Mitchell Lauds Full Squad Effort

Phoenix Coach Simon Mitchell says the efforts of his squad in the absence of Keifer Sykes yesterday were a great sign for the team moving forward in NBL21.

The Phoenix recorded a 17-point win despite missing their star point guard in Sykes, as well as Dane Pineau, Adam Gibson and the quarantined Ryan Broekhoff, who is set to join the team next week.

Cam Gliddon and development player Izayah Le’afa were two of Mitchell’s troops who embraced the challenge.

Gliddon continued his stellar form with 19 points, four triples and continual harassment of the Hawks’ dangerous backcourt on the other end of the court.

Le’afa brought great intensity off the bench, lifting the team from the moment he entered the contest, forcing the Hawks into an eight-second backcourt violation and getting a huge response from his teammates on the sideline.

(Le'afa has a bright future in the game after yesterday's performance)

The young Kiwi also scored his first NBL points with a corner three, finishing with seven for the game.

“It dawned on me as we were breaking to go into the game; I’ve got Dane Pineau, Adam Gibson and Keifer Sykes still sitting there and I’m thinking, ‘bloody hell, that’s a pretty good three defensive players’,” Mitchell said post-game.

“I knew that Kyle could do a job and knew Izayah was going to go and do his best but with guys of that calibre and firepower in the Hawks backcourt, you’ve just got to keep throwing guys at them.

“I was wondering to myself a little bit whether or not we had enough ammunition defensively and I guess it turned out the guys stepped up and we did, that was great.

“I thought we were pretty ordinary (against Adelaide last week)…it was nice for us to make that advancement as a team today.”

Another hero of the day was Kyle Adnam, who after playing every game in the Phoenix’s short history as a backup guard, stepped up for his first start and put on a show.

The 27-year-old finished with a career-high and franchise record 13 assists to go along with his nine points, five rebounds and four steals.

(Adnam controlled the tempo of the game from start to finish)

It’s just another episode of what’s been a breakout season for the fan favourite, averaging career highs across the board and putting his hand up as a sixth man of the year contender.

He says the high assists numbers were a result of looking for his teammates to fill the void left by Sykes.

“I knew it was going to be a little bit of a role change rather than when I do come in and I’m with Keifer and I’m able to score a bit more,” Adnam said.

“It was definitely a conscious effort and guys made some shots; they cut really well, moved well and shot the ball well. They made me look good.”

Mitchell added: “I thought his passing was really crafty, he got rid of the ball early and made plays. All the credit to Kyle, he’s made progress all season in that aspect, he played a great game.”

The Phoenix play Perth on Wednesday night at the State Basketball Centre in a big top-four clash.

Sam Bunn for Phoenix Media (01/03/2021)