Preview: Brisbane vs South East Melbourne - Round 13, NBL24

Thursday, December 28, 2023

Can the Phoenix continue their return to form, or will the Bullets turn their own fortunes around?

Saturday, December 30 at 8pm AEDT | Nissan Arena

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

Casey Prather will make his return to the NBL against the Phoenix. The former Melbourne United and Perth Wildcats forward won three titles in four seasons across his previous NBL stint. He’s been added to the Bullets as an injury replacement for DJ Mitchell.

Mitch Creek will make his return to the Phoenix lineup following a short absence with a knee injury.

Liam Santamaria says he’s “packing up” on Brisbane Island and is looking to see more from the Bullets.

Santamaria also said he thinks the Bullets should leave Rocco Zikarsky on the floor following the Breakers’ late run against the Bullets, in which the Next Star was benched.

Peter Hooley praised the “gutsy” Christmas Day win from South East Melbourne, and said he believes nobody outside the Phoenix organisation gave the side a chance against Tasmania.

Shannon Scott suffered a reported hamstring injury in the loss to New Zealand. Justin Schueller said the Bullets would need to wait for scans to reveal the severity of any potential injury.

Brisbane
71-81 loss to New Zealand
88-95 loss to Adelaide
101-102 loss to Cairns

South East Melbourne
77-85 win over Tasmania
75-94 loss to Cairns
72-100 loss to Illawarra

Alan Williams
Alan Williams and foul trouble have gone hand in glove in NBL24. That’s partially the nature of his position, partially the nature of his bruising, powerful style of defence, and partially because of his willingness to get stuck in and impact shots.

While the intent behind his defence is admirable, he was sat in the first half against Tasmania with four fouls, and although the likes of Rhys Vague and Anzac Rissetto stepped up massively while he re-assessed his game, the Phoenix need to keep their best players on the court.

Williams didn’t pick up a further foul in the game and still played a key role in the Phoenix winning, but it's arguable his ability to stay on the floor has a direct correlation with his team's ability to put games away.

He’s discussed his attempts to both foul less and stay more level-headed during games on various platforms so far this season, and the second half against Tasmania showed he can still be an effective presence without fouling.

There’s a fine line between tough, hard, physical defence and picking up needless fouls, and hopefully Sauce is finding that perfect spot to stay on the floor.

“If you want to jump past the four fouls before that and give him credit for not getting the fifth that’s your prerogative. I need to get him out of the game quicker when he gets a second foul and then let him take a breath and go back in and then do it again when he gets his third. We’ll continue to work through it and he did a fantastic job in the second half just playing through that.” – Mike Kelly following the win over Tasmania

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Cooking with some special Sauce early. Alan Williams has six of SEM's first nine points ?<br><br>Catch the action live on ESPN via Kayo ? <a href="https://t.co/iUujlsjJQj">pic.twitter.com/iUujlsjJQj</a></p>— NBL (@NBL) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBL/status/1725434727606218854?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 17, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Casey Prather
Let’s not get it twisted, Casey Prather is an incredible player with proverbial runs on the board in the NBL, but he’s coming into an established team having hardly played a game in the past two years.

Back-to-back serious knee injuries curtailed Prather’s time in Israel, but he’s back fit and has linked up with former Melbourne United counterpart Justin Schueller at the Bullets.

The loss of DJ Mitchell in the Bullets’ lineup has left an obvious hole in Brisbane’s forward rotation, and there are minutes to be found for Prather as Schueller looks to lock in on a rotation for a side that showed so much promise early in NBL24, but is just starting to slip.

Schueller himself has confirmed Prather will suit up against the Phoenix, but has looked to temper expectations that he will immediately put in the kinds of performances that made him an All-NBL First Team nominee in 2017.

Regardless of if he starts, stars or plays a key rotation role, it’s great to have Prather back in the league – and he deserves praise for rebounding from a turmoil-filled two seasons on the court.

“It might take him a hot little minute, but I’m excited to see him back out on the floor. This is a dude that won three straight championships in his first three years in the league with two different teams. He was huge in all of those squads – even that 2018 Melbourne championship ... hopefully we see him back to his best quickly in the NBL.” – Liam Santamaria on NBL Now.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Three-time NBL champion, All-NBL First Team selection and Israeli League MVP Casey Prather is back in the NBL ?<br><br>After stints with United and the Wildcats, the import star is linking up with the <a href="https://twitter.com/BrisbaneBullets?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@BrisbaneBullets</a> for the remainder of NBL24 ?? <a href="https://t.co/PwThlLsDil">pic.twitter.com/PwThlLsDil</a></p>— NBL (@NBL) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBL/status/1738027337147674627?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 22, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Mitch Norton vs Gary Browne
The frustration and concern on Shannon Scott’s face was palpable when he limped to the sidelines with another apparent hamstring injury in Brisbane’s Round 12 loss to New Zealand, and while the club has not revealed the extent of any potential issue, it’s a safe bet to assume that the best case scenario is a slightly limited role against the Phoenix.

That will leave Mitch Norton to likely step into the fray as the side’s starting point guard, and Gary Browne will be expecting a similar denying defensive role played on him as the Bullets elected to implement against the Breakers and Parker Jackson-Cartwright.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Gary Browne had some apple sauce on that ? <br><br>Watch the NBL on Christmas Day Live on ESPN via Kayo ? <a href="https://t.co/NnAx6WVAHm">pic.twitter.com/NnAx6WVAHm</a></p>— NBL (@NBL) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBL/status/1739181114860646887?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 25, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Norton is the type of player whose role and impact have always gone beyond the stat-sheet, but the Phoenix will need to remain mindful of his distribution quality and ability to hit his shots when they’re presented to him.

Browne makes the Phoenix tick, and it’s no coincidence that his improved performance against Tasmania came alongside the ending of their run of tough losses.

The return of Mitch Creek will give Browne another weapon in which to load with shots – and Brisbane’s strategy will likely be deny, deny, deny.

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Mitch Norton.

The Bullets have lost the last 18 games in which they have trailed at half time. If they enter the main break on the wrong side of a deficit against the Phoenix, can they rally and break the run?

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Tyrell Harrison.