PREVIEW: Back to business for Sharks in Manchester on Sunday

BBL Championship

Its back to the bread and butter of the BBL Championship for the B. Braun Sheffield Sharks after last week’s scintillating Trophy win on the road at Leicester. The Sharks have another short away day, this time over the Pennines to our old Lancastrian rivals, the Manchester Giants. Wins on the board are vital as every side is looking for that top eight finish that secures a playoff place so a similar effort will be required from Atiba, Rodney and the guys on Sunday afternoon.

Sunday – Giants v Sharks – NBPC – 5.00pm

Watch – Manchester Giants vs Sheffield Sharks, BBL Championship – LIVE – YouTube

Ones To Watch

Tajh Green – The high-flying Green has been a rip-roaring success for Vince Macaulay’s men this season. His season average of 19 points per game (along with 8.4 rebounds) was boosted with a 29 point haul in the recent 85-86 overtime win over Surrey Scorchers.

Rahmon Fletcher – Revitalised in the red rose county, the two-time former MVP is pulling the strings in typical fashion and getting the most out Manchester’s compact roster. He contributed 23 in the Surrey win and is currently dishing out 8.5 assists with that famed left hand.

William Lee – Had a spell on the sidelines around Christmas but still looking at his imperious best. Happy above the rim where he shoots 52% or from behind the arc where he makes a none-too-shabby 41%, Lee continues to average 16.2 points per game with 8.1 rebounds.

Dirk Williams – Still as assassin-like with his shot as he was in his fondly-remembered Sharks days. Played all 45 minutes for the Giants in the Surrey win and remarkably shoots 45% both inside and out for Manchester for 18.6 points per game.

Last Meeting

December 16^th 2022 – B. Braun Sheffield Sharks (Nichols 21 Ogunyemi 19 Koch 13) 83 Manchester Giants (Green 24 Lewis 22 Williams 20) 92

Shark Bites

Sunday’s game will be the 42^nd in all competitions since the Giants rejoined the league in September 2012. In the previous 41, the Sharks have 28 wins, Manchester 12 and there has been 1 draw.

The most recent match-ups have seen the Giants with the upper hand. They have won 6 of the last 9 or if you go back a little further, 10 of the last 19.

To take the end of season head-to-head, the Sharks need to win both the remaining matches by a combined total of at least 13 points.

The 79-78 Trophy quarter final win at Leicester was the Sharks 29^th one point win in 1265 matches played in the various BBL competitions.

SharkNation

Hands up who enjoyed that BBL Trophy win in Leicester last Friday? Hands up who wants to see a repeat performance in the Sharks next home game? Well hit the following link and you can be there to roar the Sharks on in one of their biggest games of the season!

B. Braun Sheffield Sharks v Surrey Scorchers – BBL Championship Tickets, Fri 24 Feb 2023 at 19:30 | Eventbrite.

Back to this weekend though and we have an equally tough game against Manchester. The link for the live stream is at the top of the page if you can’t make it to the National Basketball Performance Centre in person. We’ve got 13 huge regular season games left and we need the SharkNation with us every step of the way. We are the B. Braun Sheffield Sharks – know our name!

Image

Adam Bates