The Manchester Giants will be looking to move into the British Basketball League’s Playoff spots with a win over the B. Braun Sheffield Sharks on New Year’s Eve.
The two teams finished with an equal record of 17-19 last season, but their results this season have been quite different.
Sheffield are a place above where they finished last season, sitting comfortably in the Playoff spots.
Manchester on the other hand sit just outside the top eight and need to get some wins under their belt if they are to finish on par with last season.
New year new me
The two sides sit three places apart in the standings, with the Sharks in sixth and the Giants in ninth.
Despite that, Sheffield are coming off two big losses away to the London Lions and the Leicester Riders.
That leaves them with just one win in their last five, taking them from a record of 9-6 to 10-10.
On the other hand however, Manchester secured a big away win in the northwest derby against the Cheshire Phoenix.
That broke a losing streak of three games, leaving them on a record of 7-15.
They are now tied on the same record with the eight-placed Surrey Scorchers and know that a victory will move them up into the Playoff spots.
This is the second game for both teams in quick succession, with the Sharks having played on Friday and the Giants on Saturday, which could result in managed minutes for both sets of players.
Big-time players
The two teams have only faced each other once so far this season, with the Sharks winning 92-73 at home in Gameweek 8.
In order for Manchester to make sure they don’t suffer the same fate in South Yorkshire, they’re going to have to rely on their top scorer Jamell Anderson.
Anderson is averaging 15 points per game, which puts him in the League’s top 10 scorers.
He’s closely followed by Nicholas Lewis who is averaging 14.6
Both Anderson and Lewis are averaging more points per game than Sheffield’s top scorer, Jalon Pipkins who scores 12.6.
What has helped the Sharks so far this season is their defence, keeping the score low.
In their last meeting, they kept the Giants to 73 points, nearly 10 points lower than their average of 82.2.
If they can do that again, then they are in with a good chance of coming out victorious.
To watch this game of the 2023/24 British Basketball League season, tune in to YouTube on Sunday, December 31 at 3:00pm GMT.
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