Preview: South East Melbourne vs Brisbane (Round 4)

Thursday, October 19, 2023

Can South East Melbourne keep the good times rolling with a third straight win? Or will the Brisbane Bullets stop their slide and get back onto the winners' list.

Saturday, October 1 at 5:30pm AEDT | John Cain Arena

Watch: Live on ESPN via Kayo Sports - International viewership details
Box scores: Download the free NBL App

The fortunes of Brisbane and South East Melbourne seem to have flipped in recent rounds. The Bullets are now on a three-game losing run after winning their first two games of the season, while the Phoenix have won two straight after going 1-3 in their first three games.

Alan Williams returned with great success to the Phoenix lineup for their Thursday clash with Adelaide. The return of Gorjok Gak the week before means only Ben Ayre was absent from the win, with a minor ankle injury.

Former NBL champion Damon Lowery called on Justin Schueller to shorten his rotation during the week, and believes too many players are getting too many minutes for the side to consistently win.

Josh Bannan is set to make his NBL debut in this clash after sitting out the start of the season with a lower leg injury.

South East Melbourne
102-85 win over Adelaide
86-85 win over Tasmania
113-106 loss to Illawarra

Brisbane
89-78 loss to Melbourne
113-102 loss to Sydney
89-86 loss to Cairns

Matt Kenyon

South East Melbourne wing Matt Kenyon was once touted as a future star of Australian basketball, and while a severe knee injury suffered while playing for the Brisbane Bullets in 2018 interrupted a crucial time in his career, the 25-year-old has proven himself to be a high-quality three-and-d NBL player.

All the best aspects of Kenyon’s game were on display in the Phoenix’s win over Adelaide on Thursday night, and while four of his side’s starting five scored at least 15 points in the win, he was the only backup to score more than six in the victory.

While the Phoenix’s ‘big four’ of Alan Williams, Mitch Creek, Will Cummings and Gary Browne can easily go head-to-head with any side in the competition, South East Melbourne’s depth behind those four stars has been questioned throughout the young season so far.

With scoring sparkplug Ben Ayre set to return from the injury that kept him out of Thursday’s win, can Kenyon add extra worth as not only a defensive stud in South East Melbourne’s second unit – but also as a genuine and consistent offensive threat?

“Matt has been fantastic for us. He had a long time not playing in pre-season or practicing so his energy has been amazing. He’s been here back with us for about four weeks. He plays hard every possession and does exactly what we ask of him and what the team needs, and I think it’s infectious. He was big time.” – Mike Kelly following the win over Adelaide.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Matt Kenyon is getting it done on both ends against his old side ?<br><br>Catch the action live on ESPN via Kayo ? <a href="https://t.co/MttM29l7OF">pic.twitter.com/MttM29l7OF</a></p>— NBL (@NBL) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBL/status/1713125941977727035?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 14, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Isaac White

The NBL resurgence of Isaac White has been incredible to watch over the past season and a bit. Unwanted by the Hawks and on the cusp on playing overseas, he was handed an injury replacement lifeline by Tasmania last season which he turned into a full-roster spot at Brisbane for NBL24.

Since arriving at the Bullets though, he’s struggled to find the scoring touch that makes him such a weapon when he’s up and running.

After an off-season where he averaged over 32 points on almost 50 per cent shooting for NBL1 North side Mackay, White is shooting a career-low 38.2 per cent from the field in NBL24 so far – and he hasn’t even hit a three-pointer in five games of play.

Damon Lowery put Brisbane’s second unit on blast in an episode on NBL Now earlier this week, now the side is in a three-game losing skid. Anyone who has seen Isaac White play knows just how good he can be offensively, but he needs to start hitting his shots if he wants to help his team win tough games like this one.

“Justin Schueller has got to stamp his brand ... he’s brought some Dean Vickerman-isms with him. It looks like he’s playing and coaching like Dean as far as his substitutions, without having the horses Dean has. He’s playing a lot of guys a lot of minutes ... I think he needs to lean more heavily on his starters and maybe one guy off the bench.” – Damon Lowery on NBL Now.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">34 points ? 10 rebounds ? 6 assists = A regular day at the office for Isaac White ?<br><br>Watch <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NBL1North?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NBL1North</a> via <a href="https://t.co/NEk1I7kIKG">https://t.co/NEk1I7kIKG</a> or the NBL1 App ? & ?<br><br>Donate to Lifeline for the NBL1 Mental Health Round via the link here ?: <a href="https://t.co/jo7jyclDMl">https://t.co/jo7jyclDMl</a> <a href="https://t.co/vbp6t0hTGV">pic.twitter.com/vbp6t0hTGV</a></p>— NBL1 (@NBL1) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBL1/status/1670046261591015424?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 17, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Will Cummings vs Nathan Sobey

Two of the best scoring guards in the NBL will face off in this matchup. Brisbane’s Nathan Sobey currently leads the competition with 23 points per game, and while South East Melbourne’s Will Cummings currently sits 11^th at an average of 17.3, his recent performances have suggested he can be far more effective than that.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">SOB3Y ?<br><br>Nathan Sobey cuts the deficit to single digits with the triple ?<br><br>Catch the action live on ESPN via Kayo ? <a href="https://t.co/gnsdCgr1TL">pic.twitter.com/gnsdCgr1TL</a></p>— NBL (@NBL) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBL/status/1710605179337191781?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 7, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

The most interesting part of this matchup is just how each player goes about impacting winning for his team. NBL fans have known Sobey to be a lights out shooter for the entirety of his professional career – and that’s what brought him into the Boomers squad to help win Tokyo bronze.

Cummings is different in that he has the ability to effortlessly shift between the roles of scorer and distributor. Sobey may be averaging six points per game more than the Phoenix import, but he’s also taking five shots more in each contest.

The joy of watching the pure scoring of Sobey matches the joy of watching Cummings’ more rounded approach to his team’s offence. One thing is for sure though, if one of these two gets hot it could spell game over for the opposition.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">.<a href="https://twitter.com/alantwilliams?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@alantwilliams</a> ? <a href="https://twitter.com/willcummings_?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@willcummings_</a> <br><br>Teaming up again! ?<br><br>? Watch on ESPN ?? Kayo | Foxtel <a href="https://t.co/tmKzq6DJ0j">pic.twitter.com/tmKzq6DJ0j</a></p>— South East Melbourne Phoenix (@SEMelbPhoenix) <a href="https://twitter.com/SEMelbPhoenix/status/1714931545356804347?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 19, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

All three meetings between South East Melbourne and Brisbane in NBL23 were won by the team that trailed at quarter time.

The Phoenix won the first two games between the sides by one-point and 17 points respectively, before Brisbane took the last clash of the season with a five-point win.

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Mitch Creek against the Adelaide 36ers on Thursday.