Harbour Heat will get their biggest test of the season so far when they host the Nelson Giants in the Bartercard National Basketball League at the North Shore Events Centre on Thursday night.

The Giants arrive in town boasting a roster that is the envy of most in the Bartercard NBL, led by Phil Jones and with the likes of Mika Vukona, Tony Rampton and Michael Fitchett, the Giants are a side to be respected by all.

And that is exactly what Heat Coach Judd Flavell is doing to the Giants, but respect only goes so far.

“You have to respect every opponent in this league and understand their strengths and if you can exploit their weaknesses. We will treat the Giants no differently to every other team but they are coming to our gym where we are unbeaten, so while we know the threat they possess, we are confident in our ability to enforce our pattern on the game as well. We have spoken again about the need for consistency and concentration throughout the 40 minutes if we are to win games against some of the more fancied teams in the league, such as the Giants clearly are.

“We took far too long to get into our rhythm against the Jets last week, maybe it was the different surroundings of the AUT court, I’m not sure but that is no excuse anyway, we have to be better than that. We are back in familiar surroundings at the NSEC this Thursday and must be at our best to continue what has been a good start to the season. No one is getting carried away though, a start is all it is. No one wins anything in March or April, we have to knuckle down and continue to improve each week and right now that means the Giants have our full attention.”

Flavell will have a full roster to choose from with no injury concerns at this early stage of the season. The offence has shown signs of gelling with import Kavossy Franklin improving with each training session and game he has with his new team mates. The third quarter against the Jets was testament to this with Franklin and Corey Webster picking up 9 points each in a combined 8 of 13 from the floor, a run that the Jets never recovered from.

Rick Rickert’s strong start to the campaign is reflected in his player ranking of 2 for the league after 4 games with another double double of 21 points and 10 rebounds maintaining his good form. Webster is in third in the overall player rankings and leads the league in steals, and while the steals are seen as a bonus, the overall effort on defence is pleasing Coach Flavell.

“I have spoken about this already that if Corey plays on the defensive end of the court with the same intensity and commitment as he does on offence, he will become a very good all round player and add so much value to the Heat. The key for Corey is to get to the right position on defence as quickly as he can. Anything else from that point is a bonus but it is the hard work without the ball that we are working on with the entire roster, regardless of who is on court they have to take responsibility, and playing defence is so much about attitude.”

As with the much anticipated match up with the Saints two weeks ago, this one is a mouth watering prospect with a host of Australian National Basketball League players on both sides suggesting the fans are in for a high quality and evenly matched game of basketball in a league that is fast gathering momentum for sides in the top half of the table. The Heat will be doing all in their power to continue their unbeaten start to the season with their fifth victory.