Analyzing Malique Lewis and Lueth Awan in an NBL Blitz Game

October 5th, 2025

By Alan Lu

This time around, I decided to watch South East Melbourne take on Sydney in an August 31st NBL Blitz game, as I was able to see this with thanks to YouTube via National Basketball League. This featured a couple of draft prospects in 6-8 forward Malique Lewis and 6-5 guard Lueth Awan.  Here are my thoughts on how both of them fared in this game.

Malique Lewis had an up and down performance in his team’s win over Sydney. He is an athletic, strong forward that make some solid plays offensively, but he struggled to be consistent on either side of the ball in this game.

On offense, Lewis was at his best when he looked to score in the post. He was able to utilize a crafty pump fake to score in traffic. Lewis also managed to score on a turnaround, baseline jumper from the high post.

Plus, he also can knock down open, spot-up threes off the catch.  He was a bit streaky with his jump shot, and he struggled to make shots when they were contested.  On the other hand, Lewis struggled to score in traffic.  As where he would’ve likely had gotten many trips to the free throw line in the NBA G-League, Lewis ended up not getting those calls in this game, which led to forced, rushed shots that wound up missing.

He also was quite turnover prone in this game.  For the positives, Lewis is an athletic, energetic forward that can make an assortment of passes, and he can push the pace to handle the ball.  However, he tended to be too careless with it in this game, as he would often throw hasty passes that would get intercepted.  Another time, he tried a fancy dribble move before losing the basketball.  He also threw a wildly inaccurate kick out pass that sailed out of bounds another time.

Lewis also did a great job of rebounding the basketball.  He was quite active at crashing the glass, and he would haul in numerous boards on both ends of the floor, and sometimes he would push the pace afterwards.

Defensively, he looked to be about average.  Lewis is an active positive defender that has decent defensive potential. He was able to jump on a loose ball that his teammate poked away to help his team get a steal.  He also was able to fight through a screen to stay with his man once, and he also would use his length and width to contest shots to help force some misses.  However, he would sometimes tend to be caught ball watching and over-help in the paint, which would lead him to give up open jump shots to allow scores.  Another time, he got beat off the dribble, which led him to commit a reach-in foul.

Overall, Malique Lewis didn’t have his best game, but he is a promising prospect that could project into a versatile role player at the NBA level.  He could end up being a 3 and D type of role player if he continues to hone his game, and he is a second round prospect for the 2026 draft.

Lueth Awan had a strong showing in his team’s loss to South East Melbourne. He is a very athletic, skilled swingman that showed off a very good jump shot, and he was able to make some very solid plays on both ends of the floor.

Awan showed a knack for making quick corner threes in this game.  He excelled at knocking down outside shots, and he also ran the floor to score another time.  On another play though, he missed on a contested, fadeaway jumper.

He also showed off decent playmaking skills.  He can push the pace and make touch passes to find the open man. However, he was called for traveling on a drive once, as he would’ve scored on a baseline dunk if no call had been made.

Also, he was able to chase down a ball to get a defensive board once.  Defensively, he looked to be perhaps above average. Awan was able to intercept an errant pass to get a steal.  He also showed that he can fight through screens to stay with opposing ball handlers, and he has good recovery speed to rotate and close out on shooters to force some misses.  However, sometimes his lack of size would make it difficult for him to defend in the post or fight through screens. Another time, he didn’t move his feet very well when defending on a drive, as he got beat on a second move to allow a score once.

Overall, Lueth Awan had a strong showing in the NBL Blitz, and he showed that he is an athletic, skilled swingman that could warrant some playing time in the NBL regular season.  He will need to find a way to be a consistent rotation player for Sydney, but that will be no easy feat, since he is playing in one of the most competitive professional leagues from around the world.   He is talented enough to play in the NBA one day, but he will need to get regular playing time and continue to show his skill set, especially in regards to his shooting and defense in order to make it to that level.

Patrick Ryan didn’t play much in this game, but he is able to get some sparse playing time late in the fourth quarter. He is a mobile guard that was able to bring the ball up and showed some ball handling skills, but he missed on a floater. He also showed some defensive skills, as he was able to rotate to close out on a three-point shot to help force a miss. 

Overall, he will need to get more playing time in games.  He is an unlikely bet to be drafted, but if he improves his jump shot, he could end up carving out a lengthy career in professional basketball.

All in all, those are my thoughts on how Awan, Lewis, and Ryan fared in this game. Thanks for reading.