SF Game 3 Preview: Melbourne United vs SE Melbourne Phoenix

Tuesday, June 15, 2021

The first Throwdown playoff series has lived up to all expectations so far, but will it be Mitch Creek and the Phoenix strolling into a maiden grand final, or Jock Landale and Melbourne setting up a dream meeting with the defending champs?

When: 7.30pm (AEST), Tuesday 15 June

Where: Qudos Bank Arena, Sydney

Broadcast: SBS Viceland; ESPN; Sky Sports NZ; SBS On Demand; Twitch

The last time
SE Melbourne 90 (Creek 26, Sykes 26, Wetzell 20) d Melbourne 79 (Hopson 19, Goulding 14, Lual-Acuil 11, Peatling 11), Semi-Final Game 2, Qudos Bank Arena

Mitch Creek gave his best LeBron James impersonation in Game 2. His 26 points at 61 per cent inside tell part of the story, while his 7 fouls drawn and 9-straight final-quarter points perfectly illustrate a star determined to carry his team to victory, making big plays whenever United threatened. This was a team victory, however, SE Melbourne fixing their turnovers and ball-screen defence, locking Melbourne down to just 40 per cent shooting, after allowing 48 per cent in the opening six Throwdowns of NBL21. Then there was Keifer Sykes, and United know when he’s fired, the Phoenix have had their measure.

The now
Few would be surprised the Phoenix bounced back and beat United, they'd already done it twice this season, but the level of the fourth-quarter defensive shutdown they produced came from left field. As is usually the case for SE Melbourne, their D was generated by their O, specifically ball security and the rim raids that United had no answer for, and their constant inside makes and free-throw attempts allowed them to established their defence.

For Melbourne, the loss revives demons from last season’s semi-finals where they punished the Kings in Game 2 but couldn’t handle their bounce-back performance. Sydney shot 55 per cent on twos in that decider, the exact figure United leaked to the Phoenix on Sunday. The Kings took 25 free throws on that night, while SE Melbourne managed 38 in Game 2. Dean Vickerman’s men need to remedy their interior defence or face elimination.

The stats

- In their nine losses, Melbourne are 2-7 and -70 on points in the paint. In three defeats to the Phoenix they are 0-3 and -42 on points inside the keyway

- United’s five key reserves scored 45 points in Game 2, but had an average plus-minus of -13.8. In Game 1, they racked up 46 points and were +16 on average

- SE Melbourne held United to just 9 points in the final quarter on Sunday, and 11 points in the fourth period of Game 1. The Phoenix are 6-1 and +46 in the final 10 minutes of games against Melbourne this season

- The Phoenix had 9 more field-goal attempts and 24 more free throws from Game 1 to Game 2, on the back of grabbing 11 more o-boards and committing 9 fewer turnovers

The key men

Izayah Le’afa – While his 6 points on 2-of-8 shooting, 5 assists and 4 turnovers across the opening two games don’t make great reading, the Phoenix are +28 in Le’afa’s 34 minutes and -35 in the other 46. Across all Throwdown meetings this year they are +33 with Le’afa and -61 without. How could that be? Defence. In Game 1 the SE Melbourne guards failed to stay connected on screens, gifting easy points for Hopson and Jock Landale. Le’afa’s energy, athleticism and toughness helped fix that, and he will be a key again on Tuesday.

Scotty Hopson – The numbers looked good again for Hop – 19 points on 6-of-11 – and SE Melbourne still had no answer for the Hopson-Acuil ball-screen, but United’s import was a game-worst -22. Why? When he was on the floor the Phoenix scored 67 points at 46 per cent. The rest of the night they managed just 23 at 27 per cent. When SE Melbourne aren’t just coughing the ball up ala the series opener, Melbourne needs Hop and their bench crew locked in for the defensive long haul so they can generate offence in the open floor.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="in" dir="ltr">SC?TTY<br>H?PS?N<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NBLFinals?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NBLFinals</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NBL21?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NBL21</a> <a href="https://t.co/DTGsJW7paX">pic.twitter.com/DTGsJW7paX</a></p>— The NBL (@NBL) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBL/status/1403948403659137024?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 13, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

The quotes

There are plenty of Xs and Os associated with defence, but often it’s that something else that makes the difference.

“I loved the endeavour of the guys tonight, it was poles apart from where we were last game,” Phoenix coach Simon Mitchell said after Game 2.

“We shot the ball pretty poorly for most of the game, we had some wide-open looks on some three-balls we just could make. We shot 16 per cent from three and I thought we had some good looks.

“We did it with the defensive intensity, we did it on the boards, we chased down loose balls and we fought and scrapped. That will keep you in the game, and if you shoot well you can be quite dominant too.

“We saw that from Melbourne in the first game, we just left off the shooting part in this one.”

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">PHOENIX ? FOR THE FIGHT ?<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NBLFinals?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NBLFinals</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NBL21?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NBL21</a> <a href="https://t.co/djDG0w8pGN">pic.twitter.com/djDG0w8pGN</a></p>— The NBL (@NBL) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBL/status/1403965897354530817?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 13, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Few typified that more than rookie centre Yanni Wetzell, who at times resembled a bull in a china shop with his relentless physicality and effort with and without the ball. Defensively he was tireless, carrying a huge load showing on picks and recovering to protect the paint.

