King's Gambit: "Underdogs" plot next move

Josh King noticed a chip on the shoulder of his South East Melbourne Phoenix players when he arrived, and he wants them to keep that underdog mentality even as they emerge as genuine threats in NBL25.

The Phoenix went into Christmas with plenty of momentum, following wins against Melbourne United and the Adelaide 36ers by a combined 32 points, but King was concerned if a 10-day break would halt that momentum.

The coach needn’t have worried as they came out and beat the league-leading Illawarra Hawks in Wollongong on New Year's Eve, 110-105, to improve to 10-9 and be one of the NBL's form teams.

If ever there was a perfect test of a team's progress, beating the championship favourites certainly fit the bill.

Nathan Sobey scored 25 points, Joe Wieskamp 22, Derrick Walton Jr 17 (11 assists), Matt Hurt 17 and Jordan Hunter 11, with that depth of scoring options a strength that King is proud of.

"It can be somebody different every night and that's what I love about our team," King said.

"We had five or six guys in double-digit scoring and we even have some guys who didn’t play as many minutes who we will need when we go on the road after this, to get more bodies in the game.

"I think we're a deep team, we're a talented team and when we're playing well, I think we're one of the best teams in the league."

There was an underdog mentality King liked from the moment he stepped through the doors at the Phoenix, and he wants his team to keep that attitude, even after winning 10 of their last 14 games.

"I'm just the head coach, but it's credit to these guys for sticking together. They were 0-5 and I think they had a chip on their shoulder before I got here," King said.

"Sam did a nice job of getting the team on the right track and getting the guys going, and they were playing good basketball.

"My job was just to make sure that we keep playing good basketball and these guys like being around each other.

"They come to work every day in practice and I guess my hope is that they keep this underdog chip, underdog mentality that I think they had when they were 0-5. If we do that, then I think we can really do something down the stretch here."

King gives full credit to his players for what they did on New Year's Eve to beat the high-flying Hawks, but he knows they quickly have to turn their focus to playing in Sydney on Thursday night.

The Phoenix blew a chance back on November 8 at Qudos Bank Arena, which King hasn't forgetten, and he's expecting a fired up opponent looking to avoid a third consecutive defeat.

"Credit goes to all our guys and probably on paper it's our best win. You beat the number one team on the road in their gym in a packed environment on New Year's Eve night, then it's a good win," King said.

"I'm really proud and happy for our guys, but you're only as good as your last game and we play a Sydney team who's going to be madder than hell on Thursday.

"We lost a tough one there about a month and-a-half ago on their floor, where I think we had a chance to win it down the stretch.

"We've got to approach it like any other game playing a really good team on the road. We have to be tough and have a similar type game plan and effort as we did tonight."

The Phoenix take on Sydney on Thursday night, live on ESPN from 7.30pm AEDT.