United in Surge for Finals

Saturday, January 7, 2023

Melbourne United is a team that expects success. Sitting in eighth place doesn’t sit well with Dean Vickerman or his team.

When: 8pm (AEDT), Saturday 7 January, 2023
Where: Qudos Bank Arena, Sydney
Broadcast: ESPN; Foxtel; Kayo; Sky NZ
LIVE SCORES & STATS

Who won the last time?

Sydney 102 (Adams 20, Clark 19, Martin 16, Vasiljevic 16) d Perth 80 (Cotton 20, Travers 20, Law 16) – Round 17, NBL22 at RAC Arena, Perth

Sydney claimed win number nine in a row in NBL22, blowing the Wildcats out of the Jungle with a 35-14 opening stanza and extending their lead past 30 soon after half-time. The Kings shot a sizzling 15/30 from range as the backcourt trio of Jaylen Adams, DJ Vasiljevic and Ian Clark combined for 55 points on 10/17 from deep. On a bleak night for the hosts, NBA Draft prospect Luke Travers impressed with 20 points, eight boards, two steals and two swats.

What happened last game?

Sydney has won three in a row after taking care of the depleted Phoenix in a shoot-out, running up 118 points – its highest score in almost two years – as Vasiljevic busted out of his shooting slump in the best possible way. The Wildcats continued to make a statement about their post-season credentials with another strong showing in New Zealand, but a sloppy third quarter with five turnovers ultimately proved costly in their three-point defeat.

What’s working?

Using TaShawn – In that third term, Thomas contributed just two points, one board, one foul and a turnover. Over the rest of the game he was super-efficient with 12 points on 5/6, five rebounds, three assists, two steals and two blocks, the Wildcats +19 with him on the floor in a three-point loss. When the big man is involved, good things happen, and his decision-making and inside-out passing against Sydney’s paint-packing D will be crucial.

Accurate shoot-outs – Sydney have reached triple-figures six times in regulation this season for a perfect return, and are 18-1 in the Chase Buford era when they reach 95 points, the only loss being in double-OT to SEM. In contrast, they average just 82.8ppg in regulation in their five NBL23 losses, with three-point shooting the biggest difference maker. The Kings average 6.8 triples at 26 per cent in losses, compared to 10.1 at 40 per cent in wins.

What needs stopping?

DJ Vasiljevic – To put it in perspective, DJ hit 10/14 from long range as he blew SE Melbourne out of the Q, while in his previous nine outings he’d made 9/51. It was an extraordinary performance in Derrick Walton’s absence that marked the first time Vasiljevic had passed 20 points since 14 April last year. How will Walton’s return impact his aggressiveness? With Bryce Cotton and Corey Webster playing major offensive roles for Perth, it’s important both are made to work hard at the defensive end from tip-off.

Bryce Cotton – Remarkably there was an MVP discussion recently with Bryce mentioned only as an afterthought. It’s almost like averaging 26.7ppg since the FIBA break on 3.6 triples at 41 per cent is so regulation for the NBL’s greatest scorer in its best era that it barely rates a mention. Opposition teams know just how good he is though, especially the Kings, with king Cotton averaging a deadly 28.5ppg in his past 14 games against the purple and gold.

Who’s matching up?

Derrick Walton v Corey Webster – Walton has struggled for consistency this season, but his best is extraordinary, averaging 26.3ppg at 56 per cent and 5.8 assists in his six most statistically productive games, three of which have been Ls. In contrast, the Wildcats are 5-1 when Webster scores 18 points on more, their only loss on Wednesday in New Plymouth. In those six games, C-Web has averaged 21.7 points on three triples per night at 58 per cent.

Xavier Cooks v Ta Shawn Thomas – Sydney’s frontcourt provides tricky match-ups for Perth, but expect Brady Manek to track Tim Soares to the arc and Thomas to take on Cooks, especially after his classy shutdown of Keanu Pinder. The Wildcats gave him excellent support that night, and they’ll need to be crowding the driving lanes early against the X-man, who’s averaged 21ppg at 63 per cent, 8.5rpg and 4.5apg in his past four full games.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">SEAMLESS ?<br><br>Catch all the action live on <a href="https://twitter.com/ESPNAusNZ?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ESPNAusNZ</a> via <a href="https://twitter.com/kayosports?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@kayosports</a> + <a href="https://twitter.com/Foxtel?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Foxtel</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WeTheKings?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#WeTheKings</a> <a href="https://t.co/vnNl3fsy3i">pic.twitter.com/vnNl3fsy3i</a></p>— Sydney Kings (@SydneyKings) <a href="https://twitter.com/SydneyKings/status/1610565331746947072?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 4, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Who’s saying what?

The competition is fierce in the Hungry Jack’s NBL, but it’s not lost on the players and coaches that they are a part of something bigger.

“I think I saw something that we’re the only league around Australia that’s gotten back to pre-COVID numbers in terms of attendance and we’re actually going past that,” coach Chase Buford said after 11,321 fans packed Qudos Bank Arena.

“It’s great to see, on a Wednesday night, holidays, test cricket, big bash going on. It was an unbelievable crowd tonight, unbelievable crowd the other night, unbelievable crowd for Christmas Day.

