R10 Preview: SE Melbourne Phoenix vs Perth Wildcats

Saturday, February 5, 2022

Mitch Creek and Vic Law are set to square off as NBL22 frontrunners SE Melbourne and Perth meet for the first time at the Fire Pit.

When: 8pm (AEDT), Saturday 5 February 2022

Where: John Cain Arena, Melbourne

Broadcast: ESPN; Kayo; Sky Sports NZ

Who won the last time?
Perth 93 (Cotton 28, Blanchfield 19, Mooney 16) d South East Melbourne 92 (Adnam 28, Creek 19, Gliddon 12) – Round 8 2021, State Basketball Centre, Melbourne

It’s been 11 months since these teams last met in their fifth clash in five weeks, the Wildcats prevailing by a point in the NBL Cup clash to claim a 3-2 season series win. Perth had led by 20 in the third term as Bryce refused to play nice, but Kyle Adnam and Mitch Creek combined for 25 points and six assists in the second half as South East Melbourne almost pinched a thriller.

What happened last start?

After being seriously challenged in the lead-up to three-quarter-time, the Phoenix made a statement about their newfound defensive toughness by holding Brisbane to just six points in the final stanza. Offensively, they battered the soft-as-butter Bullets inside as Adnam and Creek led the way, and dominated possession points throughout to claim a quality road win.

Perth dropped to 3-2 on the road last Sunday as they were outclassed by a classy Kings performance. The Wildcats’ transition and ball-screen defence left a lot to be desired, especially when Jaylen Adams was involved, while their rebounding continues to be a concern. The question is if neither Cotton nor Vic Law gets hot, can the 'Cats win ball games?

Who’s in form?

Mitch Creek – South East Melbourne’s hard man has played 75 minutes across the past two games for 48 points at 67 per cent, 4/7 from deep, 13 rebounds, 10 steals and five assists. He almost can’t play any better, but can coach Simon Mitchell ride his star that many minutes on Saturday and expect him to both defend Law and lead the Phoenix attack on the rim?

Vic Law – While Law had a slightly off night in Sydney – shooting 4/11 inside the arc, his past three games have delivered 22 points and 8 rebounds per game, shooting 47 per cent from distance. Can Perth’s subtle screening action get him mismatches away from Creek? And can Law keep his counterpart out of the paint? This is one of the match-ups of the season.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Non preferred floater?Ok??<br><br>? Tune in on <a href="https://twitter.com/ESPNAusNZ?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ESPNAusNZ</a> via <a href="https://twitter.com/kayosports?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@kayosports</a> or <a href="https://twitter.com/Foxtel?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Foxtel</a> <a href="https://t.co/PQscJIl7lJ">pic.twitter.com/PQscJIl7lJ</a></p>— South East Melbourne Phoenix (@SEMelbPhoenix) <a href="https://twitter.com/SEMelbPhoenix/status/1487370274903265283?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 29, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Who needs to be?

Ryan Broekhoff & Cam Gliddon – Only the hard-nosed JackJumpers defend the three-point line better than Perth, who allow just 7.9 triples at 28 per cent. However, in their three losses that skyrockets to 12 triples at 40 per cent, and for the Phoenix to exploit that they can’t afford their two sharpshooters to go 1/12 from outside like last round in Brisbane.

Majok Majok – Enough has been said about Matt Hodgson’s uncharacteristic brain fade in Sydney, but the result of his suspension is Majok battling the 216cm Zhou Qi without help from his towering mate. In his last start, Qi dominated the undersized JackJumpers with 18 points at 63 per cent, and the Wildcats will need to restrict supply and be quick to double.

Who’s statting up?

- In their three-game winning streak, South East Melbourne are +46 on points in the paint and +55 on possessions points (second chance points + points from turnovers)

- In their past four wins, the Phoenix defence has allowed just 13.5 points in fourth quarters at 25 per cent

- Perth have lost their past five first quarters, outscored by 50 points in those 50 minutes

- In losses, Bryce Cotton is shooting the ball at 30 per cent from the field and 23 per cent outside. In wins, those numbers skyrocket to 45 per cent overall and 42 per cent from the arc

Who’s matching up?

Xavier Munford v Bryce Cotton – While the Creek-Law battle is the main event here, Munford v Cotton could be just as important to the outcome. When Cotton is hot, Perth have been winning, but when his efficiency has dropped the Ls have usually followed.

