Starting 5: The key talking points from Round 1

Pete Hooley for NBL.com.au

With Round 1 done and dusted, there are already some major talking points across the league that we need to look at.

If you’re a United or Phoenix fan, for example, you’d be feeling pretty good right now. However, if you’re a Taipans or Breakers fan, you’d be a little concerned.

Pete Hooley looks at some key talking points from the round just gone.

1 – Defence will always win

The South East Melbourne Phoenix put on a defensive clinic for the ages against an undermanned Cairns side. If the phrase “smell blood” could ever be applied to a basketball game, this was the perfect example.

The Taipans were without a point guard, with Andrew Andrews yet to join the team, and the Phoenix wasted no time capitalising with suffocating defensive pressure. John Brown III led the way, showing why he might just be the league’s premier defender, finishing with six steals along with numerous forced turnovers.

The relentlessness of Josh King’s men resulted in 12 first half steals and effectively ended the contest by half-time.

2 – Breakers need to “get in shape” … quick

Head coach Petteri Koponen admitted in his press conference that his team is “out of shape” and “out of sync,” and the scoreboard reflected exactly that. Since 2009, no team had conceded 100 points in the opening two games of a season until the Breakers did in Round 1.

The biggest concern, however, is the injury to star guard Parker Jackson-Cartwright, who is clearly battling a rib issue. He is the engine room for everything New Zealand does, and if he cannot perform at his best, or worse, if he misses time, the question becomes what happens next for this team.

Reports from the past fortnight in New Zealand suggest an illness swept through the playing group, which may explain their struggles in the opening round. Coupled with their recent trip to Japan, it has been a demanding few weeks across the ditch.

3- Melbourne means business

Melbourne United rolled out a team in Round 1 that featured three new faces in their starting unit, yet they played like a group that had been together for years.

With new import big man Jesse Edwards making a dominant first impression, this Melbourne side looks to have all the right pieces to avenge the last two years of heartbreak.

Without Chris Goulding, United still had five players reach double-figures in both their Round 1 wins, led by Edwards and Milton Doyle. Their defensive identity remains as strong as ever under Dean Vickerman, which sets the stage for a massive Throwdown on Thursday night.

4 – Bryce is nice!... no, no that one

I tried to warn everyone when he signed with Tasmania ... Bryce Hamilton is a stud. Coaches and agents from all over the world were telling me the same thing during the NBA Summer League in July, and the JackJumpers' newest star launched his season in the perfect way.

In the past 20 years, only three players have scored at least 24 points in each of their first two NBL games: Melo Trimble, James Ennis and Gary Ervin. Hamilton joined that list with 24 and 26-point performances in Round 1, including clutch buckets in Perth that delivered Tasmania their first win of the season.

None of those three former stars reached 24 in their third game, and now Hamilton heads into a clash with the reigning champions next weekend with a chance to stand alone.

5- Ok, that Bryce is still nice, too.

We got our first look at Bryce Cotton in an Adelaide jersey on Sunday night, and the more things change, the more they stay the same. The five-time MVP put on a show, dropping 24 points and dishing out nine assists, against a European team that was more physical than anything else he will face this season.

There have been a lot of questions around whether Cotton will need to do as much for this 36ers team as he has had to do in the past for Perth, but the answer to all those questions will continue to be the same: don’t doubt greatness.