Preview: SE Melbourne v Brisbane (Round 15)

When: 7.30pm (AEDT), Monday 16 January
Where: State Basketball Centre (Melbourne)
Broadcast: ESPN; Foxtel; Kayo; Sky NZ
LIVE STATS AND BOX SCORE

Who won the last time?

South East Melbourne 104 (Creek 29, Kell III 17, Adnam 14) d Brisbane 77 (Sobey 31, Baynes 14, Mitchell 14) – Round 12 at Nissan Arena, Brisbane

Mitch Creek fired in the first half and his teammates followed his lead in the second as the Phoenix proved too much for the Bullets.

The Bullets were again without NBA import guard Tyler Johnson, centre Tyrell Harrison and forward Tanner Krebs, but the Phoenix were missing Gary Browne, Ryan Broekhoff and Zhou Qi.

The Phoenix proved too much, though, with Creek leading the charge in the first half with 20 of his 29 points before Trey Kell III, Alan Williams and the rest of the Phoenix found their groove as the visitors had five double-figure scorers in their 25-point win.

Kell III finished with 17 points, 10 rebounds and five assists while Adnam had 14, Williams 13 and Junior Madut 10.

Nathan Sobey was a constant threat for the Bullets with 31 points while Aron Baynes had 14 points and DJ Mitchell matched him with 14.

What happened last game?

South East Melbourne now hasn’t played since last Sunday's loss in Cairns while Brisbane is fresh off a more encouraging showing at home against Melbourne United.

The Phoenix played three games in a week on the road to start the new year and along the way were still without Gary Browne, Trey Kell III and Zhou Qi, and lost each of them to have now dropped four straight including last Sunday's nine-point loss in Cairns.

That leaves South East Melbourne just clinging to a place in the top six with a 12-11 record and now Monday night's return to action at the State Basketball Centre is their only game in the run home against a team not in the playoff hunt, so they can't afford a drop off.

Looking back to that game in the Far North eight days ago, it was a better showing from the Phoenix after losing by 25 to the JackJumpers and by 16 to the Kings, but a loss is still a loss.

Not only were they without Browne, Kell and Zhou, but they lost Mitch Creek late to an eye injury and he had 25 points, seven rebounds and three assists up to that point. Ryan Broekhoff finished the game with 17 points with Alan Williams adding 16 points, 10 rebounds and five assists, and Kyle Adnam 14 points and three assists.

There would have been nobody more nervous than coach Greg Vanderjagt about if the Bullets could put in a more competitive showing on Saturday against Melbourne after Wednesday night's 49-point loss to the Sydney Kings.

It didn’t start ideal and the Bullets were down 22 early in the second half, but in no time they were back within two points after six quick three-pointers. The Bullets delivered the type of encouraging fighting performance their loyal home fans had been deserving.

While it didn’t quite result in a win and Melbourne won by 10, you couldn’t fault the fighting spirit shown by a Bullets team now on a five-game losing streak and sitting with a 5-17 record with six games to go.

Aron Baynes played the best game of his NBL career with 21 points and 11 rebounds while Nathan Sobey finished with 18 points, six assists and four boards, DJ Mitchell 15 points, and Tyler Johnson 13 points and six boards.

There was plenty to be encouraged about by what the Bullets produced but it cant be a one off performance, what's now key is being able to back it up in Melbourne just 48 hours later.

What’s working?

Phoenix getting healthy, freshening up – South East Melbourne was crying out for a break by the time they played in Cairns last Sunday and they've now had it. Not only did it provide a chance for the bodies of those still playing time to freshen up, but it has allowed import pair Gary Browne (calf) and Trey Kell III (knee) to overcome injuries to return to the line-up for Monday night's game. It's also allowed Mitch Creek to overcome the eye injury he suffered last week against Cairns early in the fourth quarter. Now everybody bar Zhou Qi will be available to take on the Bullets. Not only have they had a chance to freshen up and get healthy, but also been able to spend some crucial time on the practice floor together to begin this last three-week stretch that will determine their playoff fortunes.

