Struggling Rocks look to tame Sharks
The injury ravaged Glasgow Rocks looks to bounce back following two heavy defeats prior to the Christmas break with a win over the One Health Sheffield Sharks at the Kelvin Hall in Glasgow on Friday night.
When these two teams met in mid November, it could legitimately be argued that the Rocks 82-64 victory was the high point of their season so far, while being the nadir for the Sharks. Atiba’s boys have won four of their five games since that encounter. The Rocks, on the other hand have gone 3-3, but are coming off a humiliating double-header that saw them lose by 20+ points to both Worcester and Plymouth. The defeat at Plymouth was particularly brutal as star man Mychal Green managed just four points as the Glasgow side hit just 27.8% on two point attempts.
More worrying, however, is the injury list, and Coach Davis must have been delighted for the near fortnight break that would have allowed his ailing stars some recovery time. Star guard E.J. Harrison remains out for an undetermined amount of time, while Davis is expected to miss the next couple of games. Green, Wedemire and Cranston, who aggravated an ankle injury picked up against the Sharks in November, were all carrying knocks following the defeat to Plymouth.
Clearly, the health of the Rocks starters will play a crucial part in the outcome of the game, although 19 year old local lad Jonny Bunyan was the one bright spot of their otherwise forgettable pre-Christmas double-header. The youngster totalled 27 minutes game time against Plymouth, recording a career high 12 points, 5 rebounds and 2 assists. In a game where the Rocks shot 32%, the flame haired Scot went 5 of 9. Could he have impressed his coach enough to warrant greater consideration?
On the other side of the court, the Sharks are on a roll, despite the continued absence of captain Adrian Anderson. Following a slow start to the season, the Sharks have won four on the bounce and could climb above the Rocks with a win. With a vast array of talent at both ends of the court, the Rocks will have their work cut out if they are to repeat their 18 point triumph earlier in the season. While the Rocks rely heavily on the play of Mychal Green, the Sharks spread their scoring around to a larger degree than the Scots. Langhurst, Dobbins and Reinking are contributing, on average, 50 points between them every game. When Green has struggled, the Rocks have struggled, as seen in their last two games, and Davis will have to figure out a way of bringing the likes of Huffor and Wedemire, both players with the talent and ability to cause a stir in the BBL, more into the game plan.
The last time the two teams faced off against each other I was excited at the prospect of an entertaining battle between big men DeAundrae Cranston and Justin Dobbins, only to be left disappointed when Cranston limped off early on. Hopefully, there will be no such repeat this time round. As always, the battle on the boards will play a crucial role in who emerges with the two Championship points in this encounter and both Dobbins and Cranston will be relied heavily upon by their respective teams to win that battle.
One thing is for sure, it will be a fascinating, entertaining night of basketball at the Kelvin Hall.
Key Player : Given the Rocks injury worries, Mychal Green will have a massive say on the outcome of this match. If he’s fully healthy, and on fire, then Davis will be confident of claiming the victory. The nature of the Sharks offence means that should one player have a poor game, a slew of others will pick up the slack. For Glasgow, however, there is a huge reliance on the scoring ability of the former Ohio University guard and he will need to be at his glorious best on Friday if the Rocks are to put an end to the Sharks run.
Prediction : You can never underestimate the importance of momentum in basketball, and these two teams are at opposite ends of the scale on that front. The health of the Rocks will be a key factor in the outcome of the game, as will the ability of their defence to handle the threat of the numerous different weapons the Sharks have at their disposal. Sheffield are on fire just now and I think they’ll keep their run going and condemn the navy blue to a third consecutive defeat. Sharks by 8 pts.
