What he said – Heat at Wolves pre-game quotes
Wolves’ coach Paul James rates the Heat highly, but isn’t concerned about that early season loss against them: “The Heat have been one of the form teams this season and Creon has to be given credit for the team he has put together. They have great team chemistry and deserve their position in the league.
“Chavis Holmes and especially Frank Homes have been the driving force behind the Heat’s success on court. It was so long ago since we last played them and we were depleted of players that it is not relevant when looking at this game coming up.”
Wolves returned to action on Sunday with a win at Durham Wildcats following a break caused, in part, by the postponement of last Friday’s home game against London Lions, and James was pleased with the win: “Having not played for a while we looked a step slow, but having said that Durham shot the lights out in the first half and we really did not have too many answers at that moment. In the second half we found our range and played with more purpose at the defensive end. Alex Owumi had a tremendous second half scoring 20 points and grabbing several rebounds. Arturas Masiulis also had a strong game in what was a good team effort in the end.
“It was disappointing that we had to cancel the Lions game as we were looking forward to playing after a long lay-off. It has been stop-start since the Christmas break and we are looking forward to the consistent run of games coming up.”
Heat coach Creon Raftopoulos knows his team faces a difficult game in the Midlands: “I rate Paul’s team as one of the best in our league. They have size, speed, shooters and a ton of experience. They had a slow start with the absence of Prezzie-Blue but since his return and they signed Kai Williams they have become serious playoff contenders.
“I think Kai will have the same effect he had for Cheshire last season, he’s a smart player that plays three positions and can cause match-up problems. The Lithuanian twin towers Arnas Kazlauskas and Arturas Masiulis are also a handful for any team.”
Raftopoulos doesn’t believe his team’s early season win against the Wolves will have any bearing on Friday’s game: “Like many teams in our league, Wolves are a different team to the one we beat early in the season. Paul has his guys playing free and you have to defend the three-point line because given an inch they will shoot the ball. Boxing out on long rebounds will be key.”