'JLA' ahead of schedule

He stopped short of giving an exact timeline, but Melbourne United coach Dean Vickerman says big man Jo Lual-Acuil Jr is set to be back on court sooner than first expected.

It’s great news for United, with an initial four-to-five month diagnosis on a wrist injury meaning their star center would have missed a big chunk of the first half of NBL24.

According to Vickerman, Lual-Acuil Jr is taking great strides in his recovery. 

“Progress has been great … yes, ahead of schedule,” he said.  

“He’s got a medical appointment tomorrow that may allow him to advance his workouts.

“He’s catching the basketball, he’s shooting the basketball … he’s dribbling the basketball and doing a lot of things that a basketballer does.”

Lual-Acuil Jr was a member of the All-NBL First Team and nominated for the league’s MVP award in NBL22, illustrating his importance to Melbourne’s hopes of a Championship.

“There’s still some, ‘can he catch at a ball at high speed? Can he fall on the ground? Can he do some of those things?’. We want to make sure he’s got the strength to fully progress,” Vickerman added.

In other news, United is hoping to call on Luke Travers for its pre-season game against cross-town rivals South East Melbourne this weekend. 

Matthew Dellavedova has been put on ice ahead of the Hungry Jack’s NBL Blitz on the Gold Coast, where Vickerman expects him to play “really good minutes”. 

Saturday night’s game will be streamed live and free via the NBL App, with tip-off at 7.30pm AEST.