Cooling Off?
Tagged in: NBL
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The illusion of invincibility has been shattered, but no one, least of all their vanquishers, believes this is the beginning of the end for Appliance Shed Harbour Heat.
ìThey are a tough team to play,î insists Blue Chip Nelson Giants coach Nenad Vucinic. ìThey are physical and tough, and run some good structure as well.
ìI donít think their bubble has burst. Theyíve got a lot of away games coming up, but theyíre still the number one team in the country.î
The Heat belied their franchiseís underachieving reputation to rattle off seven straight victories to start the 2007 Dominion Finance NBL, including two over champions Easy LPG Bay Hawks and another over last yearís runners-up Youthtown Auckland Stars.
That streak came a cropper last Thursday when the Giants ran away with an 83-59 win at the North Shore Events Centre.
ìI donít think the scoreline was a fair reflection of the game,î admits Vucinic. ìWe held them off in the first quarter and they werenít shooting well, which always helps.
ìIn the second half, they struggled a little bit against our zone. We played good defense the whole game and they didnít adjust well enough.î
Harbour entered the final quarter just 53-59 adrift, staying in contention through their own sterling work around the offensive boards and by pressuring the Giants into turnovers.
No one better epitomized the performance than co-captain Hayden Allen, who showed light fingers for six steals, but shot 1/11 FG on the way to a season-low eight points.
His team scored just six points (2/12 FG) over the closing 10 minutes, a trend Vucinic had noticed and counted on in his pre-game scheming.
During their previous seven wins, Harbour had outscored opponents by an average of almost nine points in the opening period, but as those games wore on, their dominance dissipated to the extent that they were actually outscored in the final quarters.
ìAt home, they are tough to play and they do jump on you early. When we were close after the first quarter, I knew later down the track they would not be used to coming from behind or playing an even game.î
When Harbour coach John Dorge claims heís ìsuicidalî over the loss, it is with tongue deeply planted in cheek.
ìWe got beat by a team that came in and shot the ball extremely well,î he reflects. ìWe were able to match it with them for three-and-a-half quarters, but couldnít execute offensively down the stretch.
ìMy boys played hard and never gave up. They executed defensive principles to the tee Ö they just couldnít put the ball through the hoop.î
Less than halfway through their 2007 campaign, Harbour have already matched last seasonís win total, but they have done so largely from the friendly (to them) confines of ìThe Furnaceî.
The Heat finally venture forth this week to visit U Park It Waikato Pistons – the leagueís new hottest team – in Thursdayís TV game, then Inspire Net Manawatu Jets the following night.
ìWe never thought for a second we would go through unbeaten in a league this good,î says Dorge. ìWeíll trip up a couple more times as this season goes on.
ìWeíre playing some very good teams on the road over the next three weeks, so weíve got to be prepared for the good and the bad.
ìIím not worried about that result whatsoever. We may tweak a couple of things, but weíre not going to change the whole system because we drop a game.”
Dominion Finance NBL Guide (Round 10) (pdf 1.2MB)
