Preview: Melbourne vs Illawarra – NBL24 Playoffs, Game 1

Monday, March 4, 2024

After an extended break between games can they United clip the wings of the high-flying Hawks?

Thursday, March 7 at 7:30pm AEDT | John Cain Arena

Watch: Live on ESPN via Kayo | 10 Play - International viewership details
Box scores: Download the free NBL App

Melbourne
NBL legend Damian Martin has revealed an unnamed NBL coach adjusts their offensive strategies in order to avoid Shea Ili. Martin said the plan was to keep the ball away from Ili so he doesn’t have the opportunity to leave his man.

Luke Travers said he passed on the opportunity to represent Australia in the recent FIBA Asia Cup qualifiers against South Korea and Indonesia in order to focus on Melbourne United’s Finals campaign.

NBA Draft expert Sam Vecenie praised the improvement of Ariel Hukporti during his time in Melbourne on the club’s “The Extra Pass” Podcast. Vecenie said the Next Star deserves “an immense amount of credit” for how he’s come back from his Achilles injury last season.

United held two “full contact” intra-club games during the break between Round 20 and Thursday’s Playoff clash. Dean Vickerman said all his players emerged from the runs healthy and it.

Illawarra
Derek Rucker praised the performances of Sam Froling, Justin Robinson and Will Hickey in the Hawks’ Play-In victory over New Zealand. Robinson top-scored with 26 points and Froling had 21 points on a quiet night for Tyler Harvey and Gary Clark, while Hickey was instrumental in slowing down Parker Jackson-Cartwright.

Robinson tied the NBL post-season record for most free throws made while shooting 100 per cent in the win, with 14. Post-game he said he “big-time players step up in big-time moments”, and that he’s always ben the type of player to try and own the moment.

Tyler Harvey said he doesn't care how many points he scores, as long as he contributes to winning. He added just seven points in the Hawks' win over the Breakers.

Sam Froling believes he had been "slack" with his aggression and rebounding ahead of the Play-In Game, but refound form in the win.

Melbourne
92-87 win over Illawarra
88-97 loss to Cairns
94-81 win over New Zealand

Illawarra
88-85 win over New Zealand
76-92 loss to Tasmania
8-92 loss to Melbourne

Luke Travers
When Luke Travers arrived in Melbourne ahead of NBL24, he cited better development opportunities and championship contention as two key reasons for his move east. The young forward has certainly improved in his sole season under Dean Vickerman, and now the second part of that reasoning has come into play.

Travers came under fire for his Play-In performances for Perth last season – albeit as a 21-year-old – but has turned into one of United’s most all-action, reliable players in NBL24, and a strong start to a series where he’ll likely match up on former NBA forward Gary Clark will help put some of those demons to rest.

For all the discussion around the class of Next Stars, and emerging, draftable talents like Taran Armstrong, Josh Bannan or Lachlan Olbrich, Travers himself is also fighting for an NBA opportunity through his performances this season.

He starred for Cleveland in last year’s NBA Summer League as a small-ball five, alongside two-way rostered talents Emoni Bates and Isaiah Mobley, and fully rostered Sam Merrill, and has played every position on the floor for United this season.

Across NBL24 he’s registered big increases in his points and rebounds per game when compared to last season. His three-point shooting clip has dropped by seven per cent – however, he’s shooting over 50 per cent from the field on the campaign.

Travers is the type of all-action player NBA teams are casting a worldwide net to search for. He’s had an impressive season that will almost certainly see him earn the chance to prove himself to the Cavaliers once again this off-season, but a strong post-season campaign could do wonders for his NBA aspirations.

He said he passed up the opportunity to represent the Boomers in order to lock in on his preparation for the Finals with Melbourne. That all starts with Game 1 against Gary Clark and the Hawks.

“Luke, I think, has the chance to play in the NBA at some point. He’s just so versatile and capable of filling different roles on a team. It’s going to be the shot for Luke, everybody knows he needs to shoot, and if he shoots at a real 39, 40 per cent level from the FIBA line, 36 to 38 per cent from the NBA line, he’s probably going to be a chance to play in the NBA. He’s athletic, he can pass, he’s very downhill in transition and he’s able to attack close-outs in a real way. I love the way Luke plays.” – NBA Draft expert Sam Vecenie on The Extra Pass podcast.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">If you fly with Luke Travers, you'd best not miss. What a block from LT ?<br><br>Catch the second game of the night live on ESPN via Kayo ? <a href="https://t.co/h8m7KdH4Ez">pic.twitter.com/h8m7KdH4Ez</a></p>— NBL (@NBL) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBL/status/1758414039661588974?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 16, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Justin Robinson
Justin Robinson’s Play-In Game performance against the New Zealand Breakers will almost certainly go down in Illawarra folklore, and while he didn’t have a particular moment in the game like Damon Lowery did with his free throws in the 2001 semi-final series – his performance from the line was just as important and emphatic to Illawarra’s Finals hopes.

