Frustrating ‘world class’ Webster key
Mark Dickel has challenged the Canterbury Rams to bring greater energy and fight on the defensive end as they try to contain Wellington Saints star Corey Webster.
Canterbury [4-3] take on the unbeaten Saints [7-0] in an intriguing National Basketball League clash in the capital on Easter Monday (3pm start).
Webster, the NBL’s leading scorer [28.6 points per game] has poured in 56 during his two contests against the Rams this season.
When the sides last met nine days ago, the Tall Blacks guard racked up a busy stat line of 31 points, seven assists, four rebounds and four steals in the Saints 114-104 triumph.
The Saints possess a stacked squad, but Rams coach Dickel knows if they can frustrate Webster and force their supporting cast to take more shots, they give themselves a chance of an upset.
Dickel was pleased with the job Canterbury did against Webster last season when he was with the Super City Rangers and wanted to see his players step it up defensively.
‘‘We just don’t try hard enough against [Webster]. That’s basically what it comes down to.
‘‘Against a great player you’ve got to leave it all out there on the court. Currently, we haven’t done that.’’ Dickel conceded Canterbury had given Webster far too many easy open shots in their first two games this season.
The Rams haven’t had too many issues putting the ball in the hoop, but if they want to challenge the Saints and compete for an NBL title, they have to be far better defensively.
Canterbury are giving up an average of 94 points per game, the second worst in the league behind only bottom placed Nelson who notched their first win this season yesterday upsetting Taranaki 79-74 in New Plymouth.
Wellington scored 114 when the sides last met, including 39 in the third quarter, which was unacceptable, Dickel said. They had to make life tough for the rest of the Saints side and put them under pressure.
‘‘The Saints have got decent players, but outside of Corey, they’re all guardable.
‘‘He’s a world class player. The other guys are just good New Zealand players. We’ve got a whole lot of good ones on our team too. If we play defence, we can be in great shape against them.’’ Canterbury will switch around their players defensively against Webster. Dickel said they had to be diligent and keep persevering even if he got hot offensively.
The Rams overcame Taranaki 95-82 at Cowles Stadium on Good Friday, courtesy of a strong second half, where they outscored the Mountain Airs 22-9 in the third quarter.
Three point bomber Marcus Alipate [18 points] and English import Will Neighbour [13 points and seven boards] both had productive showings off the bench.
While some other sides are mixing up their rosters, including Jeff Green’s Rangers, who added former Perth Wildcats guard Earnest Ross, Dickel is happy with his squad. Neighbour, who struggled in the Rams early games, appears safe after some encouraging recent displays.
‘‘There’s no thought to do anything different regarding personnel. We believed in these players from the start of the year and that hasn’t changed.’’