“He got slapped silly in the last one by Jock. Jock had his way with him,” Mitchell said.

“I've gotten to know this kid over the last eight or nine months and you could see in his face it took its toll on him personally.

“We had a little chat yesterday and a couple of the other coaches had a chat to him and he just had that hardened look like he was a man ready to go …

“For a rookie professional to come out and put that sort of performance on a world-class player is a pretty special moment.”

Of course, the defence was a big part of the job, but the Phoenix still had to convert that into a winning score.

Enter Mitch Creek. With the game bogging down in the final term he scored nine straight points to build a bridge Melbourne were unable to cross.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">CR3?3?KY!<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NBLFinals?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NBLFinals</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NBL21?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NBL21</a> <a href="https://t.co/hctxpQIrc8">pic.twitter.com/hctxpQIrc8</a></p>— The NBL (@NBL) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBL/status/1403971544406102020?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 13, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

“He was phenomenal tonight,” Mitchell said.

“I didn’t like his game last game. Obviously he got the early fouls that inhibited him a little bit, but then I thought there was a little bit of … self-preservation where he was just a little cautious, didn’t want to pick up fouls, didn’t play defence at the level he can.

“Tonight I thought it was the classic Mitch Creek, he threw caution to the wind and attacked the rim with fervour, and that’s Creeky at his best.

“That’s the Creeky we have to implore to come out.”

Melbourne boss Dean Vickerman knew exactly what would emerge from the Phoenix tunnel on Sunday.

“We knew what was coming today, I’d been following NBL and NBA games, and you just know once you lose a game in the playoffs the mentality you come back with, and we tried to sell it, we tried to make sure we had an edge today,” he said.

“In the first half we saw just a little drop-off in that absolute desire to win some loose balls, to do the hard things that got us some of the lead the other night so it’s a great jolt.

“But we’re in a position where it’s lose and go home right now so we don’t want that, we want a chance at trying to win this championship, so it’s going to be a battle.”

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Mason hittin' the floor for the easy Jock score ?<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NBLFinals?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NBLFinals</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NBL21?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NBL21</a> <a href="https://t.co/dRxxohjPgQ">pic.twitter.com/dRxxohjPgQ</a></p>— The NBL (@NBL) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBL/status/1403964146190741506?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 13, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

The battle was real at the offensive end late in Game 2 with Landale hampered by fouls, Creek’s individual burst part of an 18-3 run over the final six minutes of the game, and Melbourne scoring just 18 points in the closing 15 minutes.

“When we went to the second half and had less of Jock, we used Scotty a little bit more. He had some good effect, I just thought he also had some possessions where he wasn’t quite as aggressive as he was the other night, and in a game like this aggression was the key to keeping the scoreboard ticking over,” Vickerman said.

“In the fourth quarter there were some shots that I liked, and there were certainly some possessions where it came down to the last five seconds and we were ‘isoed’ with poor spacing and I didn’t like it, so there were some correctables from that fourth quarter.”

Unquestionably, United need more playmaking from Mitch McCarron and Chris Goulding when the SE Melbourne defence ups the intensity, as their offence barely resembled their usual sets in Sunday’s second half.

In reality, the Phoenix attacked Melbourne’s interior defence and found it wanting, and that allowed them to set their own D and produce arguably their best lockdown performance of the season.

The Phoenix are 15-2 when keeping opponents below 85 points. In those wins they have shot the two-ball at 55 per cent, the question for United is can they find a way to stop Keifer Sykes on the high ball-screen, protect the paint and then cash in at the other end?

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">WHO ORDERED A SERVING OF ????!?<a href="https://twitter.com/YWetzell?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@YWetzell</a> serves up a triple helping!<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NBLFinals?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NBLFinals</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NBL21?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NBL21</a> <a href="https://t.co/0rsiw1CGfK">pic.twitter.com/0rsiw1CGfK</a></p>— The NBL (@NBL) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBL/status/1403953647080271878?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 13, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Coach Vickerman played the ref card hard in Sunday’s post-game press conference, fully aware his teams’ defensive success has for many years been predicated on pushing the line physically.

When the game is called tightly, it often leads to a procession to the foul line for opponents.

The question for SE Melbourne is can they produced the same fire in the decider? It was that desire that limited supply to Landale at one end, and forced him into foul trouble at the other.

“There was a lot of hurt in the locker room after Game 1, and if that wasn’t going to motivate us nothing will. Now it’s our job as a staff and our job as a playing group to maintain that attitude,” Mitchell said.

“They're a tremendous basketball team, they have a lot of talent, a lot of gifted athletes and they’ll come back twice as hard, and we've got to be able to sustain the energy we had tonight.”

For Melbourne’s Mason Peatling, he’s just looking forward to taking up Mitch Creek’s colourful invitation to meet again in Game 3.

“To be honest I'm not really too concerned with anything he’s saying to me mate. I'm just concerned about what coach Vickerman is telling me to do and ways I can help our team win,” Peatling said.

“They got the better of us today, respect to them and they had a great performance, but we’ll see them in Game 3 as well. We’ll be fired up and ready to respond as a group.”