Goulding gunning for more three-point looks

Chris Goulding took over a third of Melbourne United’s total three-point attempts in their Game 1 Championship Series win over Tasmania, but star guard Matthew Dellavedova says Melbourne will continue trying to pump up those numbers.

Goulding made six of 10 attempted three-pointers in the 23-point victory. Head coach Dean Vickerman has been consistent in his desire to have the sharpshooter take roughly 10 threes on any given night, and as a result he finished as the game’s top scorer.

Dellavedova says the more shots Goulding can take from distance, the more the team will benefit.

“Once he makes one or two everyone on the floor offensively and defensively knows we’re trying to get him the ball to get him another look,” Dellavedova said.

“The high release one, the ones off the dribble, he’s got all kinds of shots and it’s on us to try to continue to get him as many looks as possible, and then also use his gravity to get some easy looks as well.

“It's been a focus all year, he’s had an amazing season, and we all know what he can do when he gets even a little bit of an opening, but there’s a defence that’s locked in on him and they have a game plan as well. It’s always a battle to try and figure out ways to get him more looks, but that’s part of the fun.

“That’s what we want, the more three-point attempts we can get from him, the better. It’s just trying to get the volume up.”

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Six threes in the first game of the Championship Series ?<br><br>How many will Chris Goulding have in Game 2? ?<br><br>Find out on Friday night, live on ESPN via Kayo, 10 Peach and 10 Play ? <a href="https://t.co/s5J9Q1Aqs5">pic.twitter.com/s5J9Q1Aqs5</a></p>&mdash; NBL (@NBL) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBL/status/1769886851480068534?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 19, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Dellavedova himself has been crucial to Melbourne’s ladder-topping regular season and run to the Championship Series, but he looked to have suffered an ankle injury in the closing stages of Sunday’s win over the JackJumpers.

He didn’t return to the court in the remainder of the clash, but he’s allayed any fears that he won’t be fully fit for Game 2 of the series, which is scheduled for this Friday night.

“I’m feeling good. I could have come back into the game, but the boys did a god job closing it out. I went through all of training today and I felt good,” Dellavedova said.

Vickerman added Dellavedova will increase his workload over the remainder of the week to be in prime shape for Friday’s game.

“He’ll be fine by game time. He got through what we needed him to get through today and he’ll pick it up and make sure he’s perfect by game time,” the coach said. 

Vickerman is expecting a frosty reception in Tasmania when his team takes to the court at MyState Bank Arena, following a statement about “Scott Roth defending his little island”.

Roth responded to Vickerman’s quote prior to Game 1 and labelled it as disappointing.

Vickerman says if the crowd wants to have a dig at him, they’d better make it funny.

“I guess if they’re focused on me, it’s not on the team. If they do I hope they come up with something witty,” Vickerman said.

Game 2 of Melbourne’s Championship Series against Tasmania will tip off at 7:30pm AEDT on Friday, live on ESPN via Kayo Freebies, 10 Peach and 10 Play.