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Season 4 Episode 3: Fundamentals Never Fail
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This episode we start introduce a new segment to EGG focuses on one discussion point based on trends we see across NBL1 East. We discuss roster announcements - too much, too little, too late?
We also review the men's GOTW for Rd 1 - Maitland Mustangs vs. Illawarra Hawks.
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Transcript
Welcome & Podcast Promotions
00:01:02
Speaker
Welcome back, everyone, to another episode of East Got Game, where we give you the X's, the O's, and the insights of the NBL One East.
00:01:13
Speaker
Thanks for joining us tonight live on YouTube, Instagram, and Facebook. And remember, you can follow us on Instagram and Facebook at East Got Game, or you can continue to find us on your preferred streaming platforms.
00:01:28
Speaker
While you're there, make sure you check out Cut to the Chase, a podcast featuring the Bankstown Bruin himself, Jason Caddy, and It's a Coal World, a podcast by WNBL champion, Bec Cole.
00:01:43
Speaker
Both of those podcasts are brought to you by basketball.com.au.
Commentary Challenges & Broadcast Reflections
00:01:48
Speaker
Lockie, round one is in the books. How are you feeling after the weekend?
00:02:04
Speaker
Oh, sorry. Are we back? but Yeah, my mic got muted somehow. um I am, yeah, exhausted. think mine did too.
00:02:14
Speaker
i am Yeah, probably exhausted is probably the best way to put it, or at least I was after Saturday night, after a big evening of commentary down at the Shark Tank between Sutherland and Comets. But, ah I mean, big, big weekend. we I mean, this is our our second time discussing the league in two nights already.
00:02:33
Speaker
Yeah, that's right. That's right. I mean, it's certainly rubbed off off on us very quickly. Probably shows how eager we were for the East to return. I'm just going to do that intro again really quick because I think we were both muted by accident while all the other fancy production stuff was happening.
00:02:51
Speaker
But welcome, everyone. Another episode of East Got Game where we give you the X's, the O's and the insights of NBL1 East. Thanks for joining us live tonight on our social media platforms. And remember, you can always find out episodes on your preferred streaming platforms. While you're there, make sure you check out Cut to the Jace, a podcast featuring the Bankstown Bruin himself, Jason Caddy, and It's a Coal World, a podcast by WNBL champion Beck Cole.
00:03:23
Speaker
Both of those podcasts are brought to you by basketball.com.au. All right, now we can really get stuck into it. um But you got behind the mic as well this weekend, right?
00:03:37
Speaker
Yes, calling Sutherland and Comets. So Sutherland, seventy eight sixty win over Comets in the women. And then the tall timber of the Sydney Comets led them to a 77-65 win over the Sharks with a big defensive performance. And, geez, Ty Barber Bay, he looks pretty good with 26 points to ah start things off for Comets there in the backcourt as well.
Match Highlights: Sutherland vs. Comets
00:04:03
Speaker
So, yeah, very, very interesting weekend it was.
00:04:09
Speaker
Yeah, sounds great. And it looked like absolute scenes at the Shark Tank. I had a look at James O'Donoghue's photos that he just put on Instagram from that game. I think the Shark Tank is going to need a renovation and probably put in some more seats because it's packed.
00:04:25
Speaker
um We're out of space. We roll in the temporary bleachers every week. So that's about as good as we can do, to be honest. So make sure you get your tickets early.
00:04:38
Speaker
Definitely. Do you have an option there to get a membership so you can never kind of miss out? um Yeah, I think so. Yeah, pretty sure we do. Yeah, we did last year. I'm sure we do this year. Good stuff. Good stuff. And now this season of East Scott Game, we're still trying to make some changes and make some tweaks here and there just to try and give some unique content if
Season 4 Updates & Roster Discussion
00:05:01
Speaker
we can. Now, we will announce that back by popular demand.
00:05:05
Speaker
Now, I know that's a cliche, but we have had quite a few of our loyal listeners asking for this to return. We will be bringing back the All-Star 5. So this was something that we implemented in our episode since our very first season and we used to post it on Instagram. So our All-Star 5 for every round of NBL One East will be returning for Season 4 of East Scott Game. But it's just going to be an Instagram post, make sure you keep an eye on our socials for all of the regular updates.
00:05:38
Speaker
And another thing that we're going to now implement in Season 4 is we're replacing our weekly headlines with a weekly discussion point from around the league. And this week we're going to talk about roster announcements.
00:05:51
Speaker
It's probably something we speak about every season, and I think every season we have talked about the same things when it comes to roster announcements. Lockie, where do you stand on roster announcements? there's There's quite a few things to talk about here that people might realise.
Debate: Timing of Roster Announcements
00:06:10
Speaker
Yeah, there are. And, I mean, it's, at the end of the day, it's, well, you've got 12 players on each roster minimum, it's 24 free social media posts for you.
00:06:20
Speaker
is There's the first thing. um
00:06:25
Speaker
Well, I don't... ah The first point we have is when should they start and end? When should they start? i I mean, Illawarra announced Todd Blanchfield before the season had even ended, that he was coming back.
00:06:36
Speaker
um but I don't think there's any start date that's really... um that really matters you know if you sign a play and you want to announce them that's fine um as long as you can keep the momentum up uh because they're good momentum to get people like remembering oh yeah nbl1's coming up nbl1's coming up nbl1's coming up um i think they should be done by the blitz to be honest um there's just something about walking in and seeing an unannounced player playing at the blitz or five unannounced players playing for one team at the blitz and it's like
00:07:11
Speaker
Why? just you know You're not hiding anything at that point. Even if you are trying to keep something under wraps, um Yeah, I think by the blitz, i't and I mean, I'm going to look at this through my commentators, podcasters, um, eyes and that I want information as, you know, early as possible so I can do my research and things like that. So we can talk about more things on the podcast, talk about teams as they are, you know, the full lineup, but, um,
00:07:48
Speaker
Yeah, I mean, I get that it's not the same for everybody and fans might not mind. I mean, everyone wants news, but I mean, depending on which player it is, you're probably not that fast if they get a news two days out from the game.
00:08:04
Speaker
Well, this is the thing. Like I like the point of announcing a roster or a signing, you know, even if it's at the back end of the regular season just ending or even if it's in preseason or like, you know, the season ends August and you're already announcing someone like Todd Blanchfield's returning.
00:08:22
Speaker
like in the same month or the month after. I think being proactive with announcing signings does keep NBL1 in people's minds and it does keep up that momentum of people staying engaged with the league.
Strategies for Player Announcements
00:08:34
Speaker
Yeah.
00:08:35
Speaker
So, yeah, like you said, if you've got it if you've got an announcement or a signing, just announce it. My question is to you, I agree as well that the signing should be announced before the Blitz because if you're not going to announce it before the Blitz, I don't think you should even bother.
00:08:50
Speaker
The Blitz is literally a week before the regular season tips off. So just get it over and done with before the Blitz. And the whole thing of announcing people the night before the first round or the morning of, I don't see the point in that.
00:09:03
Speaker
No, neither. um Yeah, it just feels like, what what are we doing? Yeah, it's just, your your roster should be known. You should have, if you're going to put out some news, put it out by then.
00:09:17
Speaker
And ah feel like we also, especially at like stately sport level, we get this idea where if we see a player in preseason or a club posts a photo, um or we see players unannounced at the Blitz, we all go, hee hee, there's a player that haven't announced yet, hee hee hee hee.
00:09:34
Speaker
And like, we just give the clubs the benefit of the doubt. I think like props to James when he did his comments video and they posted a photo of the whole team in a recovery session. And he went, look, they've got Aaron Fisher and they've got Jacinta Hader and they haven't announced them.
00:09:48
Speaker
But he's good on him. We should be doing more of that. If you see a player in a club uniform and they haven't been announced, share it.
