Preview: New Zealand v SE Melbourne (Round 9)

When: 5.30pm (AEDT), Thursday 1 December, 2022

Where: Christchurch Arena

Broadcast: ESPN; Kayo; Foxtel; Sky NZ.

Who won the last time?

SE Melbourne 99 (Adnam 17, Williams 16, Creek 15) d New Zealand 77 (Brantley 17, Pardon 16, Le’afa 10) – Round 4 at Trusts Arena, Auckland

In a season where New Zealand have been relentless to play against, they were utterly annihilated on this day. South East Melbourne jumped 13 ahead by quarter-time, moved past 20 in the second term and almost reached 30 in the third. Gary Browne was the conductor, allowing the entire Phoenix orchestra to perform an offensive masterpiece in Auckland, while Dererk Pardon and Jarell Brantley were best for the Barry Brown-less Breakers..

What happened last game?

Simon Mitchell’s men were at it again last round, racking up 112 points on the hapless Hawks as they shot 59 per cent inside, 50 per cent outside and got to the charity stripe 34 times. New Zealand had their own scoring party against a broken Bullets side, their 116-point explosion a club-best since the Valentine’s Day massacre of 2019, when Shawn Long’s 21 points led eight Breakers in double-figures as they ran up 130 on the Hawks.

What’s working?

Defence – While SE Melbourne’s offence usually gets the headlines, they’ve held opponents to just 73.5ppg the past two games at 45 per cent from two-point range, after conceding 90ppg at 53 per cent over the opening 10 outings. They’ve successfully negated some of their screen defence issues by making it harder for opponents to use those picks, Gary Browne’s on-ball pressure and Ryan Broekhoff’s off-ball defence two of the key factors.

Defence – Since the Phoenix ran up 99 on them in Round 4, NZ have not given up more than 83 points, conceding just 73.3ppg in those eight contests at a scrooge-like 39 per cent. There have been few issues with their ball-screen defence, giving up just 13.6 assists on 25.9 made baskets as their physicality, passing lane coverage and the ability of Jarell Brantley and Dererk Pardon to stop the ball-handler usually leaves opponents playing one-on-one.

What needs stopping?

Gary Browne – The threat of Alan Williams and Mitch Creek on the roll took the bite out of New Zealand’s pick-and-roll D in Round 4, giving Browne room to move and from there it was fine-diming time. Of SEM’s first 10 field goals of that game, eight were fed directly by GB and six of those went to Williams and Creek. Can NZ adjust to take Browne’s space? And can Browne get the ball to the short roller when the Breakers’ bigs get in his grill?

Fouling – SEM have put New Zealand to the charity stripe 49 times in two games – well above the 17.5 per game for other SEM opponents – accounting for almost a quarter of their score. No Breaker was fouled more than four times in either game, but in Round 3, six were infringed three or more times, and in Round 4 seven were fouled twice or more. SE Melbourne are +1 on free throws against NZ, compared to +82 in their other 10 games.

Who’s matching up?

Jarrell Brantley v Mitch Creek – Wolf has averaged 17.5ppg at 63 per cent to be +15 across the two match-ups, while Brantley has managed 15ppg at 50 per cent, but NZ were -26 with him on the floor and +12 in his pine time. Regardless, both are currently in elite form – JB notching 24.5ppg, 7.5rpg and 4.5apg in his past two, Creek 27.3ppg, 7.7rpg and 2.7apg in his past three – and the ability of Brantley to slow Browne off ball-screens, and Creek to contain Brown in the same situation, will be as much a key as their offensive output on Thursday.

Dererk Pardon v Alan Williams – Import centres can be hit-or-miss in the NBL due to the unique Australian whistle, but these two have adapted very well. Williams’ past four games have produced 21.3ppg at 56 per cent, 26/30 from the foul line, 12.3 rebounds and 3.0 o-boards. Pardon’s past four have delivered 17.3ppg at 70 per cent, 23/30 on free throws, 8.8 rebounds, 4.3 o-boards and 1.5 blocks. These man-sized centres shared the honours in their first two meetings, and their man-sized battle will have a huge say on Thursday’s winner.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">DP has been on a roll for all of November, taking home ESPN&#39;s player of the month honours ?<br><br>Looking to continue this into Thursday &amp; Saturday, tickets here: <a href="https://t.co/FnVoCzzuRs">https://t.co/FnVoCzzuRs</a> <a href="https://t.co/MUdgNDb593">pic.twitter.com/MUdgNDb593</a></p>&mdash; Sky Sport New Zealand Breakers (@NZBreakers) <a href="https://twitter.com/NZBreakers/status/1597470413902094337?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 29, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Who’s saying what?

Many a New Zealand Breakers fan has bemoaned the loss of the ‘family club’ that embodied an incredible dynasty that delivered four titles in five years.

Rightly or wrongly, that change at the top is viewed as a reason for the decline in off-court and on-court fortunes, but if you listen to Jarell Brantley, those Breakers are back.

“From the first day I got here Mody’s set the table, showed what he expected of me but also allowed me to be family,” he said.

“Everybody from top to bottom in this organisation, there’s something special going on right now.

“I know you only see our wins and losses, but we’re able to build something, so for me it’s been special to be a part of it.”