Improved fight from the Bullets – It was make or break time for the Bullets after what happened on Wednesday night against the Sydney Kings. There's no skirting around it, they were embarrassed in losing by 49 points on their home floor even if it was against the league-leading reigning champions. They looked decidedly disinterested and non-competitive, but how you respond to such a showing is often the true test of character. To the credit of the Bullets, they responded well even though they couldn’t quite get a win against Melbourne United on Saturday. Brisbane were competitive for sure, they lit up Nissan Arena for a period in the third quarter unlike anything they've done at any other point this season. It was pleasing, and relieving, to see a team that had been struggling so much pull together to play as a unit, show some heart and some fighting spirit.

What needs stopping?

Four-game losing run – It's the most obvious thing to say, but it's also the most important. If South East Melbourne wants to be part of playoff action in NBL23, they simply can't afford to see this four-game losing slide grow to five. Since beating the Bullets in the last meeting by the two teams in Brisbane back on December 21, the Phoenix haven’t won a game. They lost to Adelaide on Christmas Eve and now to start 2023, suffered road losses to the JackJumpers, Kings and Taipans – all teams above them on the table. That has them just clinging to a position in the top six and a loss on Monday night will see them drop out altogether and fall behind Melbourne United. They simply have no choice but to beat the Bullets with games then to finish against Tasmania, Perth, Cairns and Sydney. Having Trey Kell III and Gary Browne back will help, but they can't afford to take anything for granted and will be hoping the work done over the past week at practice will pay off.

Any sort of a drop off again in intensity, effort – While the Bullets did put in a vastly improved showing against Melbourne United on Saturday night, it still wasn’t a win and it came after three rough outings. Not only did Brisbane lose to Sydney by 49 points last Wednesday, but prior to that they also lost to Cairns by 26 and United by 13 – all of them on their home floor. So what they can't afford now is to be happy with being more competitive on Saturday and have a drop off again now on Monday night on the road to a fresh and motivated Phoenix outfit. The Bullets need to bring the effort and intensity. They looked a decidedly different team when they did two things on Saturday – turned up the heat defensively which allowed them to get stops and get out and run, and also made Aron Baynes a focus of their offence. That saw them able to score 91 points, their best score since beating Perth on December 27 and just the second time getting beyond 90 in their past 11 games, but also Baynes delivered his best performance of the season. They need to now back it up.

Who’s matching up?

Gary Browne v Nathan Sobey – Welcome back Gary Browne. The Phoenix import point guard will return from a calf injury after missing the last five games and be handed the job of attempting to stop Nathan Sobey playing match-winner for the Bullets. Browne has proven himself a more than capable defender in that guard position while also being an outstanding playmaker, and handy scorer for the Phoenix. He'll need to do all that on Monday night if they are to win. South East Melbourne's offence should flow considerably better with him running it, but turnovers have been an issue in his absence and he should help with that. He'll then need to curtail the influence of Sobey, who is coming off 32 points and nine assists over the last two games after a rough showing against Cairns. If the Bullets are to win, Sobey needs to be both aggressive and efficient, and he's more than capable.

Alan Williams v Aron Baynes – Talk about a marquee match up. This is a heavyweight main event match up of epic proportions featuring the two strongest players in the league. There's so many similarities in the games of the pair two – they are unstoppable if they catch it in the block, are strong post presences and love to be physical and use their bulk and strength. The only problem is, both have had plenty of reasons to be frustrated with how their physical approaches have been officiated. Baynes is more of a shooting threat too, but aside from that and they are tremendously similar and it's going to be fun to watch. Baynes is fresh off his best game of the season with 21 points and 11 rebounds while Williams is averaging 16.3 points and 9.3 boards across the season. You just wouldn’t want to get between the pair as they battle!

