The NBL ‘Next Stars’ have made their first stop in Melbourne, LaMelo Ball and the Illawarra Hawks played the S.E Melbourne Phoenix with over 10 thousand people in attendance. This was a far cry from the home opener for the Phoenix which saw 6,500 fans attend their home debut.

For that game, the Phoenix blacked out the upper levels for TV, but with LaMelo and the Hawks in town an extra 3,500 tickets were sold so Melbourne hoops fans could get a look at the future NBA superstar.

The crowd was littered with out dated Lonzo (or Alfonzo if you are a supportive father) Ball jerseys and “Big Baller Brand” merchandise

Although the crowd “oooohed” and “aaahed” each time LaMelo touched the ball, it didn’t detract the South East Melbourne Phoenix from notching up their third consecutive NBL win.

The Phoenix have started hotter than any other expansion team in NBL history and are currently averaging 103 points, outscoring the consensus NBL finals picks, Sydney Kings, Melbourne and Perth.

The Phoenix continued to rack up points. Mitch Creek and John Roberson IV are averaging 25 points per game over the three wins and have had nice cameos from Kendall Stephens and Ben Magden to boot.

The win against Illawarra however, was all about defence. A quick look at the box scores shows both teams almost identical in all statistical categories.  

Mitch Creek and Dane Pineau, both currently averaging 8 rebounds have been a huge part of the team’s defence and Pineau is also notching up 1 block a game, a career best.

The 3-0 start comes despite the team missing it’s starting power forward Tai Wesley and Terry Armstrong due to injury.

This run to start the season gives the Phoenix a nice buffer and are starting to look like a real contender for an NBL playoff spot.

The real test for the Phoenix awaits on the road with all three victories being notched up in Melbourne Arena.

Other Notes;

LaMelo loves to gamble and it’s costing his team.

LaMelo gambles far too often and from the eye test when he defends and attempts a steal he is far too often blown passed by, which allows his defender to manipulate the team defence to his will.

Is this something NBA scouts will be wary of? Perhaps. Prior to the 2003 NBA draft pool Sports Illustrated noted Lebron James lack of defensive effort when an NBA scout counted 10 times that James failed to get back on defence. One GM said “you have to worry that his sense of entitlement is so great after being spoiled by the AAU system.” but those concerns never impact his draft stock.

A great turn out for South East Melbourne

The 10,090 in attendance against the Hawks bumped the average South East Melbourne crowd up to 8,295 per game. No doubt something even Tommy Greer and the Phoenix didn’t expect. It will be interesting to see how that number sits at the end of the season however, it will be a huge effort if any non-Melbourne team can draw 10,090 to a Phoenix game again this season. No doubt a clear example of the impact Ball is having around the league.

The LaMelo Ball Impact

One million people tuned into watch LaMelo’s debut on Facebook and the NBL’s brand is at an all-time high. Although sitting young stars like LaMelo and RJ Hampton in crunch time may help Illawarra and New Zealand win more games, it’s certainly not what the fans want to see.

Melo is a reality TV/Web series or whatever star and has been in the news feed since he was 15 year old, scoring 92 points, promoting the Big Baller Brand or sprucing signature shoes in Lithuania.

He clearly has been in a ‘Hollywood’ life style and environment and yes is his just 18 and rookie mistakes definitely make up some of his troubles, but I see someone who needs a lot of time to develop.