Rocks looking to turn the Heat up on Guildford
In the SKY televised game of the week, the fifth place Glasgow Rocks entertain a Guildford Heat side that has recovered admirably following twelve consecutive losses to start the season an currently occupy eight place with a 5-9 record.
Last weekend saw the Rocks fall one quarter short of pulling off a miraculous clean sweep on their travels. A convincing display against Leicester, helped by 26 points from Murray, resulted in an 87-82 victory over the Riders. The following day, a disastrous 30-8 reverse in the final quarter saw them squander a sizeable lead against BBL Cup runners-up Plymouth. Yet Coach Davis should not be too downbeat as his slumping and hurting troops played seven impressive quarters of basketball over two energy sapping days.
Key to the Rocks play was the return of veteran point guard and leader E.J. Harrison, who had missed eleven games following a severe ankle sprain early in the Rocks defeat at Cheshire at the start of November. It is certainly no coincidence that the Rocks have gone 7-3 in the games in which their captain has played this campaign. Coach Davis would be the first person to admit that while the injuries have added up, the Rocks sorely missed the poise and calmness under pressure that such a wily veteran brings to the table. While a seven point night against Leicester was hardly vintage E.J. the stats clearly played second fiddle to the effect his presence had on his teammates and he will improve with every game.
A side effect of having Harrison back was that Coach Davis was able rest his other injured stars with guard Mychal Green suffering from a whole slew of injuries that have hampered his performances of late, while big man DeAundrae Cranston has been carrying an ankle knock and logged slightly over 20 minutes of action during the double-header.
The Rocks faithful will be praying that the injury crisis that led to a disappointing 2-5 run prior to last weekend has dissipated and they can look forward to seeing their side play the sort of exciting basketball that they saw during the early part of the season when the navy blue were challenging for top of the table honours.
Standing in their way on Sunday will be a Guildford Heat team that will be desperate to avoid a repeat of their 99-94 defeat in early December at the Kelvin Hall that saw ex-Rocks favourite Mike Copeland suffer a season ending knee injury. Creon Raftopoulos has done a fine job in bringing his team back from a 0-12 record in all competitions and they now firmly have their eyes on catching the teams above them in the table. Five wins in the last seven games, culminating in a resounding 83-66 victory over Milton Keynes last weekend is proof that these boys can play.
The likes of Tayo Ogedengbe, who leads the team with 18.1 PPG, and Drew Lasker are a handful for any team in the BBL and the Rocks’ defence will need to be at its glorious best if they are to shut down the many attacking options that the Heat have at their disposal.
The problem that I see with the Heat, that gives the Rocks an advantage, is that they have the wrong balance between flair and workmanlike performers. The Rocks have Andrew Wedemire, DeAundrae Cranston and Sterl that are very no nonsense types of players and don’t mind doing the dirty work and hard grafting, but they also that the likes of Green and Huffor that turn the game around quickly. The injury to Copeland really hurt Guildford as that took away arguably their greatest grafter and left them overloaded with flair. Certainly in their last game at the Kelvin Hall that was something that really caught my eye. Indeed, with Copeland out, the Heat have only Sean Durant that stands taller than 6’5’’. Although, in saying that, they have gone 5-2 since that defeat so they must be doing something right!
With the Rocks fully fit, or, at the very least, having everyone available for selection, I expect them to be too much for the Heat, who, despite restricting their opponents to fewer than 70 points in two of their last three matches, I’m still not convinced by on the defensive side of the ball. The Rocks, meanwhile, have been hit and miss on their own defensive front but I see them sneaking past the Heat on this occasion.
Key Player: Sean Durant – The Heat have a significant disadvantage in the height department against the Rocks and for Creon’s men to emerge with the two points, Durant is going to have to dominate the boards. If he can create second chance opportunities, the Heat have a great chance. His battle with Cranston should be interesting.
Prediction: When the Rocks were fully fit earlier in the season they were genuine title challengers. It may take a wee while for them to rediscover that form, but I expect them win on Sunday and go above .500. Rocks by 8.
