Heat & Wolves Square-Off
When the Guildford Heat and Worcester Wolves meet at The
Spectrum, they will both be looking to bounce back after disappointing
losses on Sunday.
While Heat went down 108-101 in a thriller against Newcastle
Eagles - a result that confirmed Eagles as league champions
- an injury hit Wolves team lost 99- 69 at home against Sheffield
Sharks.
Despite the loss against Eagles, Heat coach Paul James enjoyed
what was one of the most memorable games in recent BBL history,
"It was an absolutely cracking game. Two of the best
defensive teams in the league were outshone by their offences.
There was some spectacular shooting, we shot 70 percent from
the field in the first half and they shot 66 percent, and
that wasn't for the lack of good defence.
"It was a game that had everything, we pulled away in
the third, and they came back to win the game. I'm not upset
at losing, they were always going to win the league, but I
thought they got some calls down the stretch, and there was
some cheap technical and unsportsmanlike fouls. But I don't
want to take anything away from either team, or Fab and the
Eagles for deservedly winning the championship."
Heat won 108-89 at Worcester in December and also beat them
81-75 in the BBL Trophy semi-final, but suffered a shock 112-105
home loss against them last month, and James is expecting
a tough game against the midlands side,
"James Life and Anthony Paez are two guys who can score
for fun, and we need to take care of them. We need the fans
to get behind the team early in the game, and lift our spirits
after the loss against Newcastle. We need to get up for the
game as it's on Setanta, and we must perform to the best of
our ability. They'll be a tough team to play, and they'll
put up plenty of points."
Having seen his side qualify for the play-offs with a 22-
point victory at the Marshall MK Lions, Wolves coach Skouson
Harker is just hoping to take a fully fit squad to Surrey
for the game,
"We struggled on Sunday, I think we'd left it all in
Milton Keynes.
"We have some guys who are a bit beaten up. James [Life]
has to have an X-ray on his wrist, Anthony [Paez] has an ankle
sprain, and Chuck Evans took a knock on his knee on Friday
night.
"I was pleased with how we played at Milton Keynes.
We dictated the tempo a bit, and defended well in spurts.
To be fair to them, they had an off night, but it was a tough
game physically, and we did well to get the open looks. We
did a good job on their post players, but above all we were
happy to seal a place in the play-offs.
"It was harder going with Sheffield, Chuck had to come
out of the game in the first quarter because of his knee.
They had a good game plan, played well, and with our injury
problems, it was just too much for us."
The Wolves' player-coach knows his team will face a tough
test on Wednesday against the recently deposed league champions,
"They'll be hungry to win, as we beat them last time
and they can still finish second. We'll try to get everyone
fit for the game, but if not it will be a chance for the young
guys. It will certainly be a baptism of fire if that happens.
"It's hard to pin down one guy. Dan Gilbert has been
consistent all season for them, and Dorsey's been good for
them every week. EJ Harrison deserves some real credit, he's
come in at point guard in the middle of the season and given
them some real leadership. Considering that he was a shooting
guard in the EBL, that's really impressive, and he's done
a great job steadying the ship.
"Paul James has coached them well, and made them a difficult
team to beat."
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