A Welcome Return of Form

After a tough loss to the Wildcats to start Round 7, the Phoenix returned home and laid the smackdown on cross-town rivals Melbourne United in front of a sold-out crowd.

Head coach Simon Mitchell spoke to RSN Breakfast Club Monday morning.

"I'll have a smile on my face. It was a good win on Saturday night; always good to beat the cross-town rivals, especially in front of a packed house. It was a welcome return to form after a disappointing performance from us on Thursday night," said Mitchell.

"An outstanding turnaround; it's always difficult coming from Perth and playing in 36 hours and getting back on the floor. We were just about out of legs in that last quarter, but we held on; we had built up a good lead in the third quarter. So, we held on, and the boys did very well."

(Throwdown XVIII was a sell-out with the Melbourne fans coming out in force.)

With an almost full roster for Phoenix, the turnaround from the last Throwdown was significant. The added bodies of co-captains Kyle Adnam and Ryan Broekhoff allowed Mitchell and his side to go with their original matchups and game plan for Throwdown XVII.

"I think certainly personnel changes, Melbourne lost Shea Ili from the last time we played, and we were able to add Kyle Adnam and Ryan Broekhoff to the roster, who were late withdrawals. From a coach speak, we didn't change anything from the first meeting with Melbourne; we just executed a lot better," Mitchell said.

"I think there may have been one action from Melbourne, we sort of defended a little bit differently, but everything else was the same as last time. Matchups were as we'd organised for last time but just having those guys on the floor made a difference. Far better from an execution standpoint."

A stand-out from the Throwdown was import point guard Gary Browne. The electrifying guard had the ball on a string, finishing with his first NBL double-double of 16 points and 11 assists.

Mitchell commented he had a smile on his face when Browne was on the floor doing what he does best.

"It takes a lot of pressure off everybody on the team from an offensive perspective. He just creates easy buckets for everybody, and he's knocking them down himself. It just takes the pressure off your execution. If you go out there and get some transition baskets and some easy stuff off him breaking off a dribble in the half-court, then it just puts a little less pressure on your offence to execute to perfection," he said.

(Browne was a standout in Saturday's win, where he got his first NBL double-double.)

Round seven started poorly for the Phoenix, who have not played well off the back of extended breaks.

"Even in the fourth quarter against Perth, we were able to get a glimpse into what we can be when we perform and get up the floor defensively, and we create a little bit of havoc and turn the ball over and get out running the other way. We saw the benefits of that and had a little discussion after that game; we were certainly a little flat after the first quarter and second and third; we didn't see the energy we needed. Coming back in that fourth, it was more of a kick-starter of how we would play Melbourne," he commented.

"When we've got our starting line-up out there, we are 4-1 on the season, and they're healthy at the moment, so hopefully, we can keep that momentum."

During the anthem and warm-up pre-game, Phoenix wore pride tops to show their support towards Melbourne United's player Isaac Humphries. Mitchell shared his thoughts on the subject and praised Humphries for his courage.

"I had a multitude of thoughts. One, I was a little bit sad in the sense of hearing about some of the things he had to go through and some of the dark times that he experienced and that we are still in the day and age that people still feel like that and don't feel like they can just be themselves," he said.

"From that perspective, a little bit of sadness but also tremendous pride in his coming back and sharing who he is with the world. And I just hope for all the happiness for him; it's a huge relief for him and can inspire other people in general life; it doesn't have to be athletes; everyone can find a pathway to happiness in our time on this planet."

(Phoenix will look to back up their Throwdown performance when they face the Hawks on Sunday.)

Phoenix has a week's break before taking on the Illawarra Hawks at home on Sunday, November 27, at 4 pm. Mitchell knows they will be coming out firing after their heartbreaking loss to ladder leaders Sydney Kings.

"We've got Illawarra this weekend. They will be licking their wounds after that loss last night against Sydney but what they did show is a lot of character to take it right up to the league leader. So, we won't be resting on our laurels, thinking we are ahead of the game here. We've got a lot of preparation to do," Mitchell said.

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Phoenix Media (21/11/22)