The Seriös Group Newcastle Eagles welcome the Plymouth City Patriots to the Vertu Motors Arena for their final home game of the season.
Newcastle will enter Thursday’s competition as a mid-table team. Marc Steutel’s side sit in 5th position, tied with the B. Braun Sheffield Sharks, with whom they share a 10-9 record for the season so far.
The Eagles recently recovered from a two-game dip in form, with a win over the Cheshire Phoenix.
Their return to winning ways was followed by a 10-day rest, before they welcome the Patriots for some post-Christmas hoops.
Plymouth remain on the naughty list, but will be hoping for something nice to end the year with. Paul James’ team are firmly at the bottom of the table with just six points, but have some cause for cautious optimism.
They recently gained their third win, defeating the Caledonia Gladiators on December 23. The victory represented their first since November 05, having previously lost six on the bounce.
Stylistic Differences
The Eagles are certainly an offensively proficient side. They sit 4th in points per game at 88.2, but second in field goal attempts with 69.7.
They keenly feed their big men and live in the paint, leading the League in two-point attempts with 45.2 per game and second in free throw attempts with 23.2.
Meanwhile, the struggling Patriots prefer to let it fly from range; they are fourth in three-point attempts per game with 25.4, but are bottom in the table for efficiency beyond the arc, at 26.5%.
It will be interesting to see if quality shots were on Plymouth’s Christmas list, as they certainly don’t lack in quantity.
Key Names
Between the teams, there are three League-wide top-ten scorers: Newcastle guard duo Rickey McGill and Jordan Johnson are averaging 18.1 and 17.1 points per game respectively.
Though the Patriots crucially lost lead scorer Taylor Johnson earlier this month, T.J. Atwood has done his best to fill the void and averages 15.5 points per contest.
The teams have met twice already this season, each fixture taking place in November. On both occasions the Eagles secured the W convincingly.
In the most recent clash, Jordan Johnson led the way in scoring with 24.
In that game, the Patriots were somewhat careless with the ball, resulting in the Eagles outmatching them 22-4 in points from turnovers.
Plymouth will need to protect the rock far more effectively to stand up to today’s hosts.
The teams had better get used to each other too, as they will meet again in Plymouth just two days later on December 30.
With the 2023/24 season here, you can get your British Basketball fix by following the League on social media or heading to our YouTube channel to relive all of the best moments from the season so far.
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