King’s warning: Make Cotton work or pay the price

The stage is set for South East Melbourne, with the Phoenix aiming to level the Playoff Series against Adelaide on Saturday night.

After losing Game 1 by seven points on Tuesday, Josh King’s side have been champing at the bit to get back on the hardwood.

“We wanted to play on Thursday, so [we’ve had plenty of time] to make the adjustments we need to make,” King said during the club’s media availability on Friday.

“We need to tighten up a couple things, and we have. [All that’s left to do is] jump the ball up here [Saturday] night in front of our fans and see what happens.”

King knows those fans will be pivotal to his team’s chances of forcing a Game 3 in Adelaide on Tuesday.

“Melbourne is the sports capital of the world, there's always something going on, especially sports-wise,” he said.

“I'm a little biased, but I think our show is the best show in town, and I know our fans will be here Saturday night.”

A big part of that show are Phoenix’s All-NBL First Team members Nathan Sobey and John Brown III.

“Sobes is our guy, but if we want to win the game, we need a lot more than just him to play well, we need multiple guys,” King said.

“We need to come out of the game with several MVPs, and when we have those results, most of the time we win the game.

“[One of those guys is John Brown III], who I would say is maybe our most important [players].

“With what he does, the numbers don't always show up in that little piece of paper at the end of the game or at the end of quarters.

“He brings everything, all the energy, all the defensive mindset that we need in order to get big wins.”

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That defence that Brown, who was recently crowned the competition’s Damian Martin Trophy winner, will be critical if the Heartland club wants to limit six-time MVP Bryce Cotton.

The superstar guard exploded for a club record 42 points in Tuesday’s victory.

“We can't allow him to get as easy of looks as he had the other night,” King said.

“He hit some tough shots and Bryce is always going to score points, because he's so used so much in their offence.

“You're not going to stop him from scoring, we don't mind him scoring, but we have to make him work more on both sides of the floor. I don't think that's any secret.

“Again, he's a really good player. He's going to score baskets. He's going to get points. But we need to make him work more to get those opportunities.”

Saturday’s Game 2 tips off at 5.30pm AEDT, live on ESPN.