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Luke Bennett writes

Posted Thursday, December 14th 2017 @Luke45Bennett

Preview » Plymouth Raiders v Bristol Flyers

Thursday, December 14th 2017

Plymouth Raiders v Bristol Flyers
BBL Championship,
Sunday, December 17th,
Plymouth Pavillions.

Bristol Flyers look avenge their early exit from the BBL Trophy, as they face Plymouth Raiders away from home on Sunday afternoon (4pm).

Everything you need to know on Sunday’s opponents can be found below.

Plymouth Raiders

Over the summer, Plymouth Raiders had a complete shake up of their franchise. A change of ownership led to a new roster, new Head Coach and a complete rebrand of the club.

Buoyed by exciting basketball talent and off-court progress, Raiders have made some serious ground on the rest of the BBL. Plymouth’s solid start has got their fan base believing that they can return to the Play-Offs this season.

HEAD COACH

Head Coach, fan favourite Gavin Love, has his men playing some competitive basketball once again. Love has ambitions to have Raiders in the top half of the table and back into the Play-Offs this season.

With only four wins in the league thus far, Love may have set his sights higher than expected. But after impressive wins against Leeds Force and league leaders Newcastle Eagles, Love believes that they have every chance to win on any given night.

LAST TIME OUT

Bristol Flyers suffered defeat on the road to South-West rivals Plymouth Raiders in the BBL Trophy last weekend.

🎥 Watch the moments that mattered from today's four point defeat to @officialraiders in the opening round of the #BBLTrophy: pic.twitter.com/DtJmCqBbgT
— Bristol Flyers (@BristolFlyers) December 10, 2017

LAST SEASON

In the early goings of the BBL season, Raiders looked to shock the league with a top four finish. However, as a result of a poor stretch of games, Plymouth struggled for the rest of the season and finished 9^th.

Despite struggling in the BBL league, Raiders did enjoy success in the Trophy competition by making the Trophy Final. Although Plymouth lost to Leicester Riders, following last Sunday’s win, Raiders look primed for another deep run.

ONE TO WATCH

Former BBL Champion, Neil Watson has been an important part to Plymouth’s early season form. Fresh off an impressive season with Glasgow Rocks, Watson joined Plymouth to provide a much-needed offensive punch to Raiders’ backcourt.

In last week’s BBL Trophy game, the 5’11 American point guard dominated Flyers by scoring 22 points, notching 11 assists and playing every second of the contest.

In addition to Watson, Plymouth boasts a physical inside presence. In Sunday’s Trophy match-up, Raiders’ big man Kinu Rochford grabbed a backbreaking 18 rebounds.

Following last Sunday’s performance, Coach K will likely prioritise the difficult task of shutting Watson down and finding a way to keep Rochford off the glass.