Preview: South East Melbourne vs New Zealand - Round 9, NBL24

Friday, December 1, 2023

The Breakers got back to winning ways against Adelaide. Can they travel to Melbourne and defeat the Phoenix?

Saturday, December 2 5:30pm AEDT | John Cain Arena

Watch: Live on ESPN via Kayo Sports – Sky Sports in NZ | International viewership details
Box scores: Download the free NBL App

South East Melbourne will emerge from the mid-season break on a two-game losing skid – both of which could easily have been wins over Adelaide and Melbourne.

The Phoenix currently sit in fifth with a 6-6 record, but Derek Rucker and Damon Lowery believes the team has been too soft in winning positions so far this season, and challenged the side’s import trio to stay on the floor and stop fouling.

New Zealand scored 37 points in the first quarter on Thursday night to register the highest scoring opening term of any team so far this season. They eventually beat the 36ers by 13.

Breakers head coach Mody Maor received a double-technical at half time and was ejected from the game, which left assistant coach Daniel Sokolovsky to guide the team to victory.

South East Melbourne
93-96 loss to Adelaide
83-92 loss to Melbourne
91-78 win over Cairns

New Zealand
96-83 win over Adelaide
69-65 loss to Illawarra
97-92 win over Tasmania

Alan Williams
Alan Williams is a superstar of the NBL. He’s one of its biggest personalities and one of its best players, but Derek Rucker and Damon Lowery challenged him to stop fouling out of big games as often as he does.

Williams has established himself as a leading MVP candidate this season, but has been off the floor in critical moments during the recent defeats to Melbourne and Brisbane due to fouling out of proceedings.

He also fouled out in the win over Cairns, meaning he has failed to remain on the floor in three of the Phoenix’s last four games.

‘Big Sauce’ is averaging a league-leading four personal fouls per game in NBL24, and against a Breakers side that, on paper, is comparatively weak at the center position – Williams should go to work if he can stay in the game.

“This is an MVP candidate, he can’t be in there fouling and reaching and hacking ... Sauce, play basketball go out there and dominate, change and impact games. We love you as a commentator, but we love you more as a hooper ... when you’re watching Alan Williams play basketball you’re on his side and you want him to do well, and it’s a disservice to the purity of my basketball soul to see him sitting on the sidelines. That is for a lesser player, that is not in your playing profile as a superstar of this competition.” – Derek Rucker on NBL Now.

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Mangok Mathiang
Mody Maor loves challenging his players after they’ve played a good game. Earlier in the season he had Anthony Lamb in his sights, and now it seems he’s turned to Mangok Mathiang.

Maor was full of praise for Mathiang following the victory over Adelaide, and nominated the former Charlotte Hornet’s presence on the defensive glass as a key reason for the Breaker’s recent slow turn in form – but he still only played 16 minutes after racking up four personal fouls.

The ejected head coach was also full of praise for his contributions on the offensive end – although he only scored five points, Mathiang’s screens opened the door for the likes of Parker Jackson-Cartwright (21 points) and Izayah Le’Afa (21 points) to find the open looks that inevitably won New Zealand the game.

Mathiang was finding some great consistency in his game towards the back end of last season with Illawarra, and has already registered an 11-point, 14 rebound double-double this season for new Zealand.

He just needs to find a way to make those breakout performances a week-in, week-out certainty.

“We still haven’t seen the best version of Mangok. I still think there’s more there. Today he anchored us in the paint which is very important, he anchored us on the glass, he’s doing a really good job on the defensive glass and he’s part of the reason we’ve completely stabilized in that area. One of the things he did best today was screen ... good game from him and he’s coming in the next one against one of the biggest challenges his position has to offer in the league.” – Mody Maor following the win over Adelaide.

Mangok Mathiang defends Trey Kell III in Thursday's win over Adelaide.

Ben Ayre vs Izayah Le’Afa
When a sharpshooting guard comes off the bench to change the game, it’s often a sight for sore eyes.

The glut of backcourt talent in the NBL this season means players like Ben Ayre and Izayah Le’Afa start games on the pine, but certainly have the ability to start games and run the show for the Phoenix and Breakers respectively.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">It's been a long road back to Melbourne for Ben Ayre, but the former Cairns train-on player is just getting started ??<br><br>Read about the point guard's NBL Free Agency experience by clicking here: <a href="https://t.co/0FxvPUFVsF">https://t.co/0FxvPUFVsF</a> <a href="https://t.co/fEjvKYLHcp">pic.twitter.com/fEjvKYLHcp</a></p>— NBL (@NBL) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBL/status/1657196532154929153?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 13, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Questions were asked as to who would step up in the absence of Will McDowell-White for the Breakers entering Thursday’s clash with Adelaide, and Le’Afa connected with seven threes to end the game with 21 points and Foot Locker Player of the Game honours.

Ayre, on the other hand, is currently shooting the third-highest three-point percentage of any player in the competition to have taken at least 15 shots – and has hit 16 of his 30 three-point attempts so far this season.

With Mody Maor’s propensity to alter his starting lineup on a game by game basis, and the Phoenix’s guard rotation’s love of picking up plenty of fouls, both Ayre and Le’Afa could have a key role to play behind the team’s go-to scorers.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Izayah Le'Afa is on ?<br><br>The <a href="https://twitter.com/NZBreakers?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@nzbreakers</a> sharpshooter has knocked down 6?? triples. <br><br>Catch the action live on ESPN via Kayo | Sky Sport in NZ ? <a href="https://t.co/hHxV78Zh25">pic.twitter.com/hHxV78Zh25</a></p>— NBL (@NBL) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBL/status/1730130810831847716?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 30, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>