This weekend sees Hemel Storm face Nottingham Hoods and the London Cavaliers, in what proves to be an extremely important couple of fixtures for the league leaders. After a triumphant 92-83 victory over the Derby Trailblazers, Storm will be heading into the weekend determined to gain two more victories.
Their first test comes on Saturday, with a trip to the Nottingham Hoods. This looks to be a close affair between two well-organised teams. Their most recent home game against fellow title contenders Reading Rockets saw the Hoods up by 14 points at half time, before Reading launched a comeback and won the game 88-96. Before this, the Hoods were involved in a dramatic victory on their travels to the Derby Trailblazers, with an Elliot Bailey half court heave stunning the Trailblazers faithful.
The Hoods contain key threats in their team, with quality that could potentially hurt Storm if they allow them to take natural shots. These include Greg Skoric, who has a powerful presence inside the paint; Landon Taliaferro, who has an exceptional ability to shoot the ball from the perimeter; and Jun Murdock Jr, who was signed mid-season, but has shown his ability to have a key influence on fixtures. Storm will need to watch out for these players and ensure that they remain professional in their approach to the game.
Sunday’s game sees Storm host the London Cavaliers in a local derby. As for the Cavaliers, who rebranded during the season, their roster contains a vast amount of experience. Most recently, the Cavaliers announced the signing of British Basketball veteran Matthew Bryan-Amaning, who has played for many teams in the British Basketball League. Alongside this, this fixture will see the return to the StormDome for both AJ Roberts and Shaq Lewis.
For Storm, the importance of taking each fixture as it comes will prove extremely important in their quest to win the league title. They will need to ensure a dominant display in both fixtures as their close competitor Reading Rockets will be keen to apply an immense amount of pressure to Storm if they were to lose a game. The matchup inside the paint of Darien Nelson-Henry, Matt Ellis and Hakeem Sylla on both opposition will prove interesting, as Storm have great strength in depth this season.
It will be important for as many Storm fans to get down to the StormDome on Sunday night, in what proves to be a cracker in front of familiar territory. Make sure to secure your tickets using the Fanbase platform.
Written by Ollie Heathcote