Inner Sanctum: South East Melbourne Phoenix reveal how an NBL team reviews video tape to get the best out of its players
Basketball is a complex sport with days of preparation ahead of just 40 minutes of on-court action. SEM Phoenix have lifted the veil on an essential element of winning games.
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“We’ll go back and have a look at the tape.”
It tends to be the catchcry for NBL players and coaches during post-game press conferences.
But what does it mean?
Each NBL coaching staff does things its own way, but South East Melbourne Phoenix has given News Corp an inner sanctum look into what a review of a game looks like.
We’re gathered in the Phoenix boardroom as coach Simon Mitchell and assistant Lucas Allen set up to review video of the team’s midweek win over Tasmania.
How they jumped the Jackies, if you will.
Young bucks Owen Foxwell and Anzac Rizzetto are chatting about a clinic they held together for some young hoopers the day before — “Fundamentals with Foxy”. The big Kiwi’s team was “unbeatable” and he want it noted.
Kids getting all the tips and tricks from @Owenfoxwell and helper @AnzacRissetto1 at ð—™ð˜‚ð—»ð—±ð—®ð—ºð—²ð—»ð˜ð—®ð—¹ð˜€ ð˜„ð—¶ð˜ð—µ ð—™ð—¼ð˜…𘆠🤩 pic.twitter.com/PffIr9XZA7
— South East Melbourne Phoenix (@SEMelbPhoenix) January 19, 2023
Import Trey Kell gives an emphatic “yes” when Mitchell says there are plenty of sore bodies after the Phoenix’s bruising win that kept their season alive.
The Phoenix face a massive task, needing to win each of their last three games — against three of the top-four teams — to keep their finals destiny in their hands. It starts with Perth on Sunday afternoon at their sold out Heartland home in Wantirna.
Mitchell’s buoyed by the Phoenix bounce back from a shock loss to Brisbane — they beat up the JackJumpers, holding them to just 75 points in their own gym.
Allen, who leads the offensive review, immediately puts Foxwell, the teenage development player who didn’t travel to the Apple Isle, on the spot.
“Foxy, what did you think sitting at home watching the game?” he asks.
The kid takes a second, drawing a few giggles, but his response elicits an exuberant “Good answer, Fox” from star American centre Alan Williams.
“I thought, offensively, we were a lot better than the Brisbane game,” Foxwell says.
“I thought our shot selection, our want to get to the second side, was a lot better than the Brisbane game and just taking a breath every now and then.
“We got the ball inside and took our time. Our pace was good too.”
Allen rolls through some of the Phoenix KPIs, before delving into the video. He shows clips of the Phoenix’s good intent on the glass, ball movement and how the team attacked the basket and put the JackJumpers in foul trouble.
Co-captains Kyle Adnam and Mitch Creek pick apart an offensive play where the plucky guard wants the MVP candidate to position himself a little differently.
There’s plenty of honesty — both positive and negative — and the players appear to take it in their stride.
It’s intriguing — the little things make a massive impact. Mitchell singles out a pass that’s “just a little bit off” and, while his team is a sterling 11-4 with all five starters available, there’s still work to be done.
“Just throwing our full squad out on the floor is not necessarily a recipe for success, it’s about having that unity on the floor and that connection,” Mitchell said.
“We’re just a fraction off — this pass, just got to reach for it, which means that you’re shooting it a little bit off balance.
“Those are the things we haven’t quite bedded down.
“We need to bed that s**t down for Perth, get in unison with each other and working on our passing, catching and our timing together.”
Mitchell takes charge on defence — while he wrangles the tech, the boys get a chance to banter about the recent NBL action. Tyler Harvey’s ballsy game winner for the Illawarra Hawks and the egregious video review mistake in the Brisbane v Adelaide popular talking points.
The Phoenix are in the middle of the table, conceding 89.2 points per game, but have tightened that up over their last two.
Rebounding machine Dane Pineau finds a big positive: “I could hear more talk when I was on the floor, there was more help coming on rebounds, Sauce and I were boxing out and guys were coming over the top and I think we should be really confident, given two games in a row we’ve held Brisbane to 84 and Tassie were in the 70s and we held them to under 20 in three out of four quarters.”
Mitchell touches on how the game is being officiated at present to help prepare his players and he’s impressed with the team’s sustained pressure up the floor, which “brings an anxiety into the opposition.” He’s pleased his boys stuck to “the scout” — information on an opponent’s tendencies and abilities on the court.
Creek and JackJumpers’ star Jack McVeigh had a running battle in the first half, the latter in double figures at the long break and up and about. Creek locked in and held him to 15 for the game.
“I know Jack was feeling it a bit,” Mitchell tells Creek.
“It helps (lock in) when it’s a guy you like but a guy you want to beat.”
Kell gets plenty of love from during the tape session.
“Great job there, Trey Kell,” Mitchell says.
“That’s f***ing elite, Trey,” Creek adds on another piece of vision.
Mitchell says “the fight was there from the get go” — but the job’s not done.
“Tip of the hat to you blokes, that’s one down,” he says.
“Same this week against Perth.
“We’ve got to maintain that rage.
“They’re obviously a very different type of team, free-flowing, offensive orientated.
“We’ve got to have even more desire and ambition as to how dominant we want to be on the boards.”
***SEM Phoenix v Perth Wildcats: Sunday, 2pm @ State Basketball Centre
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