“The fans just keep showing up, hopefully they’re enjoying the basketball they're seeing too.”

They certainly are. While the officiating crew are often the subject of discussion, their in-season adjustment has set a platform for high-octane, high-scoring basketball where the NBL’s offensive stars can shine.

Since the start of Round 5, the shackles have come off and the league’s average score has leapt from 83.1ppg to 89.1ppg with teams pushing the pace and attacking the rim.

Two outfits who are benefiting from tighter whistle are Sydney and Perth, who possess some of the best offensive talent in the league

The Wildcats have averaged 99.8ppg in their past four outings, while Buford’s men have scorched with 107.3ppg in the same span, buoyed by their double-overtime game in Gippsland.

“We generate good looks, we get to the rim, that’s what our offence is designed to do,” Buford said.

“We space the floor, we try to attack the paint as much as we can and if they help we’ll kick out to guys like DJ or Glove or whoever it is to shoot the open threes.

“When we can’t we’ll try to get on the rim (again) as much as possible. Over time that allows you to shoot high-efficiency nights more often than not.”

The only thing that seems to prevent Sydney from running up cricket scores is when they cop a beating in the possession game.

“We’re an up-and-down team with turnovers, some days we’re six or seven, some days we’re 25,” Buford said.

“When we can get the balance of shot attempts to our opponent correct we usually win games, because we take more efficient shots and we hold our opponents to inefficient shots.”

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">TaShawn puts it ?. ?<br><br>? Watch live on ESPN via Kayo & Foxtel <a href="https://t.co/8zjhhMPcIR">pic.twitter.com/8zjhhMPcIR</a></p>— Perth Wildcats (@PerthWildcats) <a href="https://twitter.com/PerthWildcats/status/1610547726701449220?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 4, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

One exception to that rule might be the Wildcats, who are shooting at 50 per cent over the past four games, including 42 per cent from outside the arc.

Their starting quintet of TaShawn Thomas, Brady Manek, Luke Travers, Corey Webster and Bryce Cotton are pouring in 83ppg at 52 per cent in that stretch, but coach John Rillie is in no mood for his team to adopt an identity of simply outscoring opponents.

“No, that’s certainly not going to be the mentality,” he said.

“The mentality’s not going to change, we've got to get stops, our defence has to improve. Tonight we scored enough points, we just had some moments.”

The new 'Cats boss echoed Buford’s lament around looking after the ball, with his team’s past two wins featuring just 16 turnovers in total, compared to 33 in tight losses to Brisbane and the Breakers.

“We've done a good job this year of taking care of the ball, (tonight) we had 18 turnovers,” Rillie said in New Zealand.

“For how good we are offensively when we’re in the groove, to have 18 turnovers we’re penalising ourselves an opportunity to score more points.”

They’re only going to get better offensively with Tai Webster on board, a man who burned a full-strength Boomers for 22 points last time they met, and tormented Euroleague side Bayern Munich with 32 points when playing in Germany.

“I'm obviously really excited,” Corey said of his brother’s debut on Saturday.

“Tai will bring a lot to this team, he’s an offensive weapon, he's also tough at the defensive end, he’ll get out on the break and push the ball.”

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Tai Webster will join the <a href="https://twitter.com/PerthWildcats?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@PerthWildcats</a> for the remainder of the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NBL23?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NBL23</a> season ?<br><br>Be sure to tune into NBL today for all the details - <a href="https://t.co/uImGibK9Po">https://t.co/uImGibK9Po</a> <a href="https://t.co/YeFPVgZp3T">pic.twitter.com/YeFPVgZp3T</a></p>— NBL (@NBL) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBL/status/1609784727237693442?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 2, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

The Webster brothers, Bryce Cotton and Mitch Norton will all be tested defensively by a renewed DJ Vasiljevic, especially if he can find a way to get a high volume of shots off with Derrick Walton back in the line-up.

“It’s just finding the balance obviously, Derrick’s a great passer and you’ve got to work off him,” Vasiljevic said.

“He's our go-to go, I'm going to talk to him, work with him, he’s watching on the sidelines where he can find me, then we’ll gel when he comes back.”

It’s almost a lottery to see which stars will take the spotlight in this clash.

Xavier Cooks takes on TaShawn Thomas inside while Brady Manek and Tim Soares stretch the floor. Justin Simon looks to shut down Cotton as Vasiljevic and Walton against the Webster brothers.

Can Perth’s interior defence hold up against the Kings’ constant rim raids, esepcially with Travers out? Can Sydney’s defensive strategy on the three-point line hold up against the Wildcats’ marksmen?

It’s a classic match-up Vasiljevic is very much looking forward to, even if he had a cheeky dig at Cooks and Tai Webster’s struggles from the foul line in the process.

“They’ve just signed Tai Webster … he’s a great guy to come back into the league, we’ll see who can get more cheeseburgers, him or X,” Vasiljevic laughed.

“Obviously Bryce Cotton’s one of the best players in the league and we’ll just see what happens, it’ll be a great game.

“We've got the prime-time eight o’clock game on Saturday, we’ll be ready to go, I can’t wait for it.”