Robinson’s 14-14 game from the stripe equaled the NBL record for most free throws shot while shooting 100 per cent over the entire competition’s history. Sydney’s Randolph Childress initially set the mark in 2001.

The import guard’s stellar, season-defining performance was made all the more special by the up and down season he – by his own admission – has endured. For every 26-point, seven assist performance against South East Melbourne, there’s been three-point, 1-15 shooting night against Adelaide.

Robinson’s highs this season have been stratospheric, and he’s shown flashes of why he was such an NBA-touted talent, but his poor games have been some of the toughest individual performances we’ve seen in the NBL this season.

For as talented and hardy as New Zealand was in that game, the defensive regime of Shea Ili and Matthew Dellavedova in Melbourne’s guard positions is a different kettle of fish, but that being said Robinson has played OK against Melbourne this season.

He’s a self-confessed “big moments” player, and he shined in those big moments against the Breakers. Can he do it against Melbourne?

“I just love those moments I think. I’ve been that way my whole life, early in my career I wanted to take that moment and own it and luckily I was in that position to shoot those free throws. They went my way, we’ve been practicing them a lot in practice and I was confident in myself that I could continue to make them. Big time players step up in big time moments and I think that’s what I did so for them to have that trust in me and for me to execute like that down the stretch, it’s a huge testament to them and a huge testament to me as well.” – Justin Robinson following the win over New Zealand.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Justin Robinson tied the NBL record for most free throws taken in a post-season game while shooting 100 per cent (14/14) last night ?<br><br>Clutch ? <a href="https://t.co/43i4Dq7Bsy">pic.twitter.com/43i4Dq7Bsy</a></p>— NBL (@NBL) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBL/status/1764804959273624058?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 5, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Melbourne’s guards vs Wani Swaka Lo Buluk and William Hickey
The Illawarra Hawks entered their Play-In clash with one defensive remit – stop Parker Jackson-Cartwright, and they did so largely successfully.

PJC still had 15 points and nine assists in the game, but two-man pressure game from Wani Swaka Lo Buluk and William Hickey – along with Justin Robinson – forced the diminutive guard to turn into a pass-first offensive option, and he also had six turnovers in the game.

Melbourne’s first option guard and wing rotation of Chris Goulding, Matthew Dellavedova, Ian Clark and Shea Ili all lack the express pace of Jackson-Cartwright, but they can all win a game off their own bat if they’re given the freedom to move and play the game at their own pace.

Goulding’s shooting proficiency speaks for itself. He’s the greatest shooter in a generation of Australian and NBL players and is experiencing something of a career-resurgence at the age of 35.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Chris Goulding and <a href="https://twitter.com/MelbUnited?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@MelbUnited</a> are ready to thrive in the NBL24 Finals ?<br><br>Watch all the Finals Launch press conferences: <a href="https://t.co/O2uY863Hj1">https://t.co/O2uY863Hj1</a> <a href="https://t.co/TGiIGlDT9H">pic.twitter.com/TGiIGlDT9H</a></p>— NBL (@NBL) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBL/status/1760869940796751987?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 23, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Clark is one of a handful of players to win both an NBL and NBA title, and is shooting at a higher clip this season than either of his tenures at Sydney and Adelaide.

Dellavedova led the league in assists per game in the regular season and was torching teams with his three-point shot to open the regular season.

Ili, while more of a defensive game-changer, has an underrated offensive skillset that can see him be either a multi-level scorer or a distributor when required.

The all on one fashion in which the Hawks defended Jackson-Cartwright likely won’t work against Melbourne and there will almost certainly be alterations made, but Illawarra’s defensive stalwarts will be flying high from the win over New Zealand – so can they stop Melbourne’s raft of stars?

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">PLAYOFF. ATMOSPHERE. ? <br><br>Will Hickey finishes through contact and Illawarra is ROCKING in this do-or-die matchup with New Zealand! <br><br>Watch the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NBL?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NBL</a> Finals series LIVE on ESPN! ? <a href="https://t.co/ajEITxMhTh">pic.twitter.com/ajEITxMhTh</a></p>— ESPN Australia & NZ (@ESPNAusNZ) <a href="https://twitter.com/ESPNAusNZ/status/1764574753250279928?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 4, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Illawarra has lost its last five games at John Cain Arena, while Melbourne has won its last seven. Will the form flip and give the Hawks their first win at the venue since NBL22, or will Melbourne’s home crowd power United to another win?

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Jo Lual-Acuil Jr.