Injured Devendorf back to lead Saints challenge
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By SAM WORTHINGTON - The Dominion Post
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Eric Devendorf will play hurt tonight, returning to the court despite only rating his injured ankle at "80 per cent" for the do-or-die semifinal against Hawke's Bay.
The classy Wellington Saints guard has missed the past five games with a high ankle sprain but is confident of returning to his high-scoring best at TSB Bank Arena.
"I'm probably around 80, 85 per cent," Devendorf said. "I'm not 100 per cent but I feel good enough to go ahead and get out there. These are the games that count the most, it's win or die."
Devendorf, who torched the Hawks for 36 points in the Saints' 103-91 win in round 11, said the ankle wouldn't hinder his athleticism.
"It's more mental, just knowing that it still hurts and having to get that confidence back in my ankle. There will be a little bit of pain in there but nothing that I can't play through.
"If the opportunities are there to push the ball up the court, then we're definitely going to look to take advantage of it. It's not going to stop me from getting up and down at all."
The Saints continued winning without Devendorf, as Lindsay Tait, Troy McLean and Leon Henry stepped up to shoulder the load.
In most circumstances there would be concerns about his return upsetting team chemistry, but Tait and Devendorf struck up a natural back-court rapport from their first game together.
"We're definitely feeling confident," Devendorf said. "We've got one of the best back courts in the league and we're pretty good up front as well. So we've got a balanced team and whoever we face, we're going to have a pretty good chance of winning."
The Hawks progressed to the semifinals thanks to an 82-77 away win against Harbour Heat in their quarterfinal on Wednesday night. But Harbour were without key players Corey Webster and Kavossy Franklin, who were stood down for disciplinary reasons.
"I feel we match up pretty good against Hawke's Bay," Devendorf said. "They're pretty much a guard orientated team and they like to get up and down the floor. So I think we can match that pretty well. It's going to be a good game but we're up to the challenge."
The Saints have a well balanced offence with plenty of weapons and scoring usually takes care of itself.
If they can restrict the output of Devendorf's former Syracuse University team-mate Josh Pace, the Saints can be expected to advance to next week's best-of-three finals series.
Defending champions Waikato Pistons host Nelson Giants in tonight's other semifinal.
HOW THEY LINE UP
What: NBL semifinal
Where: TSB Bank Arena
When: 7.30pm tonight
Saints: Lindsay Tait, Eric Devendorf, Leon Henry, Casey Frank, Nick Horvath, Erron Maxey, Troy McLean, George Le'afa, Damien Ekenasio, Ross Taurima, Randall Bishop
Hawks: Josh Pace, Everard Bartlett, Chris Daniel, Dave Langrell, Jon Rogers, Paul Henare, Jarrod Kenny, Ben Hill, Miles Pearce, Nat Connell, Warrick Siddall, Haylan Tahau
