King's reign starts now

After beginning the season 0-5, the South East Melbourne went into the FIBA break as one of the hottest teams in the league.

Former Phoenix big man, Alan Williams, believes the gap between games could not have come at a better time for his old club.

“The fact that they’re able to have this FIBA break now ... it allows Josh King to emphasise his style and put new things in,” Williams said on NBL Now.

“It’s like a mini training camp that he didn’t get to do at the beginning of the season.”

South East Melbourne has won three of its five games under King, with the two losses coming to Sydney and Perth away from home.

While they keep finding ways to win, it’s been their defensive rating that has seen the biggest improvement in the last four weeks. That defensive scheme is something that King has a great reputation for in his previous coaching history and something that he will look to build on during the break.

“They obviously have a bunch of talent on the offensive end and I think time is their friend with it all,” Williams added.

“It’s going to be really beneficial for them moving forward.”

When asked about what he believes to be the biggest takeaway from his former team's beginning to the season, Williams looks at it from a more unique player’s angle.

“This is kind of an ambiguous term ... but it’s the flow,” he said.

“They hadn’t played well early on in the season, and they just didn’t have any kind of flow, whether that be offensively or defensively.

“I just felt like the pieces were out there and they just didn’t fit and mesh together.

“Now in the past couple of games, I’ve seen that flow come about more ... and I’m really keen to see how that flow continues with the new head coach and the new system.”

The Phoenix host Illawarra on Saturday night at John Cain Arena, with tip-off from 5.30pm AEDT.