SteelFormers Taranaki Airs (6-3, 4th) Mills Albert Wellington Saints (7-3, 2nd)
The Airs have won two straight home games that came down to the wire and now welcome Wellington who have gone four and one on the road this season and are coming off their first loss after rolling a five game winning streak . These top four teams met in the first week of the season when the Saints took a double overtime classic, will this game deliver another?
When: Saturday May 3rd, Rapid League 3pm, Sal's NBL 4pm
Where: TSB Stadium, New Plymouth
Watch: Live in New Zealand on Sky Sport 3 | USA: ESPN3 | International: FIBA YouTube
Box score here
Last Time Out:
Taranaki hosted the Whai who had traveled to New Plymouth looking to stop a two game slide and hold their position in the top six but with Armon Fletcher out the Airs would start with a massive size advantage as Dom Kelman0-Poto joined an already big lineup. That size would translate to results as as Harry Froling (15pts, 6rbs, 4ast) and Jack Andrew got loose on the interior (29pts, 15rbs) the Airs grabbed an 11point lead early in the second quarter. But the Whai found a way battle back and a Sean Baristow (22pts, 7rbs, 6ast) reverse layup would tie things up early in the third. Tthe Airs would seem to take control again, but the Whai would battle back behind to tie the game again in the fourth quarter the efforts Chris Jones (19pts, 8ast) and others to see the lead down to a single point with 25 seconds left, but a Carlin Davison (19pts, 4rbs, 7ast) backdoor slam would give the Airs the space they needed to claim a huge 95-90 victory.
The ladder leading Saints hosted a Hawks team that were down Darnell Cowart when Dan Grida was a late lay-up line scratch making a for daunting matchup on the road. That's when Wani Swaka Lo Buluk (24pts, 6rbs) came out firing as Luca Yates (14pts, 21rbs, 5ast) dominated the glass. helping to hold the Saints to 27 points in the first half to build a 12 point halftime lead. In the third Hyrum Harris (10pts, 11rbs, 4ast, 3blks) would power the defense and Nick Marshall (26pts, 13rbs) lifted the O to see the Saints claim back a few buckets and shrink the deficit with input from Shea Ili (17pts, 8rbs, 4ast). A Nick Muszynski lay up would bring the Saints with two with less than 7 minutes remaining but that was as close as the Saints could get as the Hawks offense would rally down the stretch to snatch a 87-75 road win.
What to Expect:
With Armon Fletcher (injury) out once again, the Airs can put possibly the biggest lineup in the league on the court. Carlin Davison (19.4ppg, 7.4rpg, 5.7apg) has been a do-it-all-tool for the Airs, even while developing his all around game moving up and down the lineup from pg to power forward. Harry Froling (21ppg, 8.3rpg) and Jack Andrew (16.7ppg, 9.2rpg, 2.4blks) have been a powerhouse on the interior while Owen Foxwell (18.9ppg, 9.4apg, 5.1rpg) has been key for keeping the offense balanced with his distribution while occasionally hitting huge offensively. Dom Kelman-Poto is back in the lineup helping lift the depth with Quintin Bailey and Scott Telfer but they will be heavily dependent on the starting lineup.
The Saints can be a machine on both sides of the ball but have found stages of in consistency, like when they scored 75 last time out after scoring 93, 93, 111, 105 in their last four games. Nick Marshall (20.3ppg, 7.5rpg) has become the carrier of the scoring load with an ability to find the rim in transition or the half court. Shea Ili (18ppg, 6.8apg, 5.5rpg) and Izayah Le'afa (13.4ppg, 5.8apg) are tenacious as ever defensively and can lift the offense with penetration and passing but the shooting from deep hasn't yet reached the level they are capable of. Nick Muszzynski (14.4ppg, 8rpg) will have his hands full as the lone true size for the squad and staying out of foul trouble will be key. But the Saints often go as Hyrum Harris (15.1ppg, 10.8rpg, 4.9apg) goes, the good news being that he often goes at a high level.
Matchup to Watch - Owen Foxwell v Shea Ili - The bigs will be have heaps to say about the winner but the guard match-up might have more influence. When Foxwell has been at his best he's facilitated with ease while finding scoring from inside and out, but Ili has the ability to put any guard in the league on lockdown and if he does so today he will give his team the upper hand.
Stats that Might Matter:
| Stat | Airs | Saints |
| Scoring Offense | 100.67 (1st) | 96.20 (4th) |
| Scoring Defense | 95.67 (10th) | 87.00 (4th) |
| Effective Field Goal % | 54% (4ht) | 55% (3rd) |
| Field Goal % Defense | 44% (4th) | 43 (2nd) |
| Free Throw Rate | 35% (1st) | 27% (5th) |
| Free Throw % | 71% (7th) | 77% (1st) |
| Three Point Rate | 34% (last) | 39% (7th) |
| Three Point % | 35% (3rd) | 36% (2nd) |
| Turnover Rate | 13% (6th) | 12% (4th) |
| Assist Rate | 56% (8th) | 63% (4th) |
| Offensive Rebound Rate | 31% (2nd) | 23% (9th) |
| Defensive Rebound Rate | 77% (2nd) | 77% (1st) |
| Block Rate | 10% (2nd) | 10% (4th) |
| Steal Rate | 10% (5th) | 8% (11th) |
all advanced stats courtesy of spatialjam.com
