Give us our flowers: Surging Phoenix want more credit for rise as Kings prepare for a ‘fire bomb’ in NBL blockbuster
Phoenix basketball boss Simon Mitchell has slammed NBL media for failing to give his rising Phoenix the “recognition” they deserve ahead of a blockbuster clash against the Kings.
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South East Melbourne’s basketball boss Simon Mitchell has slammed NBL media for failing to give his rising Phoenix the “recognition” they deserve ahead of Wednesday’s blockbuster clash against the Sydney Kings.
Kings coach Brian Goorjian certainly rates the Phoenix, hailing the “fire bomb” men from Melbourne the real deal in the championship race.
Mitchell said the Phoenix’s 0-5 start should now be a distant memory, given the men in green and white own the league’s equal-best record of the past two months (8-2, 80 per cent, tied with Perth) and have shot up the offensive and defensive ratings charts.
But he believes those in the league’s media sphere are yet to catch on to how good his team is and give his squad the flowers they deserve.
“You start 0-5, there’s going to be people who are going to be cautious of you,” Mitchell said.
“It’s hard to avoid it. You sit down, watch one of your games and it’s constantly brought up about a slow start.
“Even this week, NBL Now (podcast), they don’t even review our game. There’s no mention of us beating Cairns in Cairns.
“We’ve been the best team in the NBL for two months – No one seems to recognise that.
“We’re the No.3 ranked offensive team (117.9 points per 100 possessions) in the NBL and the No.3-ranked defence (112.2 points conceded per 100 possessions).
“We’re playing a brand of basketball I think’s conducive to the postseason.”
A regular season-ending hamstring injury to star guard Derrick Walton Jr isn’t ideal for South East Melbourne, but Goorjian is still fearful.
The veteran mentor points out that if Perth lost Bryce Cotton it would be “diabolical”, however he feels like the Phoenix can still thrive in Walton’s absence.
“Because the strength of their guard play is elite,” Goorjian said.
“If they lose big man Jordi Hunter they are in deep shit, but if they lose a guard they are covered.
Tough from cap! 💪
— South East Melbourne Phoenix (@SEMelbPhoenix) January 18, 2025
📺 ESPN pic.twitter.com/4esNgBnvyx
“Of course they are better with Walton. He is maybe a first-team player, but the Phoenix don’t skip a beat with their depth at the guard spot.
“It’s just more Sobey (Nathan), Foxwell (Owen) and Glover (Angus).
“I see the Phoenix and Adelaide as the two fire bombs in this championship race right now.”
Goorjian challenged his side – ranked the NBL’s No.1 defensive team – to stop South East Melbourne’s guards from taking control on the offensive end.
He pinpointed the Phoenix’s perimeter shooting and pick and rolls with big men Matt Hurt and Jordi Hunter as the key defensive tasks for his team.
“We’ve got to stay in the game and if we’re close enough in the fourth quarter we’ve got a chance,” he said.
“I feel like if you’ve got great guard play you are going to be one of the top teams.
“That guard play equals success in the NBL and our ability to defend and control that down this back month of the season is going to be huge.”
Regardless of the result against Sydney, Mitchell believes his side have already shown its playoff bonafides, but he acknowledges the fifth-placed Phoenix have blown two winnable games against the Kings.
“I think anyone who watches basketball and is taking in what’s going on around them, they’ll know that we’re actually legit,” he said.
“We’ve beaten Melbourne United the last two times – going into their game against Illawarra, everyone was saying their form, somehow, contributes to them being a top-two team.
“Our form’s been far superior to theirs, we’ve beaten them twice and we’ve beaten Illawarra the last two times we’ve played them.”
Speaking of United, the Phoenix’s powerhouse cross-town rivals are in danger of squandering a 12-4 start that had them touted as NBL title favourites, with the daunting task of the in-form Wildcats in Perth in the late-game Wednesday.
Melbourne has lost six of its past nine games and is struggling to stop teams, conceding 108.5 points per game in those six defeats.
United holds the season series 2-0, embarrassing the Wildcats on their home floor in Round 3 when Shea Ili did a number on Bryce Cotton in a 29-point win.
But that feels like a distant memory, with Perth reeling off a 9-2 record since November’s FIBA break and shooting into second spot on the back of a historic scoring spree from their superstar guard.
That sterling record does appear to have some flimsiness, given the two losses came against top-placed Illawarra and just one of the nine wins came against a top-six team – wounded Tassie.
While not quite the scalp of a couple of months ago, the United test would add more legitimacy to Perth’s title claims – and add more steal to their claim on second spot.
Originally published as Give us our flowers: Surging Phoenix want more credit for rise as Kings prepare for a ‘fire bomb’ in NBL blockbuster
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