United's Plan to Slow Aggressive Sobey

Melbourne coach Dean Vickerman has identified slowing down Nathan Sobey as key to stopping the Brisbane Bullets on Sunday.

Sobey has been on a tear recently, scoring 31, 30 and 24 points in his last three games, while playing with an extra edge and spark.

As United prepare to travel to Brisbane, Vickerman is hoping he has devised a plan to try and cull Sobey’s influence.

“Sobey is being super aggressive right now, so how do we slow him down?,” Vickerman pondered.

“Hopefully when he drives the lane he goes at such a speed it is sometimes tough for him to make great passing decisions. Hopefully our protection at the rim can be good enough to really challenge his shot.”

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">NATHAN SOBEY DROPPED A BASELINE HAMMER ?<br><br>Watch <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NBL23?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NBL23</a> live on ESPN via Kayo Sports and Foxtel ? <a href="https://t.co/iMHTh2kgv9">pic.twitter.com/iMHTh2kgv9</a></p>&mdash; NBL (@NBL) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBL/status/1598243703633559552?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 1, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Even though the Bullets sit second last with a 5-13 record, Vickerman is cautious the home team are now healthy for one of the first times this season.

“They’ve been great the last two games. a lot of bodies back for them, a full roster pretty much without Tyrell (Harrison), I think they’ve established their roles and people aren’t playing out of position,” he said.

Harrison is set to make his return on Sunday, with no excuses for the ninth-placed Bullets. 

At United, both Chris Goulding (illness) and David Barlow (concussion) will be back for the New Year's Day fixture.

Vickerman said Barlow has “recovered really well”, while Goulding will play despite still having some cough symptoms.

United and the Bullets clash at 4pm AEDT on Sunday, with the game live on 10 Peach and 10play. All games are live on ESPN via Kayo and Foxtel.