Studs and Duds | Round 5

At the conclusion of each round, NBL Media’s Liam Santamaria lets us know who made the grade and who deserves a little shade.

STUDS

Mitch McCarron (Melbourne United)

It flew a little under the radar but that was a very impressive win by Melbourne United in the ‘Gong.

The league-leaders were missing three key pieces from their rotation on Wednesday night and were coming up against a quality team that was all fired up for a much-anticipated home opener.

Cue Mitch McCarron, who led his squad to victory with a brilliant all-court performance.

McCarron is always a joy to watch as there are very few players who compete with as much focus, endeavour and selflessness as that guy does on a nightly basis.

But in this one, Money-Makin’ Mitch took it to another level, stepping up his offensive attack to score 17 points on 3-of-5 shooting from distance while also dropping a game-high 7 dimes.

“We had the mindset that everybody needed to contribute in all categories,” McCarron commented postgame.

“We’ve had some guys who have been super aggressive for us and scoring lots of points so we knew that everybody would have to fill their shoes.”

With that win, Melbourne wound up being the only team in the league (apart from Cairns who didn’t play) to go undefeated across the round.

 

Isaac Humphries (Adelaide 36ers)

This man just continues to impress.

Humphries was a tower of power in Adelaide’s win over the Bullets on Saturday, notching up an enormous line of 24 points, 14 boards and 6 blocked shots.

Okay, his impact was curbed in the return bout – when he put up 15, 8 and 2 – but man, his out-and-out dominance in Brisbane made him definitely worthy of an early shout-out in the Studs.

 

John Mooney (Perth Wildcats)

Speaking of guys who continue to post big numbers… John Mooney just keeps on truckin’.

Amidst the madness of a blowout win and a blowout loss, the Wildcats big man just did his thing; registering back-to-back double-doubles on super-efficient shooting clips.

Mooney posted 18 & 13 in Perth’s 31-point win and then 19 & 10 in their loss, shooting a combined 17-of-24 from the field including 2-of-2 from long range.

He’s not as flashy as some but he’s way more productive than most.

 

Tyler Harvey (Illawarra Hawks)

This guy, meanwhile, is just so much fun to watch.

He’s incredibly light on his feet, his floater game is RIDICULOUS and he’s ready, willing and able to pull the trigger on his silky-smooth jumper at literally any moment.

This week the Hawks split their home-away double but, right across the round, Harvey continued to score at a high level.

He poured in a game-high 22 in his team’s narrow loss to Melbourne. Then, as he took on the challenge of battling Casper Ware, Harvey fired the Hawks past Sydney with a game-high 25 including this clutch bucket from the carpark…

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">THIS GAME.<br>TYLER HARVEY.<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NBL21?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NBL21</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ILLatSYD?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#ILLatSYD</a> <a href="https://t.co/ZYKBqUwjyS">pic.twitter.com/ZYKBqUwjyS</a></p>&mdash; The NBL (@NBL) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBL/status/1360828435816349701?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 14, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>


“This is why you play basketball. You look forward to these kind of games,” Harvey commented postgame.

“We knew they weren’t going to lay down and we weren’t going to lay down either.

“It’s always fun going back and forth like that but when you’re so caught up in the moment you don’t really think about that one on one match-up with Casper and me. I’m just trying to go out there and win the game.”

 

Vic Law (Brisbane Bullets)

Another who was part of a win and a loss was Brisbane star Vic Law, who bounced back superbly from a quiet game to light up the scoreboard last night in Adelaide.

The 36ers ran doubles at Law in the block on Saturday and, despite being just one point shy of a double-double, the strategy worked to limit his impact.

Last night, however, it was a different story as Law stamped his authority with a scintillating 27-point performance.

“Last game was unacceptable” the star Bullet told the broadcast.

“So I came out here and played much harder, got adjusted to that double-team and then come out here to rock-and-roll.”

 

Keifer Sykes (South East Melbourne Phoenix)

It was a similar story for Keifer Sykes, whose gutsy play sparked his side’s incredible turnaround on Sunday afternoon.

Sykes was quiet in SEM’s big loss early in the round but he bounced back in the rematch, pouring in a game-high 27 while also making life tough for the reigning MVP.

“I’ve never seen Bryce Cotton look tired – ever! – until tonight,” Phoenix coach Simon Mitchell said.