While they’re an established member of the NBL family now, it’s easy to forget the SE Melbourne Phoenix are still very much in the early days of building something.

It appeared they were making remarkable strides in year two, coming within a whisker of making the grand final, but ultimately their defence has held them back.

For all their efforts, Simon Mitchell and Co were not able to ingrain a consistently hard-nosed, never-say-die attitude as an unshakeable part of their culture over the first three years.

That appears to be changing, however, if you listen to Mitch Creek answer a question about his team’s offence after they posted a cricket score on Illawarra.

“Reuben (Te Rangi) played a really pivotal role in this game but he had no points,” Creek said.

“His ability to defend, get deflections, to be in the right spot, to box out, to rebound, that’s what we worry about.

“Not having five guys in double figures, but are guys going to box out, tag up and run to the right spots.

“We've got that, we’re buying into it and now we’re it’s becoming a part of our winning culture, it’s defence first and offence flows off that.”

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">How did Gary Browne do that ?<br><br>Watch <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NBL23?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NBL23</a> live and free on 10 Peach and 10play | live on ESPN via Kayo Sports and Foxtel ? <a href="https://t.co/AAi87jMYjB">pic.twitter.com/AAi87jMYjB</a></p>&mdash; The NBL (@NBL) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBL/status/1596738818224586753?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 27, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

That’s something they got spot on last time against the Breakers, scoring 99 at 62 per cent, fuelled by a defensive effort that kept their hosts to 77 at 38 per cent.

“I could feel it from the sideline, the communication  out there was a lot better,” coach Mitchell said post-game.

“We certainly got hands out a lot better than we did in the last game, we did a much better job defending the interior and exterior tonight.

“Our pick and roll defence was much improved from the last game, and whilst we gave them some buckets on the offensive boards I thought we cleaned that up as the game went on.”

Offensively, they spread the floor impressively from the first seconds of the shot clock, rarely allowing New Zealand to play their imposing pack defence.

“One thing that’s been our Achilles heel in the first few games has been our ‘pace and space’ and where we’re starting on the floor, and how in transition we’re getting out and running,” Kyle Adnam said afterwards.

“We did a really good job of running deep, running to corners and stretching the floor, it just gives you that extra second for catch-and-shoot.

“So I thought our pace and space on offence was the best we've had this season, and I think that was a big part of why we shot the ball well.”

New Zealand were isolated, and they never found a way to get it back together.

“This was worst-case scenario. We weren't there from an intensity and competitive level, they made shots, they got away from us, and we never found a way back in,” coach Maor said.

“It’s on us to make everything tough, to make everything contested. It’s not what we did today, it is what we’ll do next time.”

Next time has arrived, with a blockbuster first against fourth clash in Christchurch.

The question for the Breakers is how do they apply their trademark heat to opposition guards, with Brantley and Dererk Pardon supporting Izayah Le’afa and Co, without opening up Mitch Creek and Alan Williams, who is proving near-unstoppable inside.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Alan Williams turns the spin-cycle on! This bucket helped the <a href="https://twitter.com/SEMelbPhoenix?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SEMelbPhoenix</a> retake the lead in a tight game against the <a href="https://twitter.com/CairnsTaipans?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@CairnsTaipans</a> 62-59 at the last break!<br><br>WATCH <a href="https://twitter.com/NBL?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@NBL</a> on ESPN ? <a href="https://t.co/TC3E35UFVF">pic.twitter.com/TC3E35UFVF</a></p>&mdash; ESPN Australia &amp; NZ (@ESPNAusNZ) <a href="https://twitter.com/ESPNAusNZ/status/1578655549905719296?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 8, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

“He’s been a dominant player wherever he’s gone, be it college, G-League, even in the NBA he got buckets, he killed it in Russia and he’s killing it here in the NBL,” Mitchell said.

“He’s just got amazing touch, he’s a unique talent … when you’ve got the shooting that we have – not that we’ve shot the ball well over the season but we have the capability of shooting the ball – it’s hard to send a double down to a guy like that.”

Expect Gary Browne to be targeted though, with most teams happy to have him shooting contested jumpers rather than creating for others.

The Phoenix have found a new weapon, however, with the length of Trey Kell able to see over defenders and find teammates, or pull-up and comfortably shoot over a hand.

“With his injury in the pre-season he wasn’t able to get the reps, he had five weeks on the sidelines,” Mitchell said.

“As he’s started to work his way back in we've started to slowly through the ball to him more in practice at the point guard position.

“He's a different kind of player there, he’s not blistering speed but he gets where he wants. He's got a lot of gifts and makes great decisions.

“Him playing more minutes there will strengthen us, because it’s the yin and yang with him and Gary. Gary’s going to beat you with his handle, Gary’s going to beat you with his speed, then all of a sudden it’s a change of pace and it causes disruption to the defence.”

It poses a number of questions for Maor and Co, but they’ve found the answers more often than not this season, and they know this game in Christchurch is particularly important.

“It’s important they understand they represent a country, not just a city, I'm looking forward to seeing our fans down there,” Maor said.

“We remember what the game against South East felt like in the previous one, we’re looking forward to taking on that challenge in Christchurch.

“The Phoenix are the most talented team in the league, that’s a good challenge for us.”