R6 Preview: SE Melbourne Phoenix vs Adelaide 36ers

Tuesday, February 23, 2021

Mitch Creek and the Phoenix were firing on Sunday, but Daniel Johnson and Adelaide badly need to get back on track in the NBL Cup.

When: 7.30pm (AEDT), Tuesday 23 February

Where: John Cain Arena, Melbourne

Broadcast: ESPN; Sky Sports NZ; SBS On Demand; Twitch

The last time
SE Melbourne 89 (Sykes 24, Adnam 17, Creek 15) d Adelaide 83 (Humphries 20, Johnson 19, Crocker 12), Round 2, Adelaide Entertainment Centre

Coming off a double-overtime thriller in the opening round, which ultimately fell Adelaide’s way, the Phoenix led this Round 2 contest for more than 35 minutes as Keifer Sykes announced himself to the NBL with 24 points and 8 assists, and fellow import Ben Moore produced a second half for the ages to finish with 7 offensive rebounds. For Adelaide, Isaac Humphries and Daniel Johnson combined for 39 points, 18 rebounds and 7 assists.

The now
SE Melbourne showed a defensive hunger that night, something they repeated on Sunday in their first NBL Cup clash with Brisbane. The Phoenix executed the defensive scout with aplomb after a poor start, Vic Law and Nathan Sobey combining to make just 8 field goals. At the other end, Mitch Creek, Cam Gliddon, Keifer Sykes and Kyle Adnam scored 77 between them at 54 per cent as SE Melbourne scored 83 at 58 per cent after quarter-time.

Adelaide haven't yet found a way to consistently execute through defensive pressure, and they lack the shot-makers to keep the scoreboard ticking over when the offence breaks down. With a line-up lacking in quickness at both ends of the floor, a priority for coach Connor Henry is finding better late-clock offence that allows his team to cover in transition. They also can’t afford to wait for Brandon Paul to find ways to score as the game wears on.

The stats

- In their past five games, Adelaide are 1-4 in second halves. In those four games they have averaged just 35.3 points after interval, being outscored by an average of 10.3 points

- In wins, the 36ers average 88.2 points in regulation with 69 of those from ‘ones and twos’. In losses those numbers are 74.8ppg and 52.6

- In losses, SE Melbourne are leaking 94.8 points in regulation with 68.5 on those from ‘ones and twos’. In their wins, those numbers are 81.6ppg and 59.6

- In four losses, the Phoenix are -40 on points in the paint, compared to +18 in their five wins

The key men

Tony Crocker – The Crock was brought in as a role player and his numbers have been serviceable – 10.5ppg, 45 per cent from the field, 35 per cent from the arc and 15 points against Brisbane – but the 36ers need more consistency and assertiveness with Donald Sloan gone and Paul still a while away.

In Adelaide’s two most impressive wins of the season over Sydney and Brisbane, Crocker averaged 6 defensive rebounds and 2.5 assists. In his other eight outings he’s managed just 1.6 d-boards and 1.5 assists. While he’s not a superstar in the NBL, the 36ers need to know what they’ll get night in, night out.

Keifer Sykes – Mr 5’11 Triple-Double has an impressive ring to it, and while the rebound numbers were a little surprising for a man his size, the win over Brisbane was the sixth time in nine games he has dished 7 assists or more, showing just how crucial his playmaking is to the Phoenix offence.

Yet it’s arguably his ability at the defensive end that is most important for SE Melbourne, who have yet to find consistency at that end, but have shown great improvement from last season. If Sykes can reduce Josh Giddey’s ability to create for teammates, it goes a long way to beating Adelaide.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">OFF THE GLASS ? <a href="https://twitter.com/ksykesyb?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ksykesyb</a> ?? <a href="https://twitter.com/YWetzell?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@YWetzell</a> <a href="https://t.co/vQbHNX61Nu">pic.twitter.com/vQbHNX61Nu</a></p>— South East Melbourne Phoenix (@SEMelbPhoenix) <a href="https://twitter.com/SEMelbPhoenix/status/1363365829614526466?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 21, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
The quotes

When the Phoenix and 36ers first met this season it was a barn-burning, double-overtime clash with Josh Giddey announcement his arrival in the NBL.

