NBL26 Report Card: United suffer second-half fade

As the Free Agency period tips off, NBL Media is putting the microscope on every club's NBL26 campaign.

Pete Hooley analyses every team, starting with the tenth-placed Bullets, all the way through to the Championship-winning Kings.

What the ladder says

6th place - 20 wins, 13 losses

Four word summary

What on earth happened?

Report Card

Grade: C+

On October 26, Melbourne United, were being touted as one of the best teams the league had ever seen, with a flawless 9-0 start to the season and looking like they hadn’t got close to reaching their peak.

Then it was the FIBA Break and from the resumption of the season, it began to fall apart and by the end of the calendar year, there were some big questions.

From the beginning of December until January 1, United lost nine of their 11 games, with their two wins against Brisbane and Illawarra.

What was once a team many expected were a given to be featuring in the Championship Series, they struggled to re-find their identity and fell out of the play-in.

Season highlight

As poor as their whole season was in reflection by their lofty standards and how they built this team, you still must give credit to their historic start.

It was a franchise-equalling best start to a season with a Tyson Walker game-winner giving them their ninth straight win.

What made it even more impressive was how they navigated getting new faces getting acclimated to the league, their NBA game and key injuries to still get the job done each and every night.

Season lowlight

As United continued to stumble after the first FIBA Break, no one could figure out exactly why and how a team could go from that hot to falling apart how they did.

The injury concerns to Shea Ili would have been a major factor, knowing how important he is to their success.

One of the biggest lowlights of the year would have to be the four-game stretch starting in Round 11, where they travelled to Perth and lost by 12 points, then returned for a Throwdown and were decimated by the Phoenix three days later.

Then, in the following round, they would suffer another two losses to Adelaide and Sydney, ending a rough stretch before Christmas.

Stats don’t lie

From Round 11 onwards, United were the second-worst three-point shooting team in the league at just 30.8 per cent.

They were also the eighth-best offensive team, scoring just 87 points per game in that period.

Now, compare that to the 10 rounds prior where they were the best scoring team in the league at 97.3 points per game, and it’s easy to see how they struggled to finish the season the way it began.

MVP

Tyson Walker’s debut season in the NBL was very impressive, averaging over 14 points and four assists per game.

Those numbers may not jump off the page, but his effectiveness went far beyond a box score as the lightning-quick guard established himself as one of the best two-way players in the league.

Walker also navigated his way through a team that had many key players come in and out of the rotation, and he still found a way to deliver each night

Surprise packet

It wouldn’t be a surprise to anyone to see Fabijan Krslovic be a very solid back-up big man, but if you look at his numbers, one statistic may shock you.

The former Tasmania champion finished seventh in the league for blocked shots, which is very impressive for an undersized center.

When the names above him include Tyrell Harrison, Will Magnay and JaVale McGee, it gives it even more merit to what was a very good season for him in his new team.

What's next?

As it stands, Chris Goulding, Shea Ili, Kyle Bowen, Fabijan Krslovic and Dash Daniels are under contract for the Hungry Jack’s NBL27 season, with the club recently confirming Finn Delany won't be returning next season.

Instead, United has been reportedly linked to both Sam Waardenburg and Joe Ingles, as Vickerman's side looks to retool.