00:09:57
Speaker
Yeah, ah I mean, there is some part of it of like the fun of it of uncovering, oh, hey, there's ah a rostered player that hasn't been announced yet. There's a bit of fun in that. um And, yeah, I agree. Good on James for being Gossip Girl of NBL1 East. Hey, maybe we should actually have an official Gossip Girl of NBL1 East. That would be pretty fun. ah But I also wonder as well, like, does every player in the 12 need
Engaging Player Announcements: Best Practices
00:10:24
Speaker
an announcement?
00:10:25
Speaker
Or should we be focusing the announcements on, say, the top bill players, you know, the the highest paid players or the core players? And then you can do, you know, like how Manly finished their announcements by announcing their last four players to make up the bench in one post.
00:10:43
Speaker
Yeah, look, but back in the day when clubs weren't really, like, doing a lot on social media and, like, player announcements were a lot of what clubs did, i did tend towards, you know, announce every player just so you've got some content. But everyone's punching at so much stuff nowadays. They went and merely dropped those four players at once.
00:11:04
Speaker
I was fine with it. They're punching out enough other content. They don't need to... um Yeah, they don't need to do big announcements. And especially, i liked that one especially because it was four local players who have come up together. There was a story behind it.
00:11:20
Speaker
They didn't just wrap up their last four players and, you know, it was two blow-ins from other clubs and You know, it was, you know, there was a ah real man manly family thing to it, which I really, so I actually really liked that. So, no, i don't think it's as important nowadays to announce everyone individually. yeah.
00:11:40
Speaker
and i mean i would say announce everyone but if you want to do those group posts for the for the last couple of players um i think that's fine i mean the clubs any any social media manager worth their salt is checking what gets views what gets engagement and if they have posted in the past individual announcements for their end of the bench players and it didn't get any burn just wrap it up in one and go make something else that's going to get more engagement later on.
00:12:13
Speaker
Yeah, you're right, because um it is all about engagement. There's lots of metrics and tools that social media managers can use now on social media. apps um and i think when and as we know as well with fan engagement in terms of engaging fans initially and keeping them engaged any kind of narrative that is created around something more meaningful like having your hometown heroes return having a big import return having you know
00:12:45
Speaker
all three Henderson sisters in one post about the family of Manly, you know, just using Manly an
Commentary Challenges: Roster Information
00:12:51
Speaker
example. All of those kind of meaningful storylines are going to have more engagement. So I really like the idea as well as, say, having your biggest signing as individual posts because you know everyone's going to go off for that. Or having things like, hey, here's a post of three players that we've signed at Manly this season or at our club this season who have come from other clubs. This is who they are. This is why you need to know them. This is why they've come to our club this season. And then have a post around, these are the hometown heroes that are making up the bench. You know what i mean? Yeah, 100%. could not agree more.
00:13:27
Speaker
Just giving this stuff away for free. Yeah. We give ideas for free, just ideas. Just ideas, just ideas. ah But, yeah, I also agree with your point, you know, when you're trying to create a podcast covering a league, when you're a commentator particularly, i don't care too much about for the podcast sake, but also when we're commentating and you and i amongst a lot of our peers, take pride a lot in our preparation. Mm-hmm.
00:13:55
Speaker
ah we can spend up to two to the five hours on preparation. um And we want to know as much as possible for all of the players. But if we don't have the rosters two of players to prepare for, then that's kind of going to make our jobs a little bit harder.
00:14:15
Speaker
Yeah, and I mean, um on that point, shout out to Caleb and BNSW for getting those pronunciations and the positions and the junior clubs of all the players. But it was only the players at the Blitz. So so for Sutherland, I had just about everyone.
00:14:29
Speaker
Comets men, I had just about everyone. sutherland Comets women. um so many players at Youth League or just not there that I really had five or six. Fortunately, I know enough about most of them to know which which club they're from and which position they play. But, um like, great, yeah, great work bob on Caleb's part to get that done.
00:14:48
Speaker
um But, yeah, just would be nice if the clubs had everything sorted. and ah ah's like They have it all sorted. They know who their players are They just don't always post everyone.
00:15:02
Speaker
No, yeah, that's right. They don't post everyone or or in due time. So I would have to, didn't know that Caleb provided that for all of the commentators. So, I mean, Caleb is just performing on a whole other level.
00:15:16
Speaker
He certainly like here we are is. He is running this social media manager game across NBL1. Like that is, that's the next level ah attention to detail, Caleb.
00:15:27
Speaker
Well, that's what happens when you have a commentator as your social media and content manager is that he knows what we need to do our job as well as possible because it's what he needs to do his own commentary job as well as possible.
00:15:43
Speaker
Yeah, it's like the lived experience because I remember the first time I met Caleb, we got to commentate the NBL1 East Women's Final at Sydney Uni when it was Manly North.
00:15:55
Speaker
That been an experience. Yeah, it really was a challenging experience. Caleb caleb was excellent. we for people For us just meeting for the first time and commentating a final together or a game together for the first time, we crushed it.
00:16:11
Speaker
Having said that, we had to stand up for the entire game because we had no bench space for our resources. but our bench space was taken up by equipment. And so we had no space for our resources, so therefore no access to resources. But we also had no Wi-Fi or internet.
00:16:29
Speaker
So we couldn't look up any live stats for the grand final either. So it was working with the bare minimum to commentate a final. And if that isn't a hell of a lived experience that can help you inspire change, I don't know what is.
Listener Feedback on Announcements
00:16:45
Speaker
Fair, very fair, yes. ah So we put on Instagram, our Instagram stories yesterday, if anyone has any feedback about how they feel about roster announcements. And we got a couple, um one from Hamish Sauerberg saying he's back commentating.
00:17:02
Speaker
So already a green tick. Welcome back, Hamish. And he just made a comment that Jazz Shelley may be a generational talent, one of the best we've seen since LJ. So he's a big fan of Jazz Shelley.
00:17:15
Speaker
We also got some feedback from James Mullen from Waratah on BCR saying he loves the announcements the more the better, especially when you get a bio about the player and the player's journey. Helps a lot with commentary too.
00:17:30
Speaker
Plus it helps to hype up the league. So I definitely agree with that. He he goes into a lot more detail, ah which I may have to summarise explain.
00:17:42
Speaker
put elsewhere. But I think he was putting on his spiders hat um just saying it does help to build interest in the team and show sponsors that they're serious this season as well. So we've also got to think of that sponsorship side when it comes to those posts.
00:18:02
Speaker
Yeah, i also interesting James' comments about teams putting like their Waratah, their Youth League teams up. I find that interesting.
00:18:14
Speaker
Teams will put up, this is our youth league squad for the year. But it sometimes it's, it look, looking from the outside and when you compare, like you see a player on two or three rosters, is it is it your squad or is a successful trialist list?
00:18:30
Speaker
Because there is a significant difference. okay Because if a player trials for three clubs and gets accepted to all of them, he's... here, they're just a successful trial list until they accept whatever their preferred spot is.
00:18:45
Speaker
So, yeah, I think that's a good point. I think you said ah one more downside is when announcements are done recklessly. For example, there was a club that put up their youth league squads.
00:18:58
Speaker
So going back exactly off the back of what you were just saying, their youth league squads, even though not everyone had committed. One player I know was trialling for Spiders as well, so would it would have hurt their chances when they were trialling for multiple clubs.
00:19:15
Speaker
But, yeah, so very interesting. ah If anything comes up for you when you're listening to this episode in terms of how you feel about roster announcements, how they're done, how you think they could be done better, send us a DM on our Instagram page at escottgame.
Game of the Week: Maitland vs. Illawarra
00:19:32
Speaker
All right, so are we ready to get into the game of the week, Lockie? We certainly are. In a rarity, it actually was the game of the week for us. That's right. I think i wonder if someone like Caleb also has influence in recommending the games of the week because I know in the past – Sometimes the choices that were made around the game of the week were just that, choices.
