NBS Nelson Giants (0-1) v Mills Albert Wellington Saints (0-1)
On the 9th day of Mad March we see the Saints travel south across the Cook Strait to try to take a road game against one of their fiercest rivals when the visit the Giants in a game that always delivers the fireworks.
When: Thursday 20 March, Rapid League 6pm, Sal's NBL 7pm
Where: Trafalgar Centre, Nelson
Watch: Live on | New Zealand: Sky Sport 4 | USA: ESPN3 | International: FIBA YouTube
Boxscore here
Last Time Out:
Sunday the Giants traveled to Canterbury to open their season and found an energised squad that was ready to pounce on the visiting Nelsonians to make up for an opening laclustre performance. And pounce they did, jumping out to a 23-4 lead from which the Giants would never recover as they would eventually go down 90-77. Hayden Jones would come off the bench to lead the scoring (17pts, 7rbs) with Liam Judd second best (14pts) in his first game in a Giants uniform.
Last Sunday the Saints were hosting their home opener against the Taranaki Airs it what looked to be the best matchup of the opening week of action, and boy did it deliver as the Airs took down the home team in a double overtime thriller. The Saints found solid all across the starting lineup, with all 5 starters scoring in double figures led by Shaun Bruce's 26 points and double-doubles for Hyrum Harris (20pts, 12rbs, 6ast) and Nicholas Muszynski (18pts, 14rbs, 3ast, 3stls, 6blks). But a lack of efficiency from deep, where they shot 8-40, and the huge performances from Carlin Davison (36pts, 4rbs, 4ast) and Harry Froling (32pts, 12rbs) would could couple to keep victory out of reach.
What to Watch For:
This could be a clash of styles as the Nelson Giants will likely look to control the pace while the Saints will aim to push things out in transition and play the running game. Both teams took solid care of the ball in their openers so the ability to get out and run at pace will be hampered as execution in the halfcourt will be at a premium.
The Giants will need to be aware of the shot blocking ability of Muszynki when driving to the cup but their ability to create offense for teammates may create opportunities for the drive and kick but that strategy would need a bump in efficiency from deep on the solid but not spectacular 9-24 shooting from deep. Job one for Nelson will be blocking out, with the ability Saints to pound the offensive glass coupling with the fact that no team in the league has garnered a lower defensive rebound rate than the Giants this season. Much of the inroads there will come down to the efforts of Brice Johnson, Liam Judd and Sam Dempster who will give up some size on the block and will have to make it up with work rate.
The Saints will need to shake off the disappointment of the early season heartbreak of the double OT loss in their home opener, but there are plenty of positives that they can build on. The offense showed good signs, especially a starting unit that displayed a level of familiarity with each other far greater than the time they have spent on court, especially when attacking the basket. The interior passing between Muszynski and Harris combined with their efforts on the offensive glass will be a real weapon while Nick Marshall and Shaun Bruce both found greater effectiveness as their opening game of the season moved into the second half. There are some concerns, particularly with the teams shooting from deep as a collective (8-40 @ 20% vs. the Airs) and the lack of efficiency from Izayah Le'afa (who shot just 4-19) but you could be forgiven for thinking those will be anomalies. Bench production will need to lift as well, with just 8 points produced in the opener on 2-12 shooting.
Small Sample Size Stats:
Giants- Their work rate on the offensive glass was solid with a league best 38% offensive rebounding rate in the opener, but that combined with a league worst 57% defensive rebounding rate to negate the advantage. They will also look to see if they can get the Saints in foul trouble and keep the scoreboard ticking with their 37% free throw rate (3rd in the league).
Saints - The Saints will look to lift the ball pressure after creating steals at just a 7% rate (11th in league) in game 1 but that will be difficult against the Giants who are stingy with turnovers, with just a 11% turnover rate (2nd in the league). Points at the rim will be tough to get if the Saints are rotating well, but its unlikely to be as difficult as Nick Muszynski made it in the opener with his 6 blocks that led to a league best 17% block rate.
Matchup to Watch: Liam Judd v Hyrum Harris - Judd had a solid game 1, but will need to lift his work-rate to match Harris who will be involved in all aspects of the Saints offense. If Judd can keep this matchup even while lowering the effectiveness of Harris that will put the Giants in solid position to defend home court.