Mitch Creek v DJ Mitchell – If you want to be a power forward in the NBL, then that means you are going to have to prove yourself against Mitch Creek and that's the challenge ahead of DJ Mitchell on Monday night. Creek had his way against the Bullets last time with 29 points and five rebounds on the back of his 46 points against the Sydney Kings days earlier. He's continued that form too and had 32 points, nine rebounds and five assists against the Kings again and then 25 points, seven boards and three assists before suffering an eye injury early in the fourth quarter last Sunday in Cairns. He is the focus of everything the Phoenix do, so Mitchell's job will be to try and make his life difficult. You can't stop Creek, but what Mitchell can do is make him earn any shot he takes and then make him work defensively. Mitchell has proven he can shoot and score, and if he can knock down some three-point shots and be aggressive taking it to the rack too, then this will be a terrific match up.

Who’s saying what?

Bullets coach Greg Vanderjagt was encouraged by the improved effort he saw from his team against Melbourne United on Saturday. Despite the short turnaround now to play a fresh South East Melbourne on Monday night, there's no excuses but for them to come to Melbourne and perform.

"Challenging, whatever. Everyone's done it and everyone's had these busy patches with schedules and whatever, so there's no excuses in terms of that," Vanderjagt said. 

"You look at the Breakers and they played in Perth on Tuesday, fly all day Wednesday and then play United on Thursday night in Christchurch. So the schedule is the schedule and you have to front up and play, and compete. That's what professional athletes get to do and we're very, very lucky to do it. 

"It's another playoff type game like that one was for Melbourne. Obviously we aren't going to make the playoffs but we do have some things we want to achieve as a group, and we'll keep working towards that for these last six games. 

"But basically everyone that we play aside from Illawarra is trying to make the playoffs so guys get to play in an environment that's like a playoff environment, which is going to be the Phoenix on Monday night. 

"They've lost four straight and have got their full group back with Browne and Kell available so we have to go in there, and play a very good basketball team who want to play in the playoffs. 

"We have to turnaround quickly, we have to recover, jump on a flight, dive into the scout and go and play South East Monday night. There's no excuses, we get to do what we do and everyone enjoys doing it."

Phoenix coach Simon Mitchell couldn’t wait for the chance to regroup and recharge with his group after last Sunday's loss in Cairns. He's now had that chance and is looking forward to building momentum again.

"I want us to be flawless and it's a lot to ask of young guys, it's a lot to ask of older guys too," Mitchell said. 

"We hold standards pretty high and when we don’t get it and we're hurting after a game, I can come across maybe as a little bit grumpy because we didn’t do the job we set out to. 

"There's always a little disappointment in that, but the effort, endeavour and spirit in this group is really good. They're a wonderful group of young men and now we get a few more soldiers back, and a little bit of a rest and preparation, and hopefully we can turn this losing streak around."

Bullets superstar Nathan Sobey was proud of the improved fight his team showed against Melbourne on Saturday. He's now hoping they can build on that the rest of the season and get some enjoyment back.

"We just have to continue stepping in the right direction with what we're trying to do, and how we want to play the right way," Sobey said. 

"That's really getting after it and setting the tone on the defensive end, and then whatever happens on the offensive end, happens. 

"We've got enough talent down there. It's just really about continuing to build in the right direction with the group we have and I think we have to enjoy these last games together as well. There's a part of that which needs to come back and those would be the main things that we're trying to focus on."

Phoenix co-captain Ryan Broekhoff is looking forward to welcoming Gary Browne and Trey Kell III back, but knows that getting back to winning will take more than just relying on the two imports.

"They're important pieces we've been missing to this team but it also would have helped if I could make an open three, but that's the way basketball goes. Unfortunately there's injuries and shooting slumps, and bad play," Broekhoff said.

"We're looking forward to having those guys back, but it's still no excuse for us losing games. We feel as though we're good enough and deep enough that everyone can contribute no matter who's out there. It's been a bit of a tough road trip."