00:19:56
Speaker
yeah um But, yes, ah for the EGG game of the week for round one, we also decided to watch the official game of the week ah that was on KO, which was the Maitland Mustangs versus the Illawarra Hawks. But because time is of the essence, we chose to watch the men's game instead of the women's game.
00:20:17
Speaker
yeah Yes. yeah ah But ah look I got to catch the end of the women's game, though, and it looked very exciting. ah i I imagine it was, considering the scoreline. I haven't had a chance to watch it back yet. I will have to Very exciting. The last 90 to 100 seconds were very, very exciting. So watch that back when you have time.
00:20:39
Speaker
But, yeah, we were this game. Yeah. was probably very high on a lot of the NBL1 East fans list to watch this week. Just heading just at the top, it's now called the the Mojo Home Centre instead of the Maitland Federation.
00:20:59
Speaker
Oh, you're as successful as the Mustangs been, especially on the men's side. You are earn those sponsorships. People want to be associated with the Stangers. Yes, but the the land as they're now going by. Yeah, the land.
00:21:13
Speaker
ah Caleb made the journey all the way from ah Sydney to Maitland to get on the mic for this game with Lockie Beavis. Yeah. who And Caleb, again, some of the best intros to the league when he's opening up a game. ah But a lot of outs for Maitland. So I only just realized as well that J. Cole and Luca Vey, not in the Maitland squad this season.
00:21:38
Speaker
Yeah, I mean, apart from, yeah, and and then you think about the player who is announced and was out as well in Mason
Impact of Key Player Absences
00:21:46
Speaker
Bragg. um Yeah, it's a and I think um Caleb and Lockie were talking about, you know, some of the limited minutes that bench players got throughout the game. So that was actually something, yeah was the ah the depth and the bench player players was one of the notes I had just looking at the match itself. so um That's probably more of a throughout the season thing than in the singular game, but it's an interestingly something interesting to look at throughout for them.
00:22:18
Speaker
Definitely, yeah. It sounds like on in the commentary team mentioned that J. Cole has succumbed to some knee injuries and that may be why he's not suiting up. Not sure about Luca. So if anyone's got any info, let us know. um Yeah, Mason Bragg out with out with his knee. And I think Mason, when he jumped on the mic, mentioned surgery. Did I hear that right?
00:22:42
Speaker
um Well, as i told you off air, there was a screaming child next to me while i was watching the ah much of the game. So I i may not have heard that.
00:22:53
Speaker
But yeah, that doesn't sound too good. doesn't sound too good We may have to listen to the ah the the new Maitland Mustangs podcast to learn a little bit more of the ins and outs of what's happening up there.
Uniforms & Roster Changes: Illawarra Hawks
00:23:08
Speaker
ah And before tip-off as well, the new Hawks uniforms that are, you know, pretty much the same as the NBL one ah sorry the nbo uniforms, that bright red and the simple white trim, love them. Yeah. I'd love to get me ah one of those jerseys.
00:23:27
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah, they look good. I love that idea of the continuity as well between the NBL1 program and the and NBL team because we've we've certainly seen that relationship grow a lot over the last few years from coaching staff and now players sticking around to play NBL1 East of the Hawks. just adding that extra layer of the uniform I really liked.
00:23:50
Speaker
Yeah, I really like it. In a similar vein to Newcastle rebranding as the Falcons, which I'm sure is a... r a nod to their efforts to get back to the and NBL as well.
00:24:02
Speaker
Yes. Well, you know, we're still hoping and praying that that's going to happen. We'd love to see the return of the Falcons. ah And then the only other thing I would say is that I actually didn't recognise Todd Blanchfield.
00:24:15
Speaker
Really? but at the tip-off. No! He's got that new haircut. ah I think I just noticed his um his general presence on court more than anything.
00:24:29
Speaker
um Yeah, he you know what his new haircut actually reminded me of? That very early episode of The Simpsons when Mr Burns has the baseball team and he keeps telling that one particular player. Oh, he keeps telling Mattingly to cut the sideburns?
00:24:45
Speaker
Yes, this was exactly what it reminded me of. oh deary me.
Game Dynamics: Maitland vs. Illawarra
00:24:53
Speaker
um And then I also noticed Billy Parsons got some new tats.
00:24:59
Speaker
he Yeah. Wow. oh ah Things really, really changed in the off season. Yeah. But enough enough about my silliness and my silly observations. ah Tell me what you saw in the first quarter.
00:25:14
Speaker
um Well, yeah. First thing I noticed was the first play of the game when Cranston Lounge just reeled in the tip, went straight to the rack and laid it home. And I was like, he's back.
00:25:27
Speaker
Will Cranston Lounge is back. um not to Not to make this the James Mullins show, but I've got to shout him out. He picked out Ethan Moss and Ethan Moss started, which I thought was great to see. Ethan Moss and Judakami getting the start for Illawarra. I was very, ah very happy to see that. But I felt like both teams really tried to make a point of coming out and punching first and maybe sped themselves up a little bit in their offense, just trying to get the ball in the basket as quickly as possible, just trying
00:26:03
Speaker
um yeah, try and you know stamp their authority on on the game really early, which, um I mean, it worked, it worked definitely worked better for Maitland than it did for Illawarra because they jumped out to, I think it was a, yeah, it was a 15-6, 15-6 lead halfway through the r the first quarter. But I did like, I mean, the Cherry v Peatling battle when it happened was very nice to watch.
00:26:36
Speaker
Pete Ling maybe forcing Cherry a bit further from the basket than he might want to be. But Cherry's touch is just so good. So it doesn't matter if you force him out. You've got to force him out a long way before that touch touch might start to elude him. But, um yeah, eventually they, I think, after Elora took that time out midway through the first quarter,
00:26:56
Speaker
sort of started to settle into
Matt Mims & Illawarra's Half-Court Execution
00:26:59
Speaker
things. um Love Matt Mims as a primary ball handler in this roster, I have to say. He can, you know, brings the ball up, can make the right pass, make the right read.
00:27:13
Speaker
Occasionally just walked up and shot it himself. Doesn't mind getting the ball back on the second touch, I think. Yeah. I think it's going to be very, very good for Illawarra um having Matt Nims as primary ball handler. um Especially ah ean like Ethan Moss, I thought he looked very confident out there, but he'll still be finding his way a little bit.
00:27:40
Speaker
And to have Mims there, I think, is going to be great. And he showcased that early. That was the first thing I had noticed in the entire game was just ah probably not the first, but the first major thing i noticed was how much I liked Mims um bringing the ball up.
00:27:56
Speaker
Yeah, I have to agree. ah and that's a big responsibility to go from being a bench import last season to now starting and being the point guard. That's a lot. That's a lot. um But he I really liked how he just spread the floor. He already has a great understanding of controlling the tempo. Like he knew when to run and he knew when to pull it out. And when Illawarra stopped to pull it out and get something in the half court, Mims was spreading the floor so much that he was closer to the halfway line than he was the free-throw line.
00:28:30
Speaker
And that's not a bad thing. Playing with that amount of space with this Hawks team was such ah an advantage because the Hawks are very good at it. think the Hawks this game, i mean, given that there's quite a different roster, um but they're...
00:28:47
Speaker
discipline and execution in the half court was I thought was a lot better and a lot better organized this season compared to last season. Last season I got a little bit frustrated and a bit bored with them where they were just relying on all of their outside shooters.
00:29:01
Speaker
yeah um And like they could, they had that luxury that and they could because know they had such a high percentage. um But this time like they've got guys that are stepping up into bigger roles and that are there to ah hopefully just, you know, really prove themselves and ah do all the right things to make sure they stay on the court. And their half court execution was just really good. And it kind it all came from that MIMS creating that space.
