Paternostro not taking Heat lightly

Leicester coach Rob Paternostro will not be taking Saturday’s game against Guildford for granted, despite the Heat’s difficult start to the season.

Guildford are 0-8 this season across three competitions, and this week coach Creon Raftopoulos promised to ring the changes, and started by releasing Kandi Mukole.

The Riders, meanwhile, have won their last three games in comprehensive fashion, with Great Britain captain Drew Sullivan in ominous form.

But Paternostro is not expecting an easy game at the Surrey Sports Park, against a team who appeared in the BBL Trophy final last term.

He said: “I have a great deal of respect for Creon and what he did there last year. The Heat competed well last season, and were really tough defensively. They’re a hard team to play against, especially on their own court.

“They were unlucky in the Trophy, when you look back at those games, they were in every game and their results are a little misleading.

“They’re a difficult team to play against , you have to look at Mike Martin and Julius Joseph. They’ve both been around for a while now, and are difficult to cover. Martelle McLemore had a really good rookie season last year, and he’s playing some good basketball at the moment.”