Preview: Adelaide vs South East Melbourne (Round 4)

Wednesday, October 18, 2023

Adelaide finally opened its NBL24 account last week, but can they back it up against a confidence-filled South East Melbourne?

Thursday, October 19 7:30pm AEDT | Adelaide Entertainment Centre

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

Adelaide has dominated the NBL media cycle this week, first with Trentyn Flowers’ fourth quarter explosion in the win against Illawarra, and then with the signing of former Sydney King DJ Vasiljevic for the remainder of the season.

Whether Vasiljevic will suit up for Adelaide is yet to be confirmed, with ESPN Insider Olgun Uluc reporting the Washington Wizards still need to give clearance.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">SIGNED ?<br><br>Sharpshooting guard DJ Vasiljevic will return to the NBL with the <a href="https://twitter.com/Adelaide36ers?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Adelaide36ers</a> on a one-year deal ??<br><br>Read more: <a href="https://t.co/TKySK2cvY8">https://t.co/TKySK2cvY8</a> <a href="https://t.co/AjT5QGTQgo">pic.twitter.com/AjT5QGTQgo</a></p>— NBL (@NBL) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBL/status/1714198752448418035?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 17, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

South East Melbourne has continued to gain reinforcements, with Alan Williams set to return from injury this weekend, following Gorjok Gak’s return just last week.

Derek Rucker has named the Phoenix as a team to watch over the next few weeks thanks to the depth of their fit-again roster, however Ben Ayre will miss this game with an ankle injury.

Adelaide
89-80 win over Illawarra
100-109 loss to Sydney
82-75 loss to Perth

Trentyn Flowers
The signing of DJ Vasiljevic has taken some of the shine off the Trentyn Flowers this week, but as the NBL and 36ers media landscape shifts onwards from Adelaide’s opening win of the season last weekend – Flowers’ fourth quarter performance will live long in the memory.

The Next Star has fans and legends of the game alike calling for him to be injected into the starting lineup this week off the back of the incredible shooting showcase, that led his side to victory over a stunned Illawarra.

Head coach CJ Bruton has a long-term plan though, and while the consistent strength of Trey Kell in Flowers’ position means the 18-year-old will have to continue his battle for minutes, his confidence will be at its highest since signing for Adelaide in the pre-season.

Bruton remarked post-game he’s willing to play those guys who are playing well. In that case, how could he not give this kid another good run this weekend?

“I was lucky enough to be on that call and, man, didn’t Trentyn Flowers just turn it out? His exuberance – I saw him in the warmups and this dude was treating the layup line like a proper game. It was so good to see this young dude go right off.” – Damon Lowery on NBL Now.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Trentyn Flowers went ??? ?<br><br>The 18-year-old Next Star’s fourth quarter explosion led the <a href="https://twitter.com/Adelaide36ers?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@adelaide36ers</a> to thier first W of NBL24 ?<br><br>Brought to you by <a href="https://twitter.com/HungryJacksAU?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@hungryjacksau</a> ? <a href="https://t.co/i8uVyvIOzf">pic.twitter.com/i8uVyvIOzf</a></p>— NBL (@NBL) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBL/status/1713367345115385912?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 15, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Gary Browne
It’s probably unfair to single an individual player as one to watch for South East Melbourne this weekend, especially after Derek Rucker’s comments surrounding the state of the fit-again roster as one to watch for upcoming weeks.

However Gary Browne has taken his game to a new level so far in NBL23, and with Alan Williams back in the side this week, the Puerto Rican guard will have another offensive weapon to feed the ball against Adelaide.

While South East Melbourne’s win over Adelaide was just about the definition of a team effort, Browne stood out not only with his scoring and lockdown defence, but because of the calmness and clarity he displayed for the whole game – it’s rare to see a point guard finish any game with zero turnovers, let alone a one-point win.

They may have endured a bumpy start to the new season, but Browne and the Phoenix look primed to take a huge leap forward in the coming weeks.

“Gary Browne’s been playing really good basketball, Will Cummings has been solid, now they’re playing eight, nine deep. Confidence is crazy and I think it’s a real chance for South East Melbourne to put pressure on teams like Cairns and New Zealand – that next tier of teams trying to compete with the big boys.” – Derek Rucker on NBL Now.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Gary Browne with a MONSTER triple with 30 seconds left. Can the Phoenix hold on? <a href="https://t.co/nL8rpxIIpR">pic.twitter.com/nL8rpxIIpR</a></p>— NBL (@NBL) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBL/status/1713145706129559566?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 14, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Isaac Humphries vs Alan Williams
Tyler Cook may have been one of the short-term injury replacements in recent memory, but South East Melbourne will be happy to have Alan Williams back controlling the post and the boards with his exceptional standard of inside dominance.

His first assignment will pull no punches though. Isaac Humphries has been key to the defensive solidity Adelaide has displayed in the season so far, and he’s often been a bright spark on offence on the consistent occasions his side has struggled to score the ball.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Alan Williams joined the show with some exciting news to share…?<br><br>Catch <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NBLOvertime?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NBLOvertime</a> on ESPN via Kayo or the NBL channels ? <a href="https://t.co/lxFjgSmKOm">pic.twitter.com/lxFjgSmKOm</a></p>— NBL (@NBL) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBL/status/1714205945029705812?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 17, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

While Humphries is a more effective offensive presence outside the key than Williams, the pair are two of the strongest and toughest centres in the competition and should provide an interesting inside battle.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Isaac Humphries has been in his bag to pull the 36ers back into this one ?<br><br>Catch the action live on ESPN via Kayo ? <a href="https://t.co/8zqpoTIj5e">pic.twitter.com/8zqpoTIj5e</a></p>— NBL (@NBL) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBL/status/1710263056234643506?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 6, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Trey Kell III is coming off back-to-back 25+ point games heading into this game. Nathan Sobey is the only other player in the NBL to have achieved that feat so far in NBL24.

Kell has found himself in miraculous form after struggling to hit his shots in Adelaide’s first few games of the season. Can he continue his strong run against his former side?

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Trey Kell joined the Adelaide 36ers after 24 games with South East Melbourne last season.