00:29:28
Speaker
yeah and i mean in that hawks team you you want someone to uh create space because that's when you todd blanchfield you want him to be able to you know have room to work um yeah in the early stages he was shooting threes they came out of that time out in the first play he just went up against billy parsons just went i saw on him and got the and one so give give If you can give Todd room to work and room to make decisions, it's he's going to make the right decision just about every time. So, yeah, but just opening the floor up I think is going to be excellent for
Todd Blanchfield's Scoring Under Pressure
00:30:04
Speaker
him. And, you know you're going to have Peetling in there where he's going to know what to do, where to be um as well. I mean, 150 games of NBL experience, you'll learn a bit doing that.
00:30:16
Speaker
And then, I mean, Kami and Moss in the starting line-up, they're not going to be demanding the ball. And they look like they know their roles, which is which is the best part.
00:30:28
Speaker
Definitely. Everyone's roles looked like they were clearly defined, which can be hard to do for a new roster and it's the first game, proper game together. I think they showed really good discipline so far. um And just Todd Blanchfield, oh, my God, like...
00:30:45
Speaker
Some of his three-pointers were unbelievable. And the thing that I like the most about how he plays and those shots that he's taking, sure, they're all under pressure, but it's all sound fundamentals. It's all fundamentals. It's nothing fancy. He's not doing some kind of Kyrie Irving triple crossover you know, James Harden kind of ball handling shuffle thing for a million years before he gets a shot, gets space. It is literally just creating space with a pivot,
00:31:18
Speaker
um staying in his stance, the old bounce one-two stride stop, and as soon as he see has that tiny bit of space or the defender's hands are down for that fraction, he pulls the trigger. That's all it is. Like it's a great example of how fundamentals never fail.
00:31:38
Speaker
100 it just he he honestly it looks like he plays at a different pace um he looks like he plays more slowly than he does and it's because he can rely on his fundamentals i mean he hits three threes in the first quarter all from completely different spots on the court he's just comfortable anywhere I mean, it's Todd Blanchett. He's got 400 games of NBL experience. We're not saying anything that someone who's watched him more than a few times would see. So, yeah.
00:32:12
Speaker
um yeah And, I mean, he's going to be, obviously, as as he goes, so will Illawarra throughout this season.
Maitland's Offensive Struggles
00:32:22
Speaker
And some of the things I picked up for Maitland, I felt like especially in the first quarter, there was probably too much ah scoring opportunities generated just from one-on-one opportunities rather than getting the ball through hands and getting some sound ball movement. I also noticed there were some early miscommunications on the pick and roll and they were punished quite a few times in that first that first quarter. So Blanchfield had a four-point play on a miscommunication on a pick and roll and Peatling was left wide open where it looked like the Red Sea had parted and he was wide open under the basket. what
00:32:59
Speaker
I... i um Yeah, I ah wrote that down as that Cherry cherry completely lost Peatling and there were 2.5 players on Mims and Cherry not really guarding anyone.
00:33:14
Speaker
not and He was just left deserted. i tried to take a screenshot out of it that I had um graphic acceleration running on KO so it um ah blacked out on me, which is unfortunate. Yeah. but if i um i want to Pro tip, kids, if you're watching KO and you want to take a screenshot, turn off graphic acceleration and it won't black out.
00:33:33
Speaker
Yeah, that is definitely a pro tip. yeah um i've tried to so I've tried to screen grab stuff from KO before and I was like, nope.
Myles Cherry's Standout Performance
00:33:41
Speaker
ye um yeah but i will say is well I will say as well, the before you mentioned the battle between Peatling and Cherry, i feel like Cherry could really hold his own in that battle. I was kind of like this kind of shows that Cherry has some you know potential like to he can he can keep up with the nbl caliber yeah 100 thought he showed it really well and um you he can bang but he um just that finesse touch like he's so reliable around the basket that he doesn't have to
00:34:17
Speaker
get in there and really, really try to push his way into right under the basket. He's he's got good touch. ah So, and he's just a player who knows his game really well, Myles Cherry. Doesn't try to be anything that he yeah that he isn't.
00:34:34
Speaker
You're not going to see him. What did I say the other week? That he was one of one last season from three-point range. He's a corner three-throat. Was that him i was talking about? Yeah. can't remember, but, yeah, he like he knows where to do what to do. Get into the paint, get the ball, soft touch, down it goes.
00:34:53
Speaker
If it ain't broke, don't fix it. Or he just pulls out a ridiculous pass, which I don't think was in the first quarter, but just pulls out ridiculous passes to shooters if he can't get the shot.
00:35:06
Speaker
So, yeah, I think rounding out the first quarter, my only other notes was that I felt like Rain Smith and Cherry probably needed some more touches. Oh, actually, Rain Smith needed more touches. i already spoke about Cherry being able to match up.
00:35:19
Speaker
easily it quite well against Peatling.
Substitutions & Team Adjustments
00:35:22
Speaker
And I did like how both teams, like both teams I noticed only started to make subs towards the end of the first quarter.
00:35:30
Speaker
And I think it's always interesting when both both are, you know, very competitive, successful teams have, in the off season now had to recruit new people and bring up younger people and give bigger responsibilities to other people so especially in the first round in games like this it's really interesting to see who they're subbing for the first time ah just to give you an idea of who they're developing who they might need to prepare for bigger roles as the season progresses
00:36:03
Speaker
ah One thing one thing i did want to mention, and this at first struck me in the first quarter, but I love that set or that Maitland ran where they had Parsons and Cherry at the top of the arc.
00:36:18
Speaker
And Parsons would have the ball and Cherry, and they would both drop and set the screens, and Smith and Cranston would just bolt out from the baseline and create something off those screens.
00:36:31
Speaker
um really allowing those two to just, you know, use their quickness off the mark to get open, use the screen to get even more open. And a couple of times it did open up some really good shots. think one Rain Smith three came directly off that on the right wing. I just really, i really liked that play.
00:36:49
Speaker
o I felt like there was times where he probably could have gotten more touches. Yeah, definitely. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. ah And on to quarter two, i could could see that the issues defending the pick and roll kind of continued for the Maitland Mustangs in quarter two. And to be honest, as we progress, you know, as in the game as a whole, I don't think it's something that they properly fixed. Yeah.
00:37:16
Speaker
for the whole game, defending that pick and roll. I think one of the ways that they helped manage that was when Ben Matthews started to face guard Todd Blanchfield. Face guarding someone has its already has its own advantages but also make can make it really hard when people are trying to set a pick and roll because you're just kind of bumping them away from the pick to even use it. I mean, that's when they they also have to get the ball first. Yeah. but ah But, yeah, the those communication issues defending the pick and roll kind of continued. It was very evident in the second quarter and and for the rest of the game. um
00:37:55
Speaker
i feel like may i feel like Maitland started to make or find much better opportunities to score from the inside, but then they just unfortunately started to miss quite a few.
Maitland's Shooting Woes
00:38:07
Speaker
Their ball movement was much better. Their ball movement was much better.
00:38:12
Speaker
Yeah, I felt, yeah, they were definitely, I was, um I mean, they've got such good players there. they Look, practising, can practise all pre-season, but it's only once you're under live fire that you really get a handle on just how good your connections are. And, I mean, guys like that entire Maitland roster have been there, done the work. So should just be a quarter getting your legs under you and, like, realising, okay, this is what we this is what we're up against, you know.
00:38:39
Speaker
But, Yeah, as you said, they they got a lot better looks and they just, um they were missing a few. I hate to call out a young player, but Majak Bok came into the game and he was one of six from the field, one of four from two-point range, and his three two-point misses were all in the restricted zone, including a put-back dunk that he missed.
00:39:02
Speaker
So, you know, yeah was getting into really good spots. Cranston Leão was finding him well. He just didn't put the ball in the basket a few times. But, um I mean, fair play to him getting into those positions. Just, yeah, couldn't put it away on the day, unfortunately.
