Mitchell Backs Phoenix Bench

South East Melbourne Phoenix coach Simon Mitchell is disappointed his bench players aren’t receiving as much credit as the starting five.

The Phoenix average just 17.5 bench points per game, which ranks last in the league. In comparison, South East Melbourne’s starters score 71.9 points per game, best in the NBL and six points ahead of the second ranked side.

Mitchell defended his bench after Thursday’s loss to Melbourne United, saying the bench players are put on the court to make an impact outside of scoring.

“We are not suffering when our bench players come in,” Mitchell said.

“If the scoreboards ticking over, even though you’ve got a great starting five, you’ve got great scoring from all positions.

“Sometimes when bench guys come in we’ve got to really key in on the focus and that’s the time that we’ll go for Rowdy (Ryan Broekhoff), that’s the time we’ll go get Trey Kell involved.

“So, this fixation about the points that our bench gets, I think it’s something that maybe is overstated a little bit.”

Zhou Qi, Junior Madut and Reuben Te Rangi are amongst the names that have helped make a difference off the Phoenix’s bench during the season.

“One game we had Junior Madut score +35 with one bucket and Reuben Te Rangi the same night, had no points and was +38,” Mitchell said.

“Yes they weren’t getting the buckets but we were scoring with them on the floor and stopping the opposition and we were getting some really good productivity out of them.

“Are they being productive, are they getting the defensive job done, are they scrapping on the loose balls, are they boxing out, are they doing the other things that we’re asking of them, yes.”

As a result of Thursday night’s loss, South East Melbourne are seated fourth on the ladder with a 10-7 record. The Phoenix will play the Sydney Kings on Sunday at 2:00pm AEDT.