Five things to watch for at the NBL Blitz

Some of the young talent, new imports, and roster questions that will be on my radar.

Credit: JBC Studios

1. Lachlan Olbrich and Sam Froling sharing the floor

Olbrich was one of the standout prospects at last year’s edition of the Blitz and again enters as one of the more interesting watch points here. After an MVP offseason playing in New Zealand, and the Hawks making a late import signing in place of the departed Gary Clark, there’s opportunity to capitalise.

Olbrich played mostly backup five last season with him and Froling on the floor together for just 123 possessions per spatialjam.com. In those small minutes, the Hawks were in the positive, 13.3 points better on offence and 1.6 points better on defence.

One area that you would bank on being a strength with an extended sample would be rebounding, particularly on the offensive glass where both guys are among the best in the league. Olbrich gave us an early preseason tease in mid August with five offensive rebounds in 23 minutes against the Shanghai Sharks.

Another strength of the pairing will be in their ability to run the floor, with Froling excelling there for quite a while now, and Olbrich taking that up another level with his grab and go ability. Both will be busy in hand off actions in the half court, able to play the two-man game with their guards or use fakes to attack themselves. Olbrich has flashed more ability than Froling with the three-point shot, so hopefully we see him get a couple of attempts up each game to further aid the pairing.

Defensively, the four-spot can throw a number of different tests at you, so we’ll see how Olbrich handles those assignments, and goes in extended minutes playing against elite pick and roll duos.

Olbrich doesn’t turn 21 until the end of the year but is already proving effective, and now the question is what his split will be at power forward compared to centre, and how much playing time he can steal off the new import and Froling.

2. Cairns’ Pedro Bradshaw

The Taipans have built around Taran Armstrong this season, and part of that is upgrading the fit of the imports.