00:39:19
Speaker
But he was yeah he was not the only one having such issues. Yeah, just some first game nerves. He's probably getting subbed into the game a lot earlier than he is used to. it really showed statistically, like in that second quarter, Maitland shot only shot 25% from the two-point range and 30% from the three-point range. So, yeah, it was a lot of a lot of easy buckets missed. But having said that, they only lost the quarter by four. So it wasn't a complete disaster.
00:39:52
Speaker
And I'm just looking at Maitland's shot chart for the second quarter. ah Both their two-point makes were from outside the paint and all six of their misses were in the paint or right on the edge.
00:40:05
Speaker
So, yeah, on on another on another day, that's 75%. Yeah. yeah Yeah, yeah, it's just one of those things. And, I mean, that's when, you know, subs came in the end of the first. They stayed, you know, they they stayed on for the start of the second. It's just all those little teething issues that I don't think is worth worrying too much about. um But second quarter, Testoni with the spin move and the three. Oh, I write that exact moment down.
Highlight Reel Moments: Testoni's Play
00:40:37
Speaker
Yes. What an absolute baller move. i know, you're right? That was ridiculous. Just to have the confidence as well of being, I think Testoni was sixth or seventh man in this game.
00:40:54
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah. He ended up playing 11 minutes and, yeah, just spin away from Mims like that. Yeah, that was that was beautiful. I was up for that.
00:41:04
Speaker
Yeah, as you would say, buries the three right in front of his bench. And, like, buckets like that from, you know, up-and-coming talents or people who are starting to get more time, ah that really ignites the rest of your team to get pumped up. Like, that's such a positive thing. Like, that I really, really like that. I hope that gets clipped up for some highlight reels.
00:41:28
Speaker
Well, if there's... um I'm sure i'm sure they are the NBL1 content creator manager will see it. Yeah, surely. I mean, it was there in the flesh and got to witness it in real time. Exactly.
00:41:42
Speaker
And for Illawarra, what I really liked in the second quarter is that they started to put a lot of their newer and younger players to guard the likes of Rain Smith and Will Cranston Lounge.
Young Defenders: Illawarra's Defensive Strategy
00:41:54
Speaker
So players like Moss, Kent, Kami, they all had a go at guarding Smith and Cranston Lowne. And I think what I liked about that is that they brought a lot of energy.
00:42:06
Speaker
and But also when you're a player like Cranston Lowne and Smith, when you know you're going to be heavily guarded, for those particular games and nothing's going to come easy. it can it can get really frustrating or can kind of mess with you a little bit when you've got so many different players switching on you because you have to kind of keep adjusting and keep adjusting and you just get comfortable with one, then you have to adjust again. So I thought that was a really nice move from Illawarra because then it frees up people like Mims and and Blanchfield to just focus on doing stuff on the offensive end.
00:42:41
Speaker
And it it really looks like coach Matt Flynn is has he's given those young characters a lot of confidence to to just go out there and play hard. Like we saw Jonah Flynn taking it to the rack. We saw Harley Kent.
00:42:54
Speaker
thought Harley Kent, he was really aggressive. and i always always feel like you know coaches allowing them play with confidence and almost saying just defend them hard if you give up a couple of fouls it's fine um and it means that mims or blanchfield or someone else isn't defending these guys and committing fouls themselves and actually to be fair to these young players they played great defense for a lot of the way and Didn't commit a whole lot of fouls.
00:43:24
Speaker
Moss and Langford with three apiece, but Harley Ken only committed one. I feel like as it as it got on, Cranston, Lowne and Smith kind of got a little bit more out of them and they did rack up fouls. But in the early stages, it didn't it felt like they were um oh they were more than holding their own.
00:43:46
Speaker
Yeah, they certainly were. um I thought they did a really great job. ah Illawarra only committing 19 fouls in the game and Maitland only committing 21. But, yeah, Moss 3, Kami 4, Peatling 3, Langford 3. Like, that yeah that's all very livable. um Yeah, and especially in in especially Moss, I think.
00:44:08
Speaker
Like, Moss with 3 in 21 minutes and he was all over everything that he could could be, which... I mean, if you've watched Liam, you are you should know what to be expect from a Moss. Yeah, that's right. and And it feels like, like, it says that Kami only played 12 minutes, 12 seconds, but I felt like his presence was felt a lot more than 12 minutes. 100%. Yeah. When he was out there, he felt and felt really, yeah, they they all felt like they really impacted the game. Yeah.
00:44:40
Speaker
And it's because they were aggressive. And I think that's what we do. They did things you notice. And that's why it feels like they were out there longer. Yeah, that's right. That's right. And that's like ah a great example of why we say the bench makes the team because even if you just put you're only on paper are playing on court for 12 minutes, you've made such an impact already in that 12 minutes and that's why the full depth of the bench is
Bench Impact & Team Contributions
00:45:08
Speaker
so important. I mean, we even had people like, yeah, Kent, 13 minutes, 29, but we already gave him a shout out because he made he was such a presence in that short time.
00:45:20
Speaker
And, like, he I mean, he was one of five, but he was willing to drive into the paint and, you know, take his lumps and get his shots up. um and More power to him. it's ah only goingnna It's only going to help all of them, di you know, going forward to come out against Maitland game one and say, all right, that's one of the hardest games we're going to play all season.
00:45:41
Speaker
And, yeah know, we went out there and gave it a red-hot crap, came away with the win, and we they can all walk off feeling like they properly contributed. Yeah, definitely, definitely.
00:45:53
Speaker
Did you have any more notes on quarter two before we get into quarter three? um no I think that's that's about everything, I think. um Yeah, a lot ah lot of things still the same, like the same themes, like Mims as the primary ball handler and...
00:46:15
Speaker
um that set I love about Parsons and Cherry up the top. But, yeah, no, i think i think we can move on to the third quarter because it is where the game really got broken open. um Whereas Illawarra, I feel like Illawarra came out, they just got more and more aggressive as the third quarter went on.
00:46:40
Speaker
They smelled blood in the water and they wanted to, they really wanted to, ah to get one over mail and they they sensed their opportunity and took it they really ah got their talons into the mustangs there we go those was like that was the the the simpson's episode where they talk about the food chain and the uh eagle swoops down on the farm and takes a cow away that's that for the horse with the correct correct now if we were clever enough we could find that clip and replace the cow with a mustang but i am not that clever
00:47:17
Speaker
What else did you see in the third
Illawarra's Aggression & Leadership
00:47:19
Speaker
quarter? What else do you think contributed to the Hawks just flying away with this one? um Well, I noticed the aggressiveness. We just mentioned Judakami. thought he did an excellent job on Will Cranston-Lown in parts on defense.
00:47:35
Speaker
um Look, fair credit credit to Benny Matthews for doing absolutely everything he could to keep the ball away from Todd Blanchfield, but...
00:47:45
Speaker
um Then you get plays where Matt Nims just draws defenders and suddenly everyone's scrambling to try and stop him and Blanchfield's just... Blanchfield's open. um You know, I found really interesting um because I made the note when Blanchfield, when that exactly happened and Blanchfield was able to shoot over Billy Parsons, which...
00:48:10
Speaker
Shooter of a Billy Parsons. That's ah that's ah that's a handy ah attribute to have. um That was Blanche Field's 27th point with 6.20 left in the third quarter. And he finished with 28. So
00:48:24
Speaker
so other players stepped up. he did He did take a couple of minutes off. And um Caleb or Lockie mentioned that he was actually sitting behind the Illawarra bench.
00:48:37
Speaker
but he was only off for a total of a minute and 55 seconds or something before coming back on. So evidently whatever was worrying him wasn't wasn't too bad. um What I found interesting was um Maitland were down 11, maybe about four minutes left in the third and Smith and Cranston Lowne weren't on court together.
00:49:02
Speaker
Hmm. I thought that would have been prime time, last couple of minutes of the quarter, hero line out there. let's Let's go on to charge. Yeah.