“That’s probably the highest compliment I can pay Keifer is that he made the guy that I’ve never seen look tired, look tired.

“It was still a hell of a ball game by Bryce but Keifer’s efforts on both sides of the ball were excellent.”

Mitchell’s praise for Sykes didn’t end there. In fact, the second-year coach made it clear where he ranks his guy among the NBL’s elite stoppers.

“I think he’s the best defender in the league and I think people are going to start talking that,” Mitchell added.

“He’s just been doing a wonderful job each week. He’s a great leader of our ball club and he leads on both sides of the ball which is very important for us.”

Of course, defence is nice… but ALLEY-OOP DUNKS FROM OUT-OF-BOUNDS ARE BETTER!

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Roses are red, violets are blue,<br>Keifer Sykes can jump higher than you.<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/PERatSEM?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#PERatSEM</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NBL21?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NBL21</a> <a href="https://t.co/LAyLMyO89C">pic.twitter.com/LAyLMyO89C</a></p>&mdash; The NBL (@NBL) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBL/status/1360840727119360000?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 14, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

More of that, please, Mr Sykes (and Mr Gliddon).

 

Tommy Greer (South East Melbourne Phoenix)

Speaking of the Phoenix… shout out to my man for getting the Broekhoff deal done. That’s a big-time signing, right there!

 

Corey Webster (New Zealand Breakers)

Finally, let’s throw some love to C-Web for his eye-catching performance on Friday night in the Harbour City.

The Breakers went down to the Kings but Webster’s elite shot-making had his squad in the lead midway through the fourth, as he poured in 25 points on 56 percent shooting from the floor.

“We really need Corey, as everybody knows,” Breakers coach Dan Shamir said.

“His ability to make plays for himself to open everything up for us, his talent, his ability to be aggressive… it was great to see him play like that.”

Webster also deserves some praise for the courage he’s shown to speak openly about the impact that this season – and all of its unique challenges – is having on him and his wellbeing.

In fact, let’s delve into that a little deeper in the section usually titled ‘Duds’, but today I’m calling the…

 

WARRIORS

New Zealand Breakers

I really feel for the Breakers. These guys are doing it tough.

Yes, they’re professional athletes and sure, losses are a part of the game.

But these guys have been away from home for two months now and, unfortunately, a trip back to New Zealand is not walking through that door.

“I see it in our guys... It’s tough for them to play,” Shamir said.

“We’re just in the hotel room all the time… They (the players) don’t really have a moment of life. They’re either with their teammates or alone in a hotel room. It’s not easy. However, nobody’s going to feel sorry for us.”

Actually, that’s not totally true. The competition is fierce between the lines, sure, but beyond them, there’s a strong sense of sympathy across the league for the Breakers’ situation.

Take Sydney Kings owner Paul Smith, for example, who extended a financial hand to the Breakers with a thoughtful gesture over the weekend.

Look also at the strong show of support for Corey Webster over the past few days after he posted on social media about the challenges of a season on the road, away from loved ones.

This is an awfully difficult season for the Breakers and four losses from their opening five games has only compounded their issues.

They’ve been a mess, for the most part, offensively and their lack of symmetry at that end of the floor has seemingly sucked the joy out of their game.

“We know it’s a tough situation but we can only control what we can control,” Kiwi forward Finn Delany said.

“From here on out we’ve made ourselves a tough situation but we just have to get to work.

“It can be consuming. Life at the moment, we’re in a hotel room or on a basketball court. We’re missing balance.

“We just have to get to work and get better.”

And they will, I’ve no doubt about it.

In the meantime, let it be known to all of the Breakers coaches, players, owners, staff and fans: we’re with you. All of us. Everyone on either side of the Tasman who loves the game and loves this league.

And to the players and coaches, specifically… you guys are doing New Zealand and Breaker Nation proud, no matter what the win/loss columns currently say. You and your families have made – and continue to make – enormous sacrifices to enable this season to go ahead and this scribe, along with all NBL fans, recognise and appreciate you for doing that.

Dealing with the separation, the isolation and the uncertainty must be difficult. Couple that with the physical, mental and emotional demands that are always a part of competing in this league and that becomes an enormous load to carry.

Just know that we see how much you’re trying to overcome and we appreciate all of your efforts. You can do this. We’re with you.

 

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