With one game remaining in the regular season and finals seeding on the line, South East Melbourne moved a step closer to the top two with a 120–104 win over the Tasmania JackJumpers at John Cain Arena.
The Phoenix overcame a career-high 36-point outing from Majok Deng, with Angus Glover leading the way with 21 points and seven three-pointers as the home side’s firepower proved too much.
Despite the result, coach Josh King said his group still needs to produce a complete four-quarter performance, particularly on the defensive end, heading into the postseason.
“I’m proud of the team for finding a way to win the game. I’m always going to be happy when you come out on top, especially in this league,” King said.
“Credit to Tasmania, they’re undermanned, and they played a really good game for having a short rotation.
“We allowed [Majok] Deng to get too comfortable early on in the game. We have to be better towards the end of the season. We have to be at our best on both sides of the floor.
“I didn’t think we were at our best defensively, and we have to be better on that end, and we will continue to focus on that moving forward.
“Offensively, we looked really good, we made shots, and the guys were sharing it.”
At the start of the season, South East Melbourne’s tough defence was on full show as teams struggled to score. However, despite physicality remaining high, the stats have begun to show that opposing teams have found it easier to score.
The Phoenix play with the highest pace in the league, love to shoot the three-ball (ranked first in three-point makes and attempts), attack the offensive glass, and are aggressive defensively, which helps their ability to force deflections, steals and turnovers and therefore increase the number of possessions.
In recent weeks, it’s noticeable that some of South East Melbourne’s nuanced coverages have led to slippage, which teams have started to take advantage of.
From round one to round 14, South East Melbourne ranked second in defensive rating (107.3) and fifth in opponent points per game (87.9). Now, since Round 15, it has slipped to sixth in defensive rating (117.9) and 10th in opponent points per game (100.7).
It’s well known how dangerous South East Melbourne’s roster is offensively (currently second in offensive rating, 121.4), particularly off the bench, with the likes of Angus Glover and Ian Clark often breaking games open.
King highly praised his bench’s “outstanding” performance, which helped spark the momentum in his side’s favour to get over the short-handed JackJumpers.
“Angus Glover got us going from three. He broke the game open there in the first and second quarters,” he said.
“Ian [Clark] was hitting shots, which was really good.
“I thought Akech Allir really came off. He hasn’t played in a while, and he made the most of his opportunity tonight. He was really good on both ends.
“Then Malique [Lewis] was really good. Those four guys off the bench really gave us a huge boost. We’re going to continue to need that towards the back end of the season.”
Tasmania JackJumpers coach Scott Roth explained how hard it was for his players to combat the Phoenix when they are shooting lights out from beyond the arc.
“We’ve had three good games with them, a buzzer beater at Silverdome, then we beat them twice. We know you have to control the tempo and guard the three-point line against them, and we didn’t do either of those very well tonight,” Roth said.
“They have skilled players and shooters, and one of the hardest-playing teams in the league.”
South East Melbourne faces Melbourne United on Thursday night in what will play a crucial role in determining seeding for the finals campaign for both sides.
Dependent on other results, there’s potential for the Phoenix to lock in a top-two finish or finish third and host the Seeding Qualifier, but King isn’t looking too far ahead.
“We need some help [with other results], but we need to play good basketball going into finals. So, we’ll focus on Melbourne [United] and then hopefully perform well and get a big win Thursday night,” he said.
A win against Melbourne United, combined with the Wildcats defeating the 36ers, would see the Phoenix secure second place and a direct spot in the Playoffs Series. However, a loss to Melbourne United would see South East Melbourne host either Perth or Melbourne in the Seeding Qualifier.
Off the court, the Phoenix announced pre-game that they’ve locked in co-captain Nathan Sobey on a new two-year deal (second year mutual option).
Sobey said it was an easy decision to make with how well the team is going.
“I think what we’re building with the group we’ve got and the coaching staff, who are doing a great job, it’s just fun to be a part of. I’m really looking forward to what we can accomplish over the next couple of years,” he said.