Kelly: 'We're ready for next step'

One look at the South East Melbourne Phoenix roster and you can see the talent at their disposal. How that talent comes together as a team now poses the biggest question heading into NBL25.

Mike Kelly’s squad showed plenty at the Blitz to suggest they’ve gelled incredibly well early in the piece, but now their biggest test so far looms; Round 1 against the Perth Wildcats. 

“I think we’re ready to take the next step,” Kelly said on Thursday. 

“We’re progressing from where we started with nine new players in the beginning of pre-season and really key players.”

Among those new faces, Derrick Walton Jr, Nathan Sobey and Jordan Hunter, as well as NBA-calibre imports, Joe Wieskamp and Matt Hurt. 

The Phoenix have brought in plenty of championship experience and just as much international pedigree, rising from last year’s cellar-dwellers to genuine championship contenders, albeit with plenty still to play out.

“I think we’ve made progress the whole time during pre-season and especially during the Blitz, so I think we’re ready to take the next step against a really good Perth Wildcats team,” Kelly said.

“I think we have some little niggles that are bothering guys, but hopefully we have everybody ready to go tomorrow (Friday).

“Fitting them together and figuring out how they all do their best with each other, that’s the puzzle. It’s fun, but we’re still building on it every day.”

It’s a different story at the Perth Wildcats, who’ve largely kept their roster together from NBL24. 

“I think it makes them (the Wildcats) a tough team to play against, because continuity is a thing,” Kelly added. 

“They know what they’re on about from last year, so for us it’s just seeing how we get better more so than reading into too much about them ... and trying to be better than we were last week.”

South East Melbourne plays the Perth Wildcats on Friday night at 8.30pm AEST, with the game live on ESPN via Kayo.