Gold Coast Blaze - Testing week

I thought to myself today that I haven't seen or heard anything about the Gold Coast Blaze for a while. I checked the schedule and found out why ... the team only had one game last week and that was last Wednesday.

The schedule this week sees them on the road with two game, the first is Thursday against the New Zealand Breakers and the second is on Saturday night against the Adelaide 36ers.

The Blaze currently sit tied second last with the Melbourne Tigers but with the competition being so close still they're just 1.5 games out of 3rd. With two games on the road this is a defining week for the team. Their 3 wins have all come at home so they really need to get their first win on the road this round.

To win, the team needs to get out, run and get some strong offensive production from outside the big 3 of Harvey, Ubaka and Maxey. The Blaze need Gibson running the show at both ends of the court. Most importantly tho they need scoring from the second unit of Goulding, Vanderjagt, Petrie & Vukona.

Its going to be tough for the Blaze to go to NZ and knock off the Breakers but its not impossible. If they do lose tho, they need to regroup quickly and be ready for the 36ers just two days later. They should match up well with Adelaide as they have the defensive players to "contain" reigning Player of the Week John Gilchrist and bigman Adam Ballinger.

With 7 days off, the team should be well rested and focused. Let's hope that translates to their first road win and some momentum and confidence.