Preview: Illawarra v Melbourne (Round 9)

When: 7.30pm (AEDT), Monday 5 December, 2022

Where: WIN Entertainment Centre, Wollongong

Broadcast: ESPN; Kayo; Foxtel; Sky NZ

Who won the last time?

Melbourne 106 (Rathan-Mayes 32, Humphries 20, Goulding 13, Tucker 13) d Illawarra 100 (Froling 27, Harvey 21, Siva 14) 2OT – Round 5 at John Cain Arena

The struggling Hawks led this for most of the opening 32 minutes, but David Okwera and Makuach Maluach sparked United and then Isaac Humphries and Xavier Rathan-Mayes put them six in front late. Remarkably, Melbourne twice fouled the three-point shooter, then Tyler Harvey buried an improbable long-range bomb and overtime beckoned. The Hawks got six ahead in the extra period thanks to Sam Froling and were a whistle off closing it out, before clutch buckets from XRM and Rayjon Tucker proved the difference in the second OT.

What happened last game?

Missed buckets proved the difference for Melbourne in Saturday’s Throwdown clash, their wayward shooting and mediocre defensive rebounding both decisive in a six-point defeat. Illawarra didn’t get close to South East Melbourne in their last game eight days ago, their defence non-existent as they gave up 112 points at 56 per cent in an embarrassing performance, with perhaps the only consolation being the quality debut of new import Michael Frazier.

What’s working?

Peyton Siva – Last time against United, the Hawks gave Siva the ball and said give us a win. He almost did, dealing 11 dimes and pinching four steals, he brought Harvey and Froling back to life as they combined for 48 points on 35 shots. Even in the South East Melbourne debacle, Illawarra were -3 in Peyton’s 18 minutes and -31 in the other 22. With Shea Ili out, Siva’s ability to control the tempo, find chinks in Melbourne’s D and make them play half-court is critical.

Getting down and dirty – United did exactly that to the Phoenix on Saturday, forcing them to grind in slow-play situations and allowing a miserly 32 per cent from the field. Dean Vickerman’s men were disciplined icing on-balls to allow them to crowd the key, and walled up strong to force Mitch Creek and Alan Williams into a combined 7/23 from two-point range. However, their 24 fouls and 35 opposition free throws are areas that need fixing.

What needs stopping?

Possession deficits – Going into Sunday’s Throwdown, United knew they had to improve in the possession game, but they walked off the floor -13 in that category, having given up 18 o-boards at a whopping 35 per cent and coughed up 18 turnovers to 11. In their current four-game losing streak, Melbourne have been outscored by 49 on points from turnovers and second chance points, while their combined losing total is just 30 points.

Bench embarrassment – The average plus/minus for Illawarra’s six main reserves against South East Melbourne was -21.8 in 14 minutes of playing time. They coughed up a woeful 10 turnovers in that time and, Frazier’s impressive 7/13 afternoon aside, shot a woeful 5/21 from the field. While that no doubt suggests the Hawks starters need more time on Monday, experienced players like Mangok Mathiang and Tim Coenraad need to play to their capability.

Who’s matching up?

Tyler Harvey v Chris Goulding – Melbourne were +6 with Goulding on court against the Phoenix, but -12 in the 3:13 he sat on the bench. CG has hit 3.5 triples at 46 per cent the past six outings, United must make him a focus and make the Hawks pay for overplay. T-Raw has nailed four trifectas at 48 per cent in his past four contests, and without Ili, the question is which United player can keep up with him off the ball and run him off the arc?

Peyton Siva v Xavier Rathan-Mayes – Last time against Illawarra, XRM exploited Siva’s size to go 11/14 on two pointers en route to a 32-point night. Does Jacob Jackomas use Siva’s speed to keep up with Goulding off the ball, then deploy Wani Swaka Lo Buluk to shadow Rathan-Mayes off ball-screens and bunker down in the block? As for Melbourne, how can they get the ball out of Siva’s hands and make someone else create looks for teammates?

Sam Froling v Marcus Lee – Froling was on another level last time the teams met, serving up 27 points at 76 per cent, 15 rebounds, six o-boards and two assists before fouling out late. With Humphries out, he’ll go head-to-head with the length of Lee, who has impressed with 20 points at 89 per cent, 16 rebounds and four blocks in 42 minutes the past two games.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Rayjon Tucker dime, Marcus Lee dunk ?<br><br>Tune in: ESPN via Kayo or Foxtel<a href="https://twitter.com/th3flighttuck?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@th3flighttuck</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/JustMarcusLee?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@JustMarcusLee</a> <a href="https://t.co/GasGsYcvJ0">pic.twitter.com/GasGsYcvJ0</a></p>&mdash; Melbourne United (@MelbUnited) <a href="https://twitter.com/MelbUnited/status/1598970218046689282?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 3, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Who’s saying what?

A loss on Monday night will see Melbourne slip to ninth place on the NBL ladder. It’s not a situation anyone around the league is used to, especially coach Dean Vickerman.

He had a tough debut year as head coach in New Zealand, where the Breakers went 11-17 after three-straight titles, but since then it’s been all playoff basketball in Auckland and Melbourne.

It’s presented a completely new challenge on and off the court for the ultra-driven three-time championship-winning coach.

“I got to a really dark place myself a few weeks ago,” he said candidly after the tense Throwdown loss on Saturday.

“I really turned myself around and said I'm going to continue to find the positives in our group and really try