Izayah Le’afa and Munford will take shifts on the MVP and try to run Cotton off the arc, while the help D can’t give up assists to shooters. At the other end, Munford needs to be in attack mode, where his length can even trouble the world-class defence of Mitch Norton.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">? X making his way through!<br><br>? Tune in on <a href="https://twitter.com/ESPNAusNZ?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ESPNAusNZ</a> via <a href="https://twitter.com/kayosports?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@kayosports</a> or <a href="https://twitter.com/Foxtel?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Foxtel</a> <a href="https://t.co/ctGTNQuodx">pic.twitter.com/ctGTNQuodx</a></p>— South East Melbourne Phoenix (@SEMelbPhoenix) <a href="https://twitter.com/SEMelbPhoenix/status/1487377634094829573?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 29, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Who’s talking the talk?

Wildcats coach Scott Morrison made a strong statement about Matt Hodgson’s disappointing display in Sydney, where twice he swiped DJ Vasiljevic in the head.

“Toughness isn’t just going out there and swinging your elbows and pushing people,” ScoMo said.

“Toughness is locking into the game plan, executing it, making adjustments, putting your body ono the line in a legal way to get stops and get your teammates shots.

“Maybe we need to make sure everyone knows the definition of toughness as it relates to basketball.”

On reflection, his message was a good one for the entire Wildcats team, for while they have worked their way to a 7-3 record, when it comes to championship-winning areas like defence and rebounding, Perth have been a shadow of their former selves.

“It’s the same things every time, it’s pretty much always transition defence and rebounding,” Morrison said.

“We’re going to learn one way or the other, we’re either going to learn before it’s too late or we’re going to learn the hard way.”

Most frustrating for their new boss is the early-game open-court lethargy that will be costly if replicated against Mitch Creek and Co.

“Run back on defence, protect the basket, find shooters, pick up the ball and try to slow it down, get our defence set so we can execute our system,” he said after the loss to the Kings.

“Tonight I thought we didn’t do a great job executing our half-court defence even when we did get back, I thought we were really good against Illawarra in that regard and had a dip today which is not a good sign, we've got to correct that.”

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">OH MY FREAKIN' GOODNESS <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WeTheKings?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#WeTheKings</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NBL22?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NBL22</a> <br><br>? <a href="https://twitter.com/10PeachAu?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@10PeachAu</a> & <a href="https://twitter.com/kayosports?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@kayosports</a> Freebies <a href="https://t.co/rNFp2MRmGI">pic.twitter.com/rNFp2MRmGI</a></p>— Sydney Kings (@SydneyKings) <a href="https://twitter.com/SydneyKings/status/1487670845736509440?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 30, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Perth’s decline in those two areas makes a fascinating contrast with SE Melbourne, who have gone from the competition’s offensive frontrunners to a hard-nosed, all-around unit who thrashed Brisbane last week despite shooting 6/27 from outside.

“We can be a great shooting team and win, which is wonderful, but we can’t be a team that defends (only) because we’re shooting well, we need to be a team that can defend when we aren't making shots,” coach Simon Mitchell said.

“That’s the next step in our growth as a franchise. I thought tonight despite the fact we didn’t shoot particularly well from the perimeter, we went inside, we were pretty efficient inside the arc, we defended loose balls and Brisbane coming down with pace really, really well.

“That’s what we want to pride ourselves on, that’s what we want to be known as, and the sweet shooting that comes with this group will just be the icing on this cake.”

Against Brisbane, Mitchell went with a long, athletic line-up allowing them the versatility to limit Bullets stars Nathan Sobey and Robert Franks.

“We played with a bigger team than we had previously, obviously missing Zhou Qi but we haven't started a line-up with Munford, Te Rangi and Creek and Rowdy (Broekhoff), which gives us an ability to switch out and take away,” Mitchell said.

Perth thrive on switches causing mismatches, and the absence of Reuben Te Rangi on Saturday night will hurt the Phoenix defensively.

Kyle Adnam will also miss, taking away much-need half-court playmaking but also removing one of Perth’s key targets as they seek mismatches for Cotton and Law.

The Phoenix still have Creek, Broekhoff, Munford and Brandon Ashley who can defend multiple positions, and they finally have their home fans back at the Fire Pit.

“We've had so little contact with our home fans over the last 18 months and it was good to see the people of Traralgon come out to our game and provide a wonderful experience for our players with the enthusiasm they came with,” Mitchell said.

“I know there were some Melbournites who came up the highway for that game as well. It’s a reminder of just how lucky we are to have wonderful fans and we can’t wait to get back in front of them.

“We've got some formidable teams coming through … we've got Perth and Illawarra over the next four games, top four teams that will be looking to get some scalps on the road.

“Really welcome the challenges those two teams will bring (and) really welcome being at home for a little while."