R17 Preview: Adelaide 36ers vs SE Melbourne Phoenix

Sunday, March 27, 2022

Mitch Creek and Daniel Johnson renew hostilities as SE Melbourne look to topple the 36ers and keep heat on the top four.

When: 1pm (AEDT), Sunday 27 March 2022

Where: Adelaide Entertainment Centre

Broadcast: ESPN; Kayo Freebies; 10 Peach; 10 Play; Sky Sports NZ

Who won last time?
SE Melbourne 83 (Creek 29, Broekhoff 12, Le’afa 11) d Adelaide 76 (Johnson 31) – Round 14, Adelaide Entertainment Centre

This was the DJ v Creeky show as a pair of old mates engaged in a game of horse in this Round 14 contest. The shot-making was breath-taking from both, as they combined for 60 points at 71 per cent. Creek had the last laugh, however, his 5 points and 2 assists in the final three minutes sparking a 12-4 run that put the Phoenix within reach of top spot.

What happened last start?

Sadly for Phoenix fans, that win was followed by four straight failures to not only put first place out of reach, but leave Simon Mitchell’s men 1.5 games out of the top four. However, thanks to their go-to-woe W over Cairns – sparked by Xavier Munford and Brandon Ashley – a win over Adelaide will move them level with the Hawks if they can’t overcome United.

The 36ers’ last start is not one they’d like to remember, giving up a 55-33 second half after sticking with Melbourne early on. It was their usually strong rebounding that let Adelaide down, giving up 22 o-boards to United from 43 misses. The Sixers failed to reach 80 points for the fourth time in five games, indicating there are some offensive issues to correct.

Who’s in form?

Not Adelaide – The 36ers have now lost six of their past seven, with an average losing margin of 13.5 points. The news doesn’t get any better, with six of their final nine games against the top six teams who are vying for playoff berths, and with a four-game road trip to end the season, they need to get some morale-boosting wins at home now.

Brandon Ashley – Last round ‘Bash’ had 24 points in 25 minutes, across two games. On Friday in Cairns, he had 25 points in 23 minutes to be a game-changer. The difference? Instead of 10 fouls in 25 minutes he committed just three in 23, while drawing seven whistles himself to get to the foul line 12 times. Foul-free Bash is mighty hard to guard.

Who needs to be?

Cam Bairstow – Where the Bear would usually be facing the length and poise of Zhou Qi, he has to guard the aggression and athleticism of Ashley. This will be a stern test of Bairstow’s ball-screen defence fundamentals, with Bash at his best when feeding off teammates. At the other end, the Bear needs a constant diet of low-post ball to put Ashley in foul trouble.

Xavier Munford – There’s not much rim protection in this 36ers team – Kai Sotto aside – and in Round 14 the Phoenix shot 61 per cent from inside the arc, Mitch Creek the chief destroyer going 9/11. His touch is off at the moment, but Munford has scored 37 points from ‘ones and twos’ in the past two games, and SE Melbourne need him slicing and dicing.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Tough from ?<br><br>? Tune in on <a href="https://twitter.com/ESPNAusNZ?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ESPNAusNZ</a> via <a href="https://twitter.com/kayosports?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@kayosports</a> or <a href="https://twitter.com/Foxtel?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Foxtel</a> <a href="https://t.co/PTJNvNry8i">pic.twitter.com/PTJNvNry8i</a></p>— South East Melbourne Phoenix (@SEMelbPhoenix) <a href="https://twitter.com/SEMelbPhoenix/status/1507282215470010370?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 25, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Who’s statting up?

- During their four-game losing streak, SE Melbourne averaged 56.3 points from ‘ones and twos’ in the first 35 minutes, but just 6.5 points from inside in the final five minutes

- In their three tight wins over playoff contenders Melbourne, Illawarra and Perth, the Phoenix averaged 11.3 points from ‘ones and twos’ in the final five minutes

- The 36ers score 72 per cent of their scores from two-pointers and the foul line, the highest percentage in the league. SE Melbourne sits second at 71 per cent

- Adelaide were -13 in the possession game against Melbourne (turnovers and offensive rebounds), and were outscored 46-24 on possession points in a 27-point loss

Who’s matching up?

Daniel Johnson v Mitch Creek – It was just your average Friday night, but that was soon to change. Halfway through the opening term of these teams’ Round 14 meeting, Creek sliced to the basket and scored. Next possession, DJ fired a slick alley-oop pass that Sotto jammed home. Then Creek hammered home a dunk and dropped a triple to really get going.

Johnson returned fire with a driving lay-up, Wolf went straight back at him, DJ dropped a triple, Creek responded in kind, then the Adelaide skipper dropped two more from range before Creek finished the run of 25 points from the pair with a classy hook shot. They enjoyed it as much as the fans, who are hoping for a repeat of that extraordinary battle.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Don't let him get in that zone. ?<br><br>? - <a href="https://twitter.com/ESPNAusNZ?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ESPNAusNZ</a> + <a href="https://twitter.com/kayosports?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@kayosports</a> <a href="https://t.co/HZ2hmeLMM1">pic.twitter.com/HZ2hmeLMM1</a></p>— Adelaide 36ers (@Adelaide36ers) <a href="https://twitter.com/Adelaide36ers/status/1499687711191736320?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 4, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Who’s talking the talk?

