Surrey Scorchers hope to get their season underway as they welcome mid-table Cheshire Phoenix

Credit: Surrey Scorchers

The Surrey Scorchers have suffered due to COVID-19 postponements and will continue to play the catch-up game as they take on Cheshire Phoenix.

Creon Raftopoulos’ Scorchers team have failed to make the play-offs since 2017/2018 and have had a disappointing start to their 2021/2022 campaign, going 1-7 in their first eight games.

Surrey’s sole victory came in a narrow New Year’s Day affair against the London Lions, in which the Scorchers beat their local rivals 78-77.

The club will hope that the signing of Devin Thomas will add the much-needed quality to the team. The 27-year-old is a former Wake Forest player in the NCAA, and since being undrafted, he has played in Turkey, Spain, Israel, Greece, Hungary, Argentina and Estonia.

Thomas has had a career that has seen peaks and troughs after signing for the Minnesota Timberwolves for the Summer League in 2016. However, he did not earn a contract and has since played his basketball elsewhere.

It has been a turbulent 2021/2022 season for Thomas though, with the American initially signing for Australian side South East Melbourne Phoenix but was released without a single appearance due to breaches of contract. He arrives in Surrey with a pedigree and a point to prove.

Cheshire meanwhile, enter this game after a long hiatus having not been in action since Boxing Day. That last outing saw the Pheonix secure a 88-77 victory at the Plymouth City Patriots in the BBL Trophy.

In their last BBL Championship outing, they were nullified by an unbeaten Leicester Riders side, mustering up less than 60 points.

Namon Wright has stepped up as the star man for Cheshire in recent games, being their most productive player in three out of their last four BBL Championship games.

Glasgow Rocks currently occupy the final play-off spot in eighth, with a 4-5 record. If the Scorchers are going to challenge for the post-season, wins in these home games are imperative.

The Phoenix finished in sixth place last season with a 14-16 record and will aim to edge closer to that 0.500 record to secure a more favourable seeding.

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