Tigers @ Giants: BBL Championship preview
Friday 19th October
Manchester Giants vs Mersey Tigers
Manchester Giants will be looking to get back to winning ways as they play host to Mersey Tigers this weekend.
After the euphoria of victory in their first two games of the season they have been brought back down to earth with a bump as they are currently on a run of four straight defeats.
Slow starts and stuttering finishes have been the main issue for the Giants as they have dug themselves into early holes which they have been unable to climb out of in games against the Eagles, Raiders and Wolves. They led by six points late on against the Scottish Rocks but missed crucial free-throws down the stretch and ended up losing by just three.
They will be hoping to take advantage of a Mersey side that have struggled to put points on the board this season and are currently averaging a league-worst 52.3 points per game. The Tigers have totally revamped their side in the off-season and will be hoping that their new players can find some on-court chemistry soon.
An uncharted, yet still hopefully intense, derby fixture like this could just be the answer as they look to make some progress in what could turn into a long season for them if results do not start going their way.
The Giants will look to gain an early advantage and hit their opponents on the break as they are one of the most devastating teams in the league in transition. They will also look to establish their presence in the paint by getting good looks to post players Morakinyo Williams and David Aliu.
Aliu has led the team in scoring for the past two games and as a former Tigers player will be hoping for another high-quality performance against his old employer.
To suggest that the Mersey Tigers have experienced a difficult start to the 2012/13 campaign is being generous. An average loss differential of 44.25 ppg in four straight defeats for Head Coach Tony Walsh doesn’t make for kind reading.
A young, ‘still-learning-the-BBL-game’ team recently received new additions but as with the core of local players that Coach Walsh is giving minutes to, the new players will need time to adapt to the British top flight.
Gael Hulsen started his BBL career promisingly, scoring 22 points in an 88-64 defeat to the Cheshire Jets. Since that scorching hot start to his time at the Tigers though, Hulsen’s shooting percentage has dropped off a cliff, shooting only 14% in the 98-48 loss to the Wolves.
On paper this should be a straightforward game for the Giants and if they get off to a good start against an opponent struggling for confidence then it could turn into a rout. However, it could also be the trigger that kick-starts the Tigers season. Several of their players have come up through the Manchester Magic system and will be anxious to impress in front of what promises to be a lively crowd.
Coach Walsh will hold realistic expectations for his team and not expect a 180 turnaround overnight but improvements will need to be seen in the coming weeks, starting against the Manchester Giants.
