Preview: South East Melbourne vs Perth (Round 1)

Friday, September 29, 2023

Can Perth continue their trend of starting seasons strongly, or will the Phoenix bounce back?

Sunday, October 1 at 4pm AEST at John Cain Arena

Watch: Live on ESPN via Kayo Freebies | 10 Peach and 10 Play - International viewership details
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South East Melbourne’s new-look side struggled to fire offensively in the absence of Gary Browne on Thursday, and the locking down of Blitz MVP Tyler Cook in the post saw them register just 67 points for the game.

Perth, on the other hand, had a free-flowing and potent offensive showing against Tasmania on Friday night and dropped 101 points.

However, the Wildcats still leaked 95 points in their victory, and the Phoenix allowed Melbourne to score just 82 in the defeat. In short, both sides seem to have locked in on opposite ends of the floor to open their seasons.

A 2-0 start with this new-look lineup would do wonders for the confidence of Perth fans in head coach John Rillie, but a 0-2 start for the Phoenix could raise some early questions around their status as title contenders.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Jordan Usher praises the Red Army for their support tonight.<br><br>Full presser: <a href="https://t.co/UYPISWIrVS">https://t.co/UYPISWIrVS</a> <a href="https://t.co/HV0Aa2J8xF">pic.twitter.com/HV0Aa2J8xF</a></p>— Perth Wildcats (@PerthWildcats) <a href="https://twitter.com/PerthWildcats/status/1707767240727331041?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 29, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

South East Melbourne
67-82 loss to Melbourne

Perth
101-95 win over Tasmania

Ben Ayre
The biggest knock on the team South East Melbourne has assembled this season has been the perceived lack of bench depth when compared to the sides expected to be challenging for the NBL24 title.

When import guard Gary Browne is fit it’s almost certain Ayre will fill the role of backup point guard, but in the absence of the Puerto Rican international on Thursday night the former Taipan stepped into a starting role with grace and guile.

Ayre top scored for the Phoenix with 17 points and spent more time on court than anyone else wearing green and black. His individual late scoring charge also pulled his team back into the contest late in proceedings, however it proved too little, too late.

Should Browne remain sidelined, the pressure will be on Ayre to replicate Thursday’s performance, but if the former is back then pressure will still be on him to lead the second unit.

Either way there will be pressure on Ben Ayre, and if we’ve learned anything about him over the past two seasons, it’s that’s when he absolutely thrives.

“It was great to see Ben make some big plays, and we needed them. We talked about an expectation from players and it’s not different from what Ben showed. I’ve seen him do it in the past, in the pre-season he’s been really good, and he brings that every day. It wasn’t a surprise but it was good to see some individual performances like that.” – Phoenix coach Mike Kelly.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Our first <a href="https://twitter.com/goatbeer?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@goatbeer</a> Player of the Game for NBL24 is Ben Ayre, who had a massive second-half with 15 points! ?<br><br>? Tickets for Sunday’s game ?? <a href="https://t.co/RDU6iaGEF8">https://t.co/RDU6iaGEF8</a> <a href="https://t.co/5jER5rGYH4">pic.twitter.com/5jER5rGYH4</a></p>— South East Melbourne Phoenix (@SEMelbPhoenix) <a href="https://twitter.com/SEMelbPhoenix/status/1707539695004197295?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 28, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Jordan Usher
The signing of Jordan Usher was almost overshadowed by Keanu Pinder and Alexandre Sarr this pre-season, but make no mistake - this guy can play.

If he was flying under the radar before Round 1, every NBL fan should know who this guy is after his 35-point explosion in the Wildcats’ opening game of the season.

He may have come in with his eyes on the Defensive Player of the Year trophy, but alongside the likes of Bryce Cotton, Pinder and the Webster brothers, this guy is a serious offensive threat.

It’s rare that any Wildcat takes more shots that Cotton in a game, and it’s rarer still for that player to do so while featuring in his first game for the side, but Usher’s 35 points on 13-20 shooting meant Perth just could not afford to take the ball out of his hands.

Perth’s offensive strategy seemed to be ‘Cotton or bust’ at points last season. If Usher’s first game in front of the Red Army is anything to go by, it’s not anymore.

“When we were looking at him and thinking it was a possibility, the way he plays the game allows him to have success in this league. He’s relentless, he plays with a great energy, he’s great for our group with our personality. He’s got a good mix and when he’s at a high level he’s a difference maker.” – John Rillie

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Jordan Usher = ?<br><br>Watch all the action live on ESPN via Kayo ? <a href="https://t.co/ExPXBUd5s1">pic.twitter.com/ExPXBUd5s1</a></p>— NBL (@NBL) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBL/status/1707739835329622287?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 29, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Mitch Creek vs Kristian Doolittle
Jesse Wagstaff may have started the game agaisn Tasmania, but the starting power forward position for the Wildcats will almost certainly be thrust on new signing Kristian Doolittle sooner rather than later.

Perth has a litany of capable power forwards, in addition to Doolittle and Wagstaff there’s also Hyrum Harris and David Okwera, in short – John Rillie has the type of options he felt were absent last season.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Some thoughts + reporting on the Perth Wildcats’ latest signing - Kristian Doolittle - on this week’s <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NBLOvertime?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NBLOvertime</a>. <a href="https://t.co/9AQ6qjurFY">pic.twitter.com/9AQ6qjurFY</a></p>— Olgun Uluc (@OlgunUluc) <a href="https://twitter.com/OlgunUluc/status/1706642027860185377?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 26, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Doolittle played 17 minutes against Tasmania and will likely see an increase on that against the Phoenix. He may not necessarily know all of the sets he has to run, but he’s an out-and-out talent who will be called upon to stop one of the best players in the league in Mitch Creek.

Like the bulk of the Phoenix side on Thursday, Creek just could not get his offence working for him against Melbourne.

He hit just 3-12 shot attempts – and neither of his free throws – and looked to be feeling the effects of logging just 13 minutes across South East Melbourne’s entire pre-season campaign.

Creek is one of those players who you can’t keep down though, and the former Brooklyn Net rarely has two bad games in a row. Expect him to come out swinging.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Mitch Creek has revealed <a href="https://twitter.com/SEMelbPhoenix?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SEMelbPhoenix</a>'s plan to stopping a star-studded <a href="https://twitter.com/MelbUnited?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@MelbUnited</a> offence tonight ?<br><br>The action is now live on ESPN via Kayo, and tip-off is now less than 20 minutes away ? <a href="https://t.co/BKuymt1CZE">pic.twitter.com/BKuymt1CZE</a></p>— NBL (@NBL) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBL/status/1707322417721573588?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 28, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Mitch Creek’s 27-game streak of scoring at least 15 points per game was ended against Melbourne on Thursday. It was the longest active streak of its kind of any player currently in the NBL.

The last time Creek failed to score at least 15 points was in Round 2 last season, when the Phoenix lost to Illawarra by 13 points.

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