There have been some tough times recently for the SE Melbourne Phoenix, with little things costing them in a big way against their fellow playoff contenders in rounds 15 and 16.

“That’s the nature of this league, you drop two on a weekend and all of a sudden you’re in a dogfight, we dropped two in a row (for) two weeks and we find ourselves out of the four, from second place to fifth or sixth,” coach Simon Mitchell said after beating Cairns on Friday.

“It’s a tough league, we have to use that momentum and secure a win against Adelaide and really build upon that for the home stretch.”

The home stretch gives them every chance, however, with four of their seven games against teams outside the playoff picture.

Coach Mitchell knows if his team can keep making marginal gains, the post-season is there for the taking, and they made a good start to that in the Far North.

Mitchell’s men held the Snakes to 5/29 from long range, and cleaned up 71 per cent of their d-boards despite a string of long rebounds.

“I was really pleased with our defensive rebounding, particularly out of our zone, which has been a bit of an issue for us,” Mitchell said.

“We’d like to use it a little bit more, it’s been relatively successful for two-thirds of the shot clock, three-quarters of the shot clock, 23 of 24 seconds and then we give up o-boards, but tonight guys did a really good job of finding a body out of that and cleaning up.”

That zone will be important against an Adelaide team who score heavily inside, and lack a depth of perimeter shooters.

The Phoenix also got outstanding offensive contributions from their imports, to take the pressure of a struggling Mitch Creek and make up for the absence of Zhou Qi.

“Xavier Munford in the first half was outstanding and Bash took over in the second half. It was just pleasing to have a little bit of balance of taking it off the dribble, pick-and-roll action and then also being able to settle into the post and play off that,” Mitchell said.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">2??5?? points! A career high for <a href="https://twitter.com/_Bash21?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@_Bash21</a> ?<br><br>? Tune in on <a href="https://twitter.com/ESPNAusNZ?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ESPNAusNZ</a> via <a href="https://twitter.com/kayosports?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@kayosports</a> or <a href="https://twitter.com/Foxtel?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Foxtel</a> <a href="https://t.co/NT6d5KKEhK">pic.twitter.com/NT6d5KKEhK</a></p>— South East Melbourne Phoenix (@SEMelbPhoenix) <a href="https://twitter.com/SEMelbPhoenix/status/1507300601377738754?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 25, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

“Everyone’s aware of Brandon Ashley’s talent and skill-sets, it’s just about us being to keep him on the floor, and him keeping himself on the floor, and being able to show the league exactly what he can do.

“I thought he did a great job tonight of cleaning up a few aspects of his game to not put himself in a position to foul. It’s so important for our team, especially with big Zhou out at the moment.”

While for SE Melbourne it’s about fine-tuning for a playoff run, for Adelaide it’s improving their young squad for next season, when coach CJ Bruton can get a full pre-season with the team.

A big part of that building is getting consistent execution at both ends of the floor, and being able to withstand the intensity of good teams.

“I think it’s been an issue for us all season, our ability to execute under pressure, and obviously United do that some of the best, Perth have been really good at that over the years, pushing you out of your stuff and we have to be better there,” Mitch McCarron said after their loss to Melbourne.

“I thought we had some good counters tonight, we made some great reads, got some good back doors, so it’s progress, it’s just not consistent enough.”

For coach Bruton, it’s about continuing to set standards for emerging talent like Kai Sotto, Tad Dufelmeier, Hyrum Harris and Manny Malou during the week that will see improvements on the weekend.

“I need them to be consistent,” he said.

“You’ve got to earn your minutes at practice, it’s not always I’ll put you in a game and now here it comes, show them your worth. It’s paying attention to the details that goes into any game and the game plan as we keep moving forward.

“But clearly I want them to play confident and shoot the shots that are available to them and that they can make, and that they do take regularly not just at practice but in games as well.”

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">What a way to finish...???<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WeAreSixers?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#WeAreSixers</a> <a href="https://t.co/qAvv6XLYjS">pic.twitter.com/qAvv6XLYjS</a></p>— Adelaide 36ers (@Adelaide36ers) <a href="https://twitter.com/Adelaide36ers/status/1506449819518210048?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 23, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Dufelmeier is a man who has had to learn that the hard way, being nailed to the bench early, but averaging 9.3 points at 48 per cent, 4 rebounds and 2.3 assists in 21 minutes per night the past four games.

Adelaide have been 21 points better off with Tad on the floor in that time, and he’s going to be important attacking SE Melbourne’s interior without Qi protecting the rim.

“Tad rolled his ankle earlier in the year and I think it took a while for him to get back to where he needed to be to be impactful and help our group,” Bruton said.

“Definitely a high IQ kid, can play the game, has got some shift and slide into gaps and creaks. He’s a very explosive kid and we've spoken quite a bit about where his journey can go over his career, and I've given him some hard truths which he’s taken to heart and he appreciates the comments.

“When you're small in this game, two things you need to do consistently is you need to know every position and know how to get everyone organised, and you’ve got to play with your toughness and your heart.

“He’s done that, he’s earned the right, his plus/minus and how he helps the team has been awesome and hopefully he continues to do that for the rest of the season.”