When they next met it was a clinical Phoenix, a Giddey-less Sixers and Simon Mitchell’s men showed the first signs of their new-and-improved defence.

“We've got to get some easier baskets. We’re not getting great looks, we’re having to grind everything out and that’s tough to do,” coach Connor Henry said.

“The Phoenix played us well defensively, they jammed us up top, they switched and we weren’t able to find the right guy.”

Adelaide run a targeted offence, and for Mitchell it was about cutting the head off the snake.

“Overall I thought our schemes were pretty solid, the guys executed the scout, we were able to curb a little bit of the influence of Daniel Johnson, and I feel like not letting DJ off the hook was a bit of a difference maker for us,” he said.

“We switched and just threw a couple of different schemes at him, just to try and keep him on edge.”

They also made Mitch Creek a point of emphasis at the offensive end, going hard at his mismatch with Johnson.

“You know that DJ’s going to come alive at some stage but if you can get him in foul trouble that puts you in a good position to try and curb that influence,” Mitchell said.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">"He's a special talent at the four...play-maker first and scorer second." - Coach<br><br>29 points / 9 rebounds from Mitch Creek willed us over the line yesterday! ??<br><br>Tickets from $10 to tomorrow night's game: <a href="https://t.co/SDUoTajucX">https://t.co/SDUoTajucX</a> <a href="https://t.co/Yn2Z3zkKu2">pic.twitter.com/Yn2Z3zkKu2</a></p>— South East Melbourne Phoenix (@SEMelbPhoenix) <a href="https://twitter.com/SEMelbPhoenix/status/1363674037096910850?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 22, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

So it’s an ominous sign for the Sixers that Creek was at his aggressive best in Sunday’s win over Brisbane, taking a season-high 20 field-goal attempts to finish with 29 points and a game-high plus/minus of +27.

“You’ve got to pick your moments to be whatever you think everyone else can benefit from,” Creek said.

But his coach would not have any talk of this being an unusual performance from Creek, more just that he took what the defence was giving.

“Sometimes (the media) confuse aggression with numbers of shots he gets up. Sometimes he’s really aggressive and he gets six dimes out of it, or it might be the hockey assist and it doesn’t register,” Mitchell said.

“Some of these games where the criticism comes that Creeky hasn’t been aggressive, I don’t agree with it, I feel like he’s a special talent at the four (spot), he’s a playmaker first and a scorer second.”

Creek’s performance sets up a marquee rematch with his former Adelaide teammate, after Johnson struggled through an uncharacteristic 1-of-8 stinker against Sydney.

The challenge for coach Henry is to recognise that while so much offensive focus is on Isaac Humphries and Josh Giddey, his team must find ways to get their best offensive talent rolling.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">? SPIN ? CYCLE ? <a href="https://t.co/iyIvmmQE2o">pic.twitter.com/iyIvmmQE2o</a></p>— Adelaide 36ers (@Adelaide36ers) <a href="https://twitter.com/Adelaide36ers/status/1361248766238498823?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 15, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
“Sometimes DJ has to play a role in the offence and they ball doesn’t find him,” Henry said.

“We can stretch him in certain plays and certain situations where it frees up the middle for Ice to get good touches or get on the rim, or Josh to get downhill, and I commend DJ when he does that because he’s playing s vital role for the team.

“He had some good looks tonight, he didn’t knock them down, I know he’ll bounce back.”

The 36ers need to bounce back quickly, having dropped three of their past four by an average of 18.3 points. And while Brandon Paul should help solve their lack of backcourt scoring and play-making, there is a bit of work to go before that happens.

“We’ve got to get our house in order before he gets here, and we've got seven games in the bubble here to get back to work. It’s the only way we know how to get better,” Henry said.