 16, 2024

The Phoenix are in the midst of a poor run of form, but will a return to the Heartland to face the 36ers help their fortunes?

Wednesday, January 17 at 7:30pm AEDT | State Basketball Centre

Watch: Live on ESPN via Kayo | International viewership details
Box scores: Download the free NBL App

South East Melbourne has lost its past three games by an average of almost 24 points, but has won its past two games at the State Basketball Centre.

News Corp’s Mick Randall has reported Abdel Nader and Gary Browne were both “moving freely” during a training session on Tuesday, however Alan Williams did not participate. Nader suited up but did not play in the Phoenix’s loss to Perth.

Browne has been listed as a game day decision and Williams will miss this game with continued knee complaints.

Derek Rucker has labelled the Phoenix’s Round 16 clashes as crucial for South East Melbourne’s finals hopes.

Adelaide split its Round 15 fixtures with a win over the Kings and a loss to the Taipans. Interim head coach Scott Ninnis called the manner of the defeat “disappointing”, after the 36ers led by as many as 16 points in the third quarter.

Next Star Trentyn Flowers missed both of Adelaide’s Round 15 fixtures, but Ninnis said he hoped the American would be fit for this week’s game.

This clash marks the beginning of the NBL's second annual Champion Pride Round.

South East Melbourne
79-100 loss to Perth
78-116 loss to Illawarra
83-95 loss to Brisbane

Adelaide
101-111 loss to Cairns
95-82 win over Sydney
100-96 win over Melbourne

Owen Foxwell
Owen Foxwell has become synonymous with South East Melbourne, and after three seasons and 38 career appearances, he was finally rewarded with his first career start when the Phoenix took on the Wildcats last week.

Foxwell’s introduction into the starting lineup was an obvious play at slowing down Bryce Cotton. The 20-year-old has established himself as one of the highest upside on-ball defenders in the NBL, and with the likes of Abdel Nader restricted to the bench and Gary Browne absent through injury, Foxwell was thrown into the fire.

He ended the game with over 22 minutes played and eight points, just two weeks after he scored a season-high ten points.

To say the going it tough for the Phoenix at the current time is one of the understatements of the season, but the continued desire to put young players in positions to succeed is admirable.

The question remains, after an overall solid performance against Perth, but Nader and Browne reportedly on the comeback trail – what does Foxwell’s role look like for the remainder of the regular season?

“I thought Foxy played really well and stepped up to the occasion. He would have learned some positive and negative things on how to guard Bryce, but Foxy just goes, plays hard and throws himself around. I love the way he played.” – Mike Kelly following the loss to Perth.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Put him in the spin cycle! ?<br><br>Owen Foxwell hits Justin Robinson with the tough hesi and spin as the SEM Phoenix are trying to claw their way back into this game!<br><br>Catch the second half live on ESPN! ? <a href="https://t.co/yMa9m08vxd">pic.twitter.com/yMa9m08vxd</a></p>— ESPN Australia & NZ (@ESPNAusNZ) <a href="https://twitter.com/ESPNAusNZ/status/1743202857610813486?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 5, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Isaac Humphries
How good has the resurgence of Isaac Humphries under Scott Ninnis been? The former Atlanta Hawk has been made a focal point in Adelaide’s offence under the interim coach, and has thrown himself into not only All-NBL calculations, but potentially the Boomers Olympic equation.

The use of Trey Kell and DJ Vasiljevic as primary ball-handlers in the starting unit initially looked like it could freeze Humphries even further out of the offensive equation, but the exact opposite has happened, and to great effect for the 36ers’ now multi-dimensional offence.

Humphries starred again with a pair of big double-doubles in Round 15. First he had 18 points and 12 rebounds in the win over Sydney, before he registered 28 points and 11 boards in the overtime loss to Cairns to earn himself a Chemist Warehouse Fans MVP nomination.

It’s been a while since the NBL has had a crop of local bigs as dominant around the competition as the current group, and Humphries is well and truly leading that charge.

“He’s the best big guy in the competition, and I don’t think that’s biased on my behalf. What he’s been able to do for us this year has been outstanding, and he continues to do it. To me, right now, he should be part of the next Australian team and the All-Star five in the NBL.” – Scott Ninnis following the loss to Cairns.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">That two man game ?<br><br>Isaac Humphries and Dejan Vasiljevic connect on back to back plays and the 36ers have blown this game open! <br><br>Watch the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NBL?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NBL</a> live on ESPN! ? <a href="https://t.co/Yj1kIB9zNl">pic.twitter.com/Yj1kIB9zNl</a></p>— ESPN Australia & NZ (@ESPNAusNZ) <a href="https://twitter.com/ESPNAusNZ/status/1746079418106482851?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 13, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Mitch Creek vs Kyrin Galloway
The exclusion of Jacob Wiley due to a heel injury will open the door for Kyrin Galloway to continue his NBL24 rise - this time against one of the top power forwards in the modern NBL era, Mitch Creek.

For a lot of people, Mitch Creek is the South East Melbourne Phoenix. When they’re undermanned they live and die by his performances, and when they’re fully fit and playing well he’s a near-constant in MVP discussions.

He starred with 37 points in the Phoenix's defeat to Perth, and with Alan Williams a confirmed injury omission and Gary Browne a game time fitness test, the onus will once again be on Creek to pull his team forward.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Creek Freak! ? <br><br>A game-high 3??6?? points for the captain Mitch Creek as he becomes our GOAT Player of the Game for third week in a row! <a href="https://t.co/yKzS1AvEIc">pic.twitter.com/yKzS1AvEIc</a></p>— South East Melbourne Phoenix (@SEMelbPhoenix) <a href="https://twitter.com/SEMelbPhoenix/status/1746306134007488614?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 13, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Galloway, on the other hand, showcased exactly what makes him such a mysterious talent in the first half of Adelaide's victory over Sydney. He was chasing down shots, throwing down dunks and looked an absolutely dominant paint force against the far more heralded Jordan Hunter, Jonah Bolden and Kouat Noi.

Galloway's brother Jaylin has been taking most of the plaudits during NBL24, but Kyrin has been quietly going about his business and pulling together a good campaign under Scott Ninnis.

His biggest issue this season has been consistency, because for every first half masterclass against the Kings, there have been just as many periods where he's been almost anonymous for Adelaide.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">KG’s first half spark ignited the team’s victory against the Kings last night??<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WeAreSixers?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#WeAreSixers</a> <a href="https://t.co/B6QPppLEIG">pic.twitter.com/B6QPppLEIG</a></p>— Adelaide 36ers (@Adelaide36ers) <a href="https://twitter.com/Adelaide36ers/status/1745635166209638644?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 12, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>