BEVO'S PLAYBOOK: Coaches' respect fuels compelling rivalry

One, is the huge amount of mutual respect we share. The other, is how much I want to kick his arse when our teams play against each other. I know that feeling is mutual as well.

I always get up to coach against Joey because he’s simply one of the best coaches in the league. It goes right back to when I was in in Perth and he was at the Gold Coast.

We’ve had always had tremendous battles. When you have that respect, you know you can’t leave any stone unturned in your preparation.

That brings an intensity that naturally rubs off on your players. It’s certainly something that’s helped fuel the compelling rivalry we've enjoyed with the 36ers the past few seasons.

It’s why I also know that Joey’s going to have his guys super-pumped to play against us this weekend, particularly on their home floor on Friday.

We obviously met in the semi-finals last year and it was a fantastic series. There were some fireworks and some incredible basketball played.

They were the minor premiers and we knocked them out in front of their home fans. I’ve got no doubt they’ll be relishing the chance to do the same to us – albeit a few weeks earlier than we did – this season. 

That’s why it’s now do or die for us. ‘Every game’s important’ is no longer just a cliche. Every game is must-win because we are behind the pack right now.

Our season is on the line this weekend against Adelaide. That obviously creates pressure, but the irony is, if we play relaxed, I have no doubt we can get it done.

It’s easier said than done, but we need to relax, we need to play loose to win. We need to get up and down the floor and play our style of game.

If we do that, we can put Adelaide and, after that, New Zealand under an entirely different type of pressure. They’ve played some great basketball at different stages and a playoffs spot is currently theirs to lose.

Yes, we’re behind them on the ladder, but I’m sure they’re looking over their shoulder at us. We’ve got Adelaide three times before the season’s out and we’ve got New Zealand another three times as well.

I said it after we beat the Breakers last week, it puts our destiny in our hands. We’re not relying on other teams to get us there.

If we’re good enough in this final stretch we can get their off our own bat. We have the double opportunity to not only notch the wins we need, but inflict the losses on the teams we need to to lose.

Adelaide know that, New Zealand know that so, while we’re no doubt playing for our lives every week, there’s pressure on the teams we’re playing against as well.

Finals spots will be determined by who handles the pressure the best.