Thanks for starting the thread!

Perth host new boys on the block after getting a double dacking by Cairns last week. Can they strike back? The Phoenix are hot at the moment, but a trip to the west will test them. Are they up to it, or will they end up Mitch Creek without a paddle?

Creek has had a golden start to the season with his name featuring in the leaderboards. #1 for scoring (25.3 ppg) #3 in assists, #4 in rebounds, #3 in steals but down the list in blocks. Then again if you're relying on the boy from Horsham for blocking then your team balance is out.

The Wildcats don't like losing two in a row and should come back strongly. Trevor G would be a bear with a sore head if that happened.

And I think it will..... Wildcats are going to find it hard to knock off a team that has the momentum and would have written down as one of their season goals "Beat the Wildcats in Perth". That would be in red texta in their locker room and come their return to the locker room, the ceremonial green texta will be passed to Mitch Creek so he can put a tick in that box.

Phoenix to out run and out gun Perth by about 8

ROFL

Look, anything can and will happen in the NBL, just look at last weeks result against Cairns. But you can only predict based on the norms, and that says SEM are no match for Perth especially at home.

Perth's defence has started to gel, and if that trend continues then SEM will find it hard going.

Hunt & Majok have struggled against genuine size, but unless Benson suddenly sparks a massive form reversal, SEM have nobody to challenge Perth. Pineau will either foul-out early or spend most of time on the bench.

Creek has come back from his American sojourn, and Boomers campaign, in red hot form, but this is SEM's first double. So they'll have to decide whether they want to sacrifice a probable win at home against Adelaide by flogging Creek?

The match=ups will be interesting, as will be SEM's starting line-up...
IMHO they need to start Benson, with Pinenuts at the and Creek at the 3. That will not only give them the best chance of containing Kay & Hunt, but also allow Creek his best opportunity. If they go with Stephens instead, then they're going to struggle.

It's also a test for Mitchell, up against the best coach in the league, and I don't think he's up to the challenge.

I'm looking for big things from Hunt tonight. SEM have nobody currently capable of matching up on him, so if he can stay out of silly foul trouble, he should be able to go to town.

I actually want SEM to win by 30 after reading that.

Well SEM have their Grown Man replacement import playing tonight?

Phoenix dominating on the offensive glass but can't buy a shot.

loving the pink!!!

What would you call this shade of pink? It has a certain tinge to it.

Bubblegum pink?

Too many quick 3s from the Phoenix.

perhaps persian pink?

Magenta

When the shots aren't dropping the Phoenix look very one dimensional. 13 points isn't a huge obstacle with all the shooters they have though, but I'd like to see them go to Creek down low a lot more and mix things up a bit.

Angus your on the money with shooting prowess of the Phoenix, but this lead is uncatchable as when Perf pop they can't be stopped..

I wouldn't say they've been found out just yet. Still hanging around. They definitely look small against this Wildcats team though.

It took a while but finally the Phoenix are getting a grown man welcome to the league.

Abysmal couple of minutes from SEM to finish that half. Yikes.

Can we start a petition to ban crowd shots during Wildcats home games?

Try living here.

Streaming gone bad

How many times are SEM going to foul a three point shooter. Ridiculous.

Pheonix need to make the call, and get rid of benson. Tonight has to be the wake up call doesnt it.

SBS on demand showed everything bar the press conferences booooo

The Phoenix press conference was brilliant. Mitchell gave really great, detailed answers and didn't hide. After a massive loss, that’s a real credit to him.

Very casual blasé press conference by Phoenix. They need to address how bad they were and not make light of it .

Wildcats too strong and too deep.

As I said before the game, that starting lineup was never going to work for them, and won't against the better teams.

Pinenuts may, or may not, be having a breakout season, but he's just not that good. Certainly not starting quality, and nowhere near good enough to carry the inside burden.
They LOOKED marginally better with Benson out there, at least he adds size, but not much else. SEM need to either replace him with somebody more mobile, or figure out a way to use him more effectively.

Hunt was good early, but then got ganked and again played limited minutes.

I was hoping for Gibson to get fouled and then miss both, because if ever a player deserved the nickname "Cheeseburger" its him. Hard to think of anyone else that has been so consistently overrated, year after year.

Perth's defence has started to gel, and if that trend continues then SEM will find it hard going.

Pineau will either foul-out early or spend most of time on the bench.

Hunt & Majok have struggled against genuine size, but unless Benson suddenly sparks a massive form reversal, SEM have nobody to challenge Perth.

The match=ups will be interesting, as will be SEM's starting line-up...
IMHO they need to start Benson, with Pinenuts at the and Creek at the 3. That will not only give them the best chance of containing Kay & Hunt, but also allow Creek his best opportunity. If they go with Stephens instead, then they're going to struggle.

As I said before the game, that starting lineup was never going to work for them, and won't against the better teams.

They obviously ran out of green textas

"Pheonix need to make the call, and get rid of benson. Tonight has to be the wake up call doesnt it."

It's going to be interesting how they approach it with Wesley back. I imagine Tai is going to play quite a bit at centre with Creek at power forward. If that's the case, do they back in Pineau and Benson to carry the other 20-odd minutes at C?

Or do they keep Crockett instead of Benson and play even more small ball? He looked good last night and fits the way they play. It could be a little risky in case Pineau gets injured, but it would certainly give them a dynamic and versatile squad.

"Pinenuts" lol classic

Think before you post people.
Koberulz is always right and will bend you over and cut and paste you a new one.

Well yeah.

Anyway, they obviously need to get Wesley back, but I still don't see why they wouldn't try to upgrade Benson to somebody starter quality.
Creek has obviously worked hard in recent years to improve his outside shooting, so IMHO its waste playing him as an undersize 4.
I get that this seems to be a few teams this season, but in most cases those teams still genuinely big guys in the 5 spot. Wesley's a tough operator, and can certainly hold his own, but a combo of he and Creek is still going to struggle against most frontcourts.

"Creek has obviously worked hard in recent years to improve his outside shooting, so IMHO its waste playing him as an undersize 4."

I think that's his best position in the NBL. He was sensational in that spot for Adelaide and with the exception of last night has been brilliant in that spot for SEM. He has the strength to defend bigger PFs, but they can't defend his speed.

"I think that's his best position in the NBL. He was sensational in that spot for Adelaide and with the exception of last night has been brilliant in that spot for SEM. He has the strength to defend bigger PFs, but they can't defend his speed."

You could be right, most teams now running wings in the SF position, and many seem to be trending towards smaller guys at PF.

This probably reflect my personal bias, but for me the best NBL PFs are still guys like Kay, Wesley, etc, even Barlow.

Last night should be a wake up a call to SEM and all their bandwagoners.

They got an injury ravaged and massively disorganised MU first up, and have otherwise had an easy intro until last night. It was apparent across the board, but that includes Creek. He and Peanut struggled against Kay and even Wagstaff.

Like any team, it will come down to manpower. We assume they'll get Wesley back, but after that who knows. Perhaps they ditch Benson and keep Crockett??
A starting lineup of Roberson, Magden, Crockett, Creek, and Wesley would work against most teams.