Semi-Final Game One Preview: Phoenix v United

Opponent: Melbourne United

Where: Qudos Bank Arena, Sydney

When: Friday, June 11 – 7.30pm AEST

Broadcast: ESPN, SBS Viceland, SBS On Demand, Twitch, NBL TV

 

Cross-town rivals South East Melbourne Phoenix and Melbourne United are ready to square off in Game One of the best-of-three 2021 NBL Semi-Finals.

The intriguing series – the first finals campaign for the Phoenix and first post-season Throwdown – will be played at Sydney’s Qudos Bank Arena without crowds due to ongoing COVID-19 restrictions in Victoria.

United will enter the series as favourites but have fallen to the Phoenix in two of the teams’ five clashes this year, including the most recent in Round 18.

It will be the 10th instalment of the Throwdown rivalry, 'Throwdown X'.

“The Melbourne rivalry is a game you get up for and now it’s taken to a new level in the finals,” Phoenix star Ryan Broekhoff said.

“I think we match up pretty well, it just depends on the mindset we enter the game with – being physical, aggressive and playing to our strengths. It’s going to be tough but we’re very confident in our ability to do something pretty special.”

Keifer Sykes and Mitch Creek have given United the most troubles over their past meetings and will be tasked with leading the Phoenix to a game one upset on Friday night.

Tensions will be high on the court and in family rooms across Victoria as the Phoenix and United take things up a notch with championship aspirations on the line.

 

SQUAD

Cam Gliddon rejoined the team on Thursday and is a game time decision pending a fitness test.

Dane Pineau (knee) has been ruled out for the season.

 

RYAN BROEKHOFF ON THE TEAM’S FINALS HOPES:

“I never consider us real underdogs. We have a belief in our team, our system and the game plan the coaches put together that we feel confident going into every game, whether we’re odds-on favourites or underdogs. We don’t really pay too much attention to it.”

“It’s very much internal and a quiet confidence that we have the pieces and the team to go out and get the job done. We’ve been able to beat Melbourne, Perth and Illawarra throughout the season so it just comes down to each game.”

 

RYAN BROEKHOFF ON PLAYING IN FRONT OF NO CROWD:

“It’s obviously going to be different. We’d love to have fans and be playing in Melbourne but the circumstances are what they are.”

“We’re going to have to create the energy. There’s no excuses for not talking on the court and from the bench and having our communication on point, which is going to be very important for us. It offers us the challenge to be loud, create our own energy and keep our communication at a high level.”

 

PLAYER TO WATCH

Ben Moore equalled a NBL 40-minute era record on Tuesday night against Brisbane with an incredible 12 offensive rebounds (16 total) off the bench.

Moore’s finishing has been slightly down in recent games but his activity on the glass is super important for the team, especially in high-pressure finals contests.

With United boasting arguably the most talented big man in the game in Jock Landale, Moore and Yanni Wetzell will have their hands full on both ends of the floor and will need to bring their A-game.

The frontcourt tandem have worked well all season along with the slightly smaller Mitch Creek.

 

OPPOSITION REPORT

Melbourne United claimed first position for majority of the NBL21 regular season and that’s exactly where they ended up.

They finished the season on a three-game winning streak when they overcame the 36ers on Sunday.

United is a seasoned finals squad, having featured in the post-season in each of the last three seasons, including their 2018 Championship.

They went close to upsetting the ladder-leading Kings last year when they took their Semi-Finals series to a tight game three only to come up short.

This season, with Jock Landale and Scotty Hopson adding firepower to an already strong line-up, Melbourne enters the finals as the title favourites and with the weight of expectations on their shoulders.

Chris Goulding enjoys the big stage, winning the 2018 Grand Final series MVP. He’ll be a high priority for the Phoenix defence.

Landale was unlucky to miss a league MVP nomination this year and alongside guard Mitch McCarron poses the biggest two-way threat.

 

SIMON MITCHELL ON MELBOURNE UNITED:

“Melbourne are an excellent team with great depth. They’ve got really high-end, blue chip guys but there’s only one ball and it can only be in one player’s hands at a time. We’ve just got make sure each individual on our team does a job and that we’re prepared as best as we can in a short time to quell their influence.”

“The most important thing against Melbourne is keeping them out of transition and keeping them off the offensive boards to force them into half court execution.”

“From a defensive standpoint, you have to know where Chris Goulding is at all times and stop him in the half court from catching and shooting and find him in transition. We’ve also got to do a better job than what we did last game with Jock Landale, we switched a little too much on him and he got a hold of us.”

 

HISTORY VS. OPPOSITION

Head-to-Head Record:

Phoenix 3 United 6

 

NBL21:

United def Phoenix 96-90

Phoenix def United 97-92

United def Phoenix 80-60

United def Phoenix 82-93

Phoenix def United 94-83

 

NBL20:

Phoenix def United 91-88

United def Phoenix 110-98

United def Phoenix 96-95

United def Phoenix 109-90

 

Sam Bunn for Phoenix Media (10/06/2021)