'Let's get physical': Bogut previews heavyweight battle

With Melbourne and Perth set to battle it out for a spot in the Championship Series, Andrew Bogut believes the level of physicality is what will separate the two teams.

“I think this series is going to be predicated on how the whistle goes,” he said on NBL Now.

Both teams are loaded with talent, yet all eyes will be on the matchup between the Best Defensive Player winner, Shea Ili and MVP Bryce Cotton.

“If they let Ili and Delly be physical like they normally are and it’s not a tight whistle. I think it really favours Melbourne,” Bogut Added.

“If it’s a tighter whistle, we know Bryce for all his scoring power, he does get a pretty good whistle.

“You can’t really touch him, but for some reason that balances out when you got Melbourne, so it’s going to be a very interesting series from that point of view.”

The last two times these clubs met in the post-season were when the Wildcats beat United on their home floor to win the title in 2019, before Melbourne returned the favour in 2021 by sweeping Perth in the Championship Series.

“Normally in the post-season we see the whistle go away and the physicality really ramps up,” Pete Hooley said on NBL Overtime.

“I want to see the best going at it.

“Kristian Doolittle does his best work when he can use his size and throw it around against the likes of a Jack White, so I want to see that.”

The league’s leading scorer in Cotton, has averaged just 9.5 points in the two games against United this season, the lowest of any opponent since he arrived in the NBL.

He now faces a Melbourne opponent who will be feeling confident they can maintain that defensive assignment.

“We know how aggressive of a defender, not just Shea, but Dellavedova and Flynn Cameron can be,” Hooley added.

“In the end you’ve got the greatest offensive scorer we have in our game versus the best defender… this is exactly what finals basketball is all about.”