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Melbourne United vs Illawarra HawksWednesday March 12, 7:30pm |
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Despite losing by twenty-two and thirteen points across their previous two fixtures against Illawarra, that mattered little for Melbourne on Saturday night as they disposed comfortably of the hosts at the WIN Entertainment Centre by a scoreline of 96-88. Despite losing the opening two quarters, United fought back strongly in the second-half, winning Q3 21-14 and Q4 32-21 to shock the Basketballing world and take a 1-0 lead back home. Marcus Lee was an absolute menace off the bench as he shot 7/7 from the floor for 14PTS + 15REB + 1STL + 2BLK. Also coming off the pine Ian Clark contributed 13PTS, 3REB and 4AST. Whilst of the starters Matthew Dellavedova wound back the clock for three triples and 18PTS. Meanwhile Chris Goulding had a 15-piece meal and Shea Ili a 13-piece one. Jack White also locked down 9PTS, 9REB and 1BLK.
Whilst for Illawarra Sam Froling was again massive with 16PTS, 7REB and 1AST to his name. Wani Swaka Lo Buluk also played strongly with 11PTS on 4/7 shooting alongside 1REB, 1AST, 2STL and 1BLK. And off the bench Will Hickey was commendable with 14PTS, 7REB, 8AST and 2STL. And Todd Blanchfield conjured up 13PTS.
However Trey Kell III and Tyler Harvey were woeful, as the pair of Guards combined to muster up just 7/21 shooting, good for 15PTS. For context on the season Kell III is putting up 17.6PPG and Harvey is at 17.4PPG. Kell III has won championships across three different countries and has been an MVP in two. As for Harvey he is well-recognised across the NBL and globally for having been a 2X ALL-NBL First Team member, including this season. When they are on fire, they are virtually unstoppable. However Dean Vickerman’s game plan in Game One meant that they had limited space to work with and largely limited time to shoot the ball. So as poorly as they performed, the likes of Big Man Sam Froling, renowned defensive specialist Wani Swaka Lo Buluk and so on need to do a better job of setting screens and feeding the ball back out to the pair. Because the Hawks hopes of a potential win and a potential championship lie largely on the backs of the 28-year-old and 31-year-old respectively.
Did you know? Melbourne have won nine of their last 13 games at home and have scored 101+ points on seven of those occasions. Whilst Illawarra have also won nine of their last 13 games overall. And during that time span they have put up 96+ points during seven matchups.
For United their team sharing effort evidently worked pretty well down in the ‘Gong’. However part of the reason they won was due to the Hawks shooting inefficacies. If they are to open up a 2 and 0 lead in the series then others besides Marcus Lee need to step up to the plate as his 14PTS was virtually double his season average of 7.1PPG. Ian Clark for example had 38PTS in his sides elimination win over the Wildcats as he is a valuable player on or off the bench for the hosts. Whilst Chris Goulding has had multiple games with 40+ points this campaign. On Saturday evening they scored just 13 and 15 a piece. If their stars can do what they’re supposed to then it ought to be another easy dub going in their favour.
Betting tips: Back United to take out Game Two at $1.75 (Dabble)
Also back them to win Q1 as well at $1.85 (BetRight)
Ian Clark should also score 10+ points, as should Sam Froling at $1.11 and $1.22 (Bet365)
And you can also back Chris Goulding to hit 3 3’s and Tyler Harvey 2 3’s at $1.32 and $1.28 (Bet365)