Look Who’s In The House Tonight

Sharks only lost six league games in the whole of last season, as they finished as runners-up, but have already dropped two, the first of them against Friday’s visitors to EIS Sheffield, Manchester Giants.

However, there have also been two wins, and the early performances of summer signing Payne have been a real plus, his mindset remains positive too.

“There’s no need to panic. As a whole we’ve only been together for three weeks total and I think we are getting better every day,” said Payne.

“As far as improvements, we know what needs to be done to win games, we just have to do it as a collective unit and we are working towards that.”

It is worthwhile noting that both of Sharks’ slips have been narrow defeats, the other on the road at reigning champions Newcastle Eagles.

But that does not mean their opening week 76-72 reverse in Manchester has been forgotten.

It sticks in the mind of Payne and his team-mates, and they are well aware of what they must do differently to avoid a similar result.

Payne added: “We’ll have to rebound better – myself especially, helping Olu (Babalola) and Mike (Tuck).

“They obviously have a size advantage with (Mike) Bernard but other pieces that crash the glass well.

“Our defensive rotations will have to be sharper too. We’ll need to play with more energy than we did up there, which shouldn’t be a problem for us at home.

“Whenever a team steals one from you early, you kind of keep it in the back of your mind. We’re looking forward to the challenge this weekend.”

Last time they met:

Manchester Giants 76 Sheffield Sharks 72 (BBL Championship, Lucozade Soccerdome, 28/09/2014)

What they say:

Giants guard Callum Jones: “Sheffield are clearly going to want to avenge our last game together and Atiba Lyons will have them ready to go, so we have to make sure we match their intensity.

“They play tough defence and grind teams down so we have to try and make the game a bit more open like it was in the second half of our game last time we met.”

For information about tickets visit www.sharksbasketball.co.uk.

Story – BBL