Phoenix barometer "ready to go"

He may have hobbled off the court at the Adelaide Entertainment Centre on Tuesday night, but South East Melbourne coach Josh King says star John Brown III is a certain starter on Saturday.

The All-NBL First Team player slipped on the court in the final minute of the Phoenix’s seven-point loss to Adelaide in their Playoffs Series and did not play any further part in the fixture.

But during the club’s media availability on Friday, coach King explained that Brown III would be available and just how crucial he is to their success.

“He'll be fine, he'll be ready to go,” King said at the media availability.

“He's very important, maybe our most important. With what he does, the numbers don't always show up in that little piece of paper at the end of the game or at the end of quarters.

“He brings everything, all the energy, all the defensive mindset that we need in order to get big wins.”

Further to the importance of Brown III, King explained that the club have started negotiations to extend both his and teammate Angus Glover’s deals, to keep them at the Heartland club beyond NBL26.

“I know Simon Derrick and Simon Mitchell have been in contact with their representatives [regarding extensions],” King said.

“They've meant a lot to our team this year, and I'm hoping that I get an opportunity to coach them again.”

Going into the NBL27 season, the Phoenix have Nathan Sobey, Jordi Hunter, Owen Foxwell, DJ Mitchell and Ellis Bigger (club option) contracted.

Game 2 of South East Melbourne’s Playoff Series with Adelaide tips off at 5.30pm AEDT on Saturday, live on ESPN.