Reading Rockets V Leicester Warriors
Saturday 27th February | 6:00pm Tip
Game will be livestreamed on Basketball England’s YouTube Channel
This Saturday, Rockets (4-4) host the Leicester Warriors (2-9) at the John Madejski Academy to face in the National Basketball League. The game will be livestreamed on Basketball England’s YouTube channel at 6:00pm, you can also follow all the action on FIBA LiveStats too.
Our opponents, Leicester Warriors, have had a shaky start to the season losing their first 7 games, but after the signing of 7-foot centre Morakinyo Williams in January, the Warriors have found their fighting spirit, winning their last 2 games. Williams teams up with 6’11 Henri Langton to make Leicester’s front court physically dominant, and since Williams’ arrival Leicester have averaged an enormous 40 points in the paint. Alongside the Warriors’ towering front court, head coach Karl Brown has some terrific sharpshooters to call upon such as Leon Henry, Martin Gayle and Ellis Haggith, who combined shoot a remarkable 36.4% from 3-point range.
Head coach Alan Keane had this to say about our upcoming opponents this weekend:
“The Warriors have had a great start to the 2021, getting a couple wins underneath their belt. They have a lot strengths inside, especially with Mo Williams who we will have to factor and focus in on. But they also have some great shooting guards who have a lot of experience, so they are a well-balanced side and we will have to be at our best to eliminate their strengths.”
Rockets are currently 3-1 in 2021 and have just come off a fantastic 21-point win over the Oaklands Wolves, after inspiring performances off the bench from Chuck Duru (9 points, 4-5 FG) and Jaz Bains (14 points, 4-7 3P).
Although significantly smaller than our opponents, we have been playing with terrific amounts of pace this season, resulting in the Rockets leading the league in fastbreak points (23.4 per game). With the likes of O’Showen Williams, Reis Pinnock, Ben Dixon and Latrell Maitland in the squad, the Rockets are able to push the ball quickly up the court in transition and catch the defence before they are set, scoring from many easy looks. This has led to the Rockets scoring an extraordinary 90.6 PPG which places us top 5 in the league.
Ones to watch
New recruit Jaz Bains was impressive in his first outing for the Rockets against the Wolves, finishing with 14 points, 4-7 from 3-point range as well as picking up 6 steals. He has been training well this week, putting in lots of effort and working hard. We look forward to seeing what he will do on his home debut for the Rockets.
Mo Williams has been phenomenal in his first 3 games for the Warriors. The 7-foot big man averages 30 points, shooting an incredible 71.2% from the field and led the Warriors to their first wins of the season.
The game will be streamed on the Rockets YouTube channel where Director of Basketball, Matt Johnson, will be joined by former Reading Rockets captain Danny Carter for commentary. We will also be debuting a brand-new halftime show which you certainly do not want to miss.