United test awaits 36ers on the road

Adelaide 36ers will travel to John Cain Arena to battle Melbourne United on Sunday afternoon and come up against the NBL24 grand finalists in another new challenge.

Less than 48 hours after defeating Sydney Kings 89-79 at the Entertainment Centre, Adelaide will play a United team coming off last Sunday’s 101-88 home loss to Cairns Taipans.

Melbourne will be ready and waiting for the 36ers and Adelaide will need to refocus after the intensity of Friday night’s success in front of another sell out home crowd of 9466. 

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THE KEY
Melbourne has a deep backcourt which comprises of two NBA champions, two NBL champions and Olympic bronze medalists in Matthew Dellavedova, Ian Clark and Chris Goulding.

Include arguably the best defender in the NBL in Shea Ili, and the United guard rotation will be up the floor for the full 40 minutes.

Dellavedova and Ili will take turns to curb the influence of Kendric Davis at the point guard spot, while former Kings NBL championship teammates Clark and DJ Vasiljevic will likely go head-to-head at shooting guard for long periods of the contest.

Goulding has had a slow start to NBL25 due to injury, but the sharpshooter regained his scoring touch last round against the Taipans, swishing 22 points, including five three-pointers.

THE SECRET
With such a star-studded backcourt and after losing big men Jo-Lual Acuil and Ariel Hukporti, you would think United’s frontcourt hasn’t improved from last season, but don’t be fooled.

Melbourne regained NBL championship-winning centre Marcus Lee from the JackJumpers, which gives United a legitimate ring protector, and has paired him with crafty veteran Rob Loe, who can stretch the floor.

Both big men are known to be foul prone and the 36ers must exploit that early, especially through the play of new frontcourt pairing Isaac Humphries and Montrezl Harrell, who combined for 32 points and 22 rebounds in the win against the Kings.

When you add in Jack White, who has returned from the NBA, the United frontcourt is arguably just as good as its deep backcourt, the match-ups will be enthralling.

DEPTH CHART
Ili / Cameron
Dellavedova / Clark / Foxwell
Goulding / Krebs
White / Bowen / Aliir
Loe / Lee

FINAL WORD
Adelaide will be full of confidence on the back of three straight victories, but the United challenge in Melbourne is another test for Mike Wells’ side.

United will be keen to bounce back after last Sunday’s home loss and the 36ers will look to continue their recent form and take some momentum from Friday night’s win.

This match is a classic match-up of the United locked down, hard-nosed defence going against the free-flowing offensive flow of the 36ers.

United’s deep backcourt advantage will go head-to-head against the upper hand Adelaide seem to have in the frontcourt.

Whoever can take the initiative early will go a long way in creating the best result for their team.