00:49:17
Speaker
Yeah, i think I think Caleb and Lockie made a similar point where they're like, you need Blanchfield's off, you need to exploit this opportunity. for And I know it was only, what, a minute 30 he may have been off, but that's a long time in basketball, as we just mentioned, in the women's game. The last the game was won and lost in the last 90 seconds and there was so many different possessions in that short period of time. Yeah, get get your guns on and get going. i did notice, though, in both teams throughout this game, I think maybe more so Maitland, where I was like, this is an interesting combination that I wouldn't have expected for such a high-stakes game like this, where there was a time where Cranston, Lowne, and Smith weren't on at the same time or, like, either one of them just wasn't on. Mm-hmm.
00:50:02
Speaker
um I'm like, who's really running this show?
Cranston-Lown's Decision-Making Challenges
00:50:06
Speaker
Like, who's going to take the ball under their arm and just keep control of everything? I thought that was that was pretty interesting. um I did start to notice in the third quarter with Will Cranston Lound that,
00:50:19
Speaker
he he's He got his better shots and his better scoring opportunities on his second the second and third action of their half-court offense. um I kind of felt for him in this game where I felt like he had such a perfect start to the game opening with the layup. But I wonder if he was maybe just pushing himself a little bit too hard or trying a little bit too much.
00:50:43
Speaker
in this first game because some of his decision-making could have had room for improvement. yeah There were lots of times he was taking people on in transition it would have been two, three defenders with a trail and I'm like, you've got to pull that out. And it it was almost like he, because I know a lot of these guys like Cranston Land play that street ball style in the off-season. i kind of felt those two parts of him, in conflict where he was playing a lot of his street ball stuff, pulling it out, playing around with the ball and then trying to make something in the office taking taking on so many defenders. But then that just leaves the rest of his teammates standing and waiting and everything stagnant. But the times when he played, you know, organized basketball, getting it through hands, getting it through sets, waiting for the scoring opportunities to come to him, then he was on the money.
00:51:35
Speaker
Yeah, 100%.
Frustrations & Consistency: Maitland's Challenges
00:51:36
Speaker
And I feel like those, um you know, bad decisions or, you know, not quite doing the right thing, felt like a microcosm of the frustrations that Maitland started feeling through the game. Like they started to look frustrated, not just with themselves, with a couple of calls they feel didn't go their way maybe, you know, just starting to... And then, like, there was a play where Will...
00:52:03
Speaker
just absolutely tried to go the defender into the foul and the defender just stood there and Will jumped into him. He didn't get the call. And the very next possession, he tries to throw it into Majak Bok and it's a metre away from Majak.
00:52:16
Speaker
and um Yeah. Just got to take a step back, reset, onto to the next one. Run a half. Yeah, run something in the half course, something you know works. You know, have your bread and butter play. Yeah.
00:52:30
Speaker
that you like you You know you're going to get a good good shot, you know, dump it into Myles Cherry and let him go to work, something like that. Again, my note for the third quarter, Cherry needs cherry needs more touches.
00:52:44
Speaker
Yeah. Cherry needs more touches. like he's like you know what you Like you said earlier, you know what you're going get from him. Ultimate role player, ultimate five man, doesn't deviate from what he's good at and he's very good at what he's good at.
00:52:58
Speaker
Give him the ball. Yeah. Put it to him. um The only other note I had for something else I felt like contributed to the Hawks taking over in this third quarter. The Hawks won this third quarter as well, 27 to 17. So 10-point margin.
00:53:15
Speaker
And once they got the lead in this third quarter, they held on to it for the rest of the game. And something I think contributed to that was Matt Mims in
Matt Mims Exploits Maitland's Defense
00:53:24
Speaker
transition. You've got to know where he is.
00:53:26
Speaker
Oh. they all police It literally is one one player. Cranston Leon got a stop, got out and running. Cranston Leon went straight to the rack, laid at home. Matt Mims just walks up the court the other way, turns, blows by Rain Smith like he's not even there, and hits a floater.
00:53:48
Speaker
I'm like, you just got to stop, got to transition basket yourself. And then on a make, you've just allowed that. When you're down like 10, 11, you've just had a play that can really start some momentum and you've just allowed that to happen.
00:54:02
Speaker
pick Pick him up. You need to know where he is all the time. You need to pick him up as soon as you as soon as you can. And this is the guy, Mims, oh, my God. ah It was interesting how many people were cramping at the end of this game, which, look, fair enough. I was i was a horrible cramper regardless of my level of conditioning. Mims, I don't think he slowed down.
00:54:23
Speaker
no Let alone go you see You've seen his day in the life videos. He doesn't slow down. No, correct, correct. And so one of the questions I had to myself watching this game as well is if we knew last season that Mims could be this good, why were we giving so many minutes to other people?
00:54:46
Speaker
Roster balance? no disagree. there were definitely times ah There were definitely times when Mims could have had more minutes last season than someone like Lachie someone like lockki den
00:54:59
Speaker
Just in terms of versatility, ah the different style of play, the their ability to push ah in transition, the ability. like i just I just feel like he, in hindsight, he probably could have done with some more minutes last year for sure.
00:55:15
Speaker
He's definitely going to get them this year. Don't worry about that. We are going to be seeing plenty of him. I think SJ is right with his pick that Mims is prime for a position in the All-Star 5 for this season.
00:55:28
Speaker
I'd Look, based on what we've seen this week, um no doubt about it. It'll be pushing a lot of people.
Structured Play: Illawarra's Half-Court Strategy
00:55:39
Speaker
And I think for my notes on Illawarra for this third quarter, think Yeah, again, just disciplined with the kind of textbook dis ah the textbook kind of plays in the half court.
00:55:52
Speaker
They would run. They wouldn't get a shot. They'd bring it out. They'd reset. Mims sometimes would dribble literally to the opposite side. to slow down the tempo and to get space and then they'd go again. Like it was just really, really nice to watch that stuff. And then that provided the space where he could, again, change of pace and direction again to keep attacking the seams and getting his teammates involved. He had four of the six assists for Illawarra in this game, which, are look, six assists was surprising.
00:56:27
Speaker
It's a very low assist rate for this game. Maitland only had 11. Yeah, yeah i it's a really interesting one, isn't it? um but I think it's but he's pretty reflective on how many more one-on-one opportunities people were taking in this game rather than relying on all that kind of stuff.
00:56:49
Speaker
Yeah, i i it's one of those weird ones where does it doesn't mean they weren't moving the ball well at times. Like, a good ball movement doesn't always have to end up with the ball just in the shooter's pocket or just for a one touch at the rim.
00:57:04
Speaker
um You can have good ball movement and it finish off with someone putting the ball on the floor. and So, I mean, it's still a remarkably low number, but it didn't it didn't feel it didn't feel like an iso ball kind of game. but They weren't clearing out. You want to mention James Harden again. It didn't feel like, you know, players were like,
00:57:28
Speaker
their teammates are like yeah let me cook let me cook um you know yeah it was still good team basketball i'll say And interesting stat for the third quarter as well. It was the lowest three-point percentage for the Maitland Mustangs all game with 16.67% and the highest of the Illawarra Hawks all game with 57.14% for the third quarter. Yeah, so that's one of six for Maitland and four of seven, I'm pretty sure, for Illawarra. Mm-hmm.
00:58:00
Speaker
So... Yeah, that's, ah yeah, Maitland in that quarter, 14 points in the paint and one of six from three-point range. Yeah, that's tough. That's tough.
00:58:13
Speaker
Yeah. ah Any more notes on the third quarter before we roll on to the fourth? Well, if you want to mention Mims and Maitland being a bit casual like we were before.
Mims' Critical Plays & Maitland's Defense
00:58:30
Speaker
The play with 45 seconds left in the third quarter where Mims just bring the ball up. um Dan Milburn fouls him on the closeout, picks up his fourth foul in the process and Mims whets the three.
00:58:43
Speaker
And it just felt like nothing was going to happen. And it created a two for one opportunity in the process. um Yeah. It looked like there was nothing going on in the play and Mims is just like, oh, well, if no one is actually going to do anything here, I'll treat it like I'm down at the snake pit on a Thursday morning and just shoot this uncontested three.
00:59:05
Speaker
Triple whammy, especially the timing of that four-point play. I wrote that Mims played with so much space he had time to celebrate with his bench for that four-point play. He's making the four-point play one end.
00:59:18
Speaker
And then he's able to just go and, like, has the time to be like, hey, guys, go back to his bench and high five and come back again. It was ridiculous. Yeah. ah Fourth quarter for me, Ben Matthews in the – The crunch of the game, still got face guarding Todd Blanchfield, playing with such urgency and desperation. Mad props for you, Ben Matthews. I really liked your effort.
00:59:45
Speaker
And like you said earlier, Lockie, you know, Blanchfield only went on to score one point um after that big three went took him to 27. Yeah. Interesting for Illawarra, the first thing I wrote down, Blanchfield, zero fourth quarter points. Mims, three fourth quarter points.
01:00:02
Speaker
Peatling, two fourth quarter points. And they still kept pace with Maitland throughout. It was an 18-17 quarter in Maitland's favour, even with those guys, those three players combining for five, whereas for the game, they combined for 65 their team's points.
Effective Use of Rainsmith: A Need for Maitland
01:00:21
Speaker
yeah no that's it That's pretty cool on both parts. Like, great defense there led by, you know, someone like Ben Matthews, but then Illawarra bench just stepping up ah to close this game out.
01:00:34
Speaker
um ah The other thing i was like, You know, we talked about Maitland having some issues with their defense throughout the game, whether it's picking up Mims in transition or communication on the pick and roll. But then part of me is also like Mims creating space. Like I said, he's closer to halfway than the free throw line. I don't see why you need to guard him that tightly from back there.
01:00:59
Speaker
because he's just going to blow by you. Then you've got a whole half court that you need to catch up with him or that your teammates need a need to ah cover for you.
01:01:11
Speaker
So I don't see why we need to be guarding him that closely from back there. yeah Matt Mims has got range, but he's also a very intelligent human being. So I don't think he's going to be pulling up from 42 feet just because someone's sagging off him.
01:01:24
Speaker
No, exactly. exactly i i feel like we could give him a little bit more space. Yeah. Yeah. yeah um I feel like Rain ray Smith ended the game with 21 points, four rebounds, a steal and a block. I said earlier that I feel like he could have gotten more touches. And in reflection of this 21 points that he got, shooting at 35.29% overall, i think a lot of his shots he took because...
01:01:55
Speaker
he felt like he needed to take them in fear that he won't get another one. That's fair. Yeah. yeah I feel you like a lot of them were like, oh, I'm going to take it while it's here. I don't feel like he got enough touches in great scoring opportunities that came off some kind of weak side action, secondary action. um Yeah, I just feel like if if that was created, then he would have some more open opportunities and his percentage would probably be a bit higher. Yeah, yeah.
01:02:24
Speaker
um ah i feel i mean we're we're talking about this in the context of this game hopefully mason bragg is back somewhat soon because i feel like that'll that that will change change things for maitland um incredibly uh how it will impact rain smith i don't know but i know that having two great passes out there is better than having one great passer out there Yeah. um And i i will I will give Rainsmith some grace too because it looked like he, I wasn't sure if he pulled up with a corky or something because he looked like he was a bit of a step behind and holding onto a leg or limping a little bit in that fourth quarter. So he may have been carrying some other kind of injury through the game.
01:03:11
Speaker
Yeah, I think Caleb and Lockie were trying to figure out whether he was cramping or if um something was up with him. it was ah someone definitely got a corky. I can't remember who from Illawarra.
01:03:23
Speaker
But, yeah, but, I mean, Illawarra closed it out, but there was a period there early in the fourth quarter where it was getting a bit shaky.
01:03:35
Speaker
I think it got back within eight. Cranston Lound really um started to take over. Yeah. Cherry got a few good touches. That pass from Cranston Lounge and Matthews in the corner who immediately fired it into Cherry.
01:03:50
Speaker
Loved that. um Like, Danny Matthews has been sent out there basically to face guard Todd Blanchfield for 20 minutes and you know, rips off a pass like that, just has the court vision straight away to just fire it straight in.
01:04:03
Speaker
That was nice. Cranston Leowne came back up court pretty much straight after and dropped it off to Cherry. And it was 76-68, 76-66 in an Illawarra timeout. And then straight out of the timeout, Mims pushes off Rain Smith and gets called for an offensive foul. So um definitely if they want something to talk about in our film session, Illawarra, it's probably going to be the start of the fourth quarter.
01:04:29
Speaker
Yeah, definitely.
Defensive Efforts & Game Reflections
01:04:30
Speaker
And just back on your point about Ben Matthews, we've talked about how great he was on defence in this game, but also just a great role player in a sense of not knowing who's open, knowing who needs to get the ball at certain times. Like he came up with some really good some good looks. He was definitely a a really glue a glue player for the Maitland Mustangs in this game. We just got a comment on Instagram from the Fresh God, in reference to what we said about guarding Matt Mims. But just for context, Fresh God, we definitely agree that you need to play man-to-man on Matt Mims because we know that he can shoot. But we just don't see a purpose of guarding him so closely when he's so close to halfway because if you get – because he got – he beat people from two metres outside of the three-point line and –
01:05:21
Speaker
busted the seams and could create scoring opportunities. So, yeah, play him man-to-man. We know he can shoot, but you don't need to guard him so tightly when he's so close to halfway. um But I didn't have much more notes on the fourth quarter. I feel like a lot of things in this game that we saw in the first quarter just carried on into the fourth. I didn't see a lot of – there was definitely lots of adjustments, but no big adjustments that were made throughout this game from either team.
01:05:50
Speaker
that greatly impacted the result, I don't think. I mean, what did you see? No, I think i think you're right. I mean, i kate ah my my main notes on the fourth quarter are mostly performance of the Illawarra bench. Yeah.
01:06:08
Speaker
Ethan Moss splitting defenders, getting to the rack. Moss, Sweet Chilly Philly and Kami combining when Kami cut baseline. He took off from the corner and got that pass from Phil.
01:06:21
Speaker
That was beautiful. That was really good. The bench really stepped up in the fourth quarter for Illawarra um and kept it back out to um go to back out to a double-digit lead, which they held on to.
01:06:38
Speaker
And just like we talk about Todd Blanchfield having zero points, but just his presence on court, it just draws attention. And there was one play in particular where a player lesser player had been there, perhaps Ben Matthews at the top of the arc doesn't get so drawn into paying attention to Blanchfield's ability, especially to shoot.
01:07:03
Speaker
And instead, Phil DePush has got massive gap to just... not even having to fight past Billy Parsons, he can take a big arc around him and get to the rack. And that's all created because Todd Blanchfield just has gravity.
01:07:19
Speaker
Because if Ben Matthews doesn't go there, Phil probably just goes, here, Todd. Todd has a 30-piece because he's hitting a three. So, um yeah, zero fourth-quarter points for Todd Blanchfield, but that doesn't mean he wasn't having an impact even off the ball.
01:07:38
Speaker
I think overall for this game for me, Maitland, you know, the the final score was seventy eight to ninety one So Maitland only lost by ah But I feel like Maitland, they didn't play that, like they didn't play badly. Like I think they just need to tighten up the smallest of things and they could have had this game.
01:08:00
Speaker
yeah The small things of like communicating on the pick and roll, ah being more patient in the half-court offense and letting the ball do the war work a little bit more. And then that would give you some more scoring opportunities. And just getting Cherry and Smith a few more touches. Very small things I think they could change and this game would look differently. 100%, especially that pick and roll defense in the first quarter.
01:08:25
Speaker
They could have. It did get better as the game went on, but it still wasn't great. Yeah, they shored that
01:08:35
Speaker
and Just giving them, I'm sure Coach Luke Boyle has forgotten more about basketball than I'll ever know, but just just giving you these ideas for when you come down to our Sutherland in two weeks. Yeah, cheers.
01:08:47
Speaker
But also for Illawarra, I think for me very promising looking side, very different from last season. You know, no Dent, no McDowell-Whites. but certainly making up for it. Matt Mims is ready to shine this season in a new role.
01:09:03
Speaker
Just great floor space, great discipline in everyone's roles, no one deviating from that and just executing. I mean, they're just going to get better and I don't think teams should underestimate their bench.
01:09:18
Speaker
um regardless of their level of experience or whether it's in the league or in this team. it looks like they're already a pretty well-oiled machine.
01:09:29
Speaker
And did you hear what Caleb said towards the end of the game? From what I hear, there's more cavalry coming for the Illawarra Hawks? More? I think that's what Caleb said during the call.
01:09:42
Speaker
Oh, my gosh. that See, going back to roster announcements, the hits just keep coming. It's always full surprises in the East. So, well, I mean, Caleb's got his ear to the ground, so watch this space.
01:10:01
Speaker
What were your overall kind of final comments and observations from this game? Yeah. Like you said, it wasn't... yeah It was a 13-point game and Maitland, no Mason Bragg.
01:10:15
Speaker
So I don't think they have too much to worry about. um Illawarra should be delighted that yeah in his first... Probably one of his first proper games for the club playing like primary ball handler, that Mims was so good. That is such a boon for them. um And just...
01:10:38
Speaker
The fact that their young players um went out there and played hard and didn't shy away. Look, we got what we expected from especially Blanchfield with his 28 and 16, shooting 61% from the field. ah Mason Peatling, 12 and 12. It felt like a quiet 12 12.
01:10:57
Speaker
um He just went about his work. um He didn't demand the ball. And I feel like just watching them, it feels like there's buy-in from everyone. Everyone's pushing toward you know pushing in the same direction. And that i mean then this is the great thing about having your big-name players play.
01:11:19
Speaker
be from the nbl club which you basically have a link you know mason peatling doesn't have to go out and drop 40th night to say nbl here i am come sign me he's sorted he's there in illawarra he's here in illawarra and nbl one east he's just got to go out there and do his job um and that's that's probably one of the great things about the um the link here is that you've got players who are already sorted NBL wise in the same city. Everyone, you know, they know what's going on and they don't have to worry that if they don't put up massive numbers that the NBL won't notice. them
01:11:56
Speaker
And we're talking about Mason Peatling in a previous episode. i think our episode with James Mullen. We're thinking, oh, you know, Peatling, he must be getting on. And I was like, no, no, I think he's just been around a long time, started at a young age. He's only 29.
01:12:12
Speaker
Yeah. oh yeah he He hasn't even hit 30 yet. Four years in college, straight into the NBL and hasn't left. Oh, wait, it's his birthday today actually. Is it really? Yeah.
01:12:24
Speaker
March 31st, 97. Happy birthday, Mason Peatling. Happy birthday, Mason Peatling. How good.
01:12:33
Speaker
The only other statistic that kind of stood out for me, we touched on fouls earlier with Maitland committing 19 fouls, ah sorry, 21 fouls and Illawarra committing 19. But the free throw attempt difference was was a factor, I think. Maitland only went to the stripe 18 times compared to Illawarra's 28. Yeah, that was. that's That was six extra points of that 13-point deficit just from the free throw line.
01:13:01
Speaker
which is interesting because they had the same amount of points in the paint. So, you know, I don't know. um If you look at the two-point shot chart, 43 to 30. So Maitland actually had more shots inside. So, but...
01:13:18
Speaker
I mean, yeah. yeah And I think Maitland had a couple of, think Rain Smith was fouled at least once on a three-point shot, if not twice. I know he was fouled at least once.
01:13:29
Speaker
um So interesting that, yeah, the disparity was was that massive. um I know Maitland, I mean, look, Elora could just be playing better defense. um And quite cleaner defence.
01:13:44
Speaker
I know Maitland, why they were getting they were getting frustrated with some of the calls. um And when you look at the free throw disparity and you see you know twenty eight to eighteen it's never a good feeling. But, I mean, you've just got to put it behind you.
01:13:58
Speaker
When you meet them in finals, get your revenge then. Because I yeah good would not... You know, I would not be surprised to see these teams meet in week at least three of the finals, if not the final itself.
01:14:16
Speaker
Yeah, that's a really good point because I also had that thought of ah when these two teams meet again, it will not be a 13-point ballgame guarantee. think so. No.
01:14:30
Speaker
Stangers can definitely get Illawarra in the next meeting. Yeah. um All right, well, that was our round one game of the week, Maitland Mustangs versus the Illawarra Hawks, the men's game, also the KO game of the week. So you can find both the women's game and the men's game streaming for free on KO Freebies. If you have trouble looking for it, it's all one file. It's all one link. Yeah, it's a four-hour broadcast of two games.
01:15:02
Speaker
Correct. And then there's the NBL One Show in between. So we've got Matt Hickey and Beth Cole doing some kind of NBL One Show in between. So it's ah it's it's a big chunk. It's a big chunk. It it is.
01:15:13
Speaker
It is. ah Looking ahead to round two, Lockie, there's already going to be some pretty good matchups as per usual in the NBL One East. I think one of the games that's sticking out for me at the moment is ah the Hornsby Women matchups.
01:15:32
Speaker
are playing against the Manly women. Now, Hornsby women are coming off a huge weekend with some really, really big wins in ah in a doubleheader. um Looking good.
01:15:43
Speaker
I think playing against the reigning champions, a team that have played a long time together, a bit of maturity, is going to be a good test for them. Yeah, I'm really interested about this Hornsby. What interests me most about this Hornsby team is not the 80-point win they had over Central Coast. It was that Illawarra beat Maitland last week, and then Hornsby came out and smacked Illawarra by 50.
01:16:09
Speaker
What? like where where Where do all these teams stand? Was that Illawarra-Maitland game? A weird one, you know, Hornsby just that, you know, is this Hornsby team that good? And that's why I'm so glad that they are playing i proper championship contender in their next game.
01:16:29
Speaker
And we can just get a handle on just how good they are. Yeah, where where they're really going fall ah essentially in this ladder. ah The other game to look out for is the Canberra Gunners against the Illawarra Hawks playing at Tuggeranong as well. They're not playing at Belko. They're moving the game at Tuggeranong. So Canberra fans, make sure you pack the stands.
01:16:52
Speaker
And ah Coach Pete told me that the r basketball ACT or the club wants to do the... r wants to do a bit of a thing for the ah championship before that game. So, you know, that might ah give the Hawkeys a little bit of a motivation to go to go in there and ah deliver some revenge or as as close as you can get to revenge after a grand final defeat.
01:17:21
Speaker
Yeah, that's right. That's right. Home to court. The same court where they won their national championship too. I want to see the stands as packed. First home game as national champions.
01:17:35
Speaker
want that stadium as packed as it was last August or last September, whenever it was, yeah. And another interesting matchup for me, I think, is the Norse Bears and the Albury Wodonga Bandits, but both the men and women. I'd really like to see how those chips fall as well. So I think we' we'll we'll have a chat off air, which our personal or our EGG game of the week is going to be. But in the meantime, Eggheads.
01:18:03
Speaker
Remember to subscribe to our podcast on your preferred streaming platforms. Leave a nice comment or give us ah a rating if you see fit as well.
01:18:13
Speaker
And also from now on, keep an eye on our Instagram page where the return of the All-Star 5 is imminent. But otherwise, Lockie, I think that's us for today. think it is. any five Any final words?
01:18:30
Speaker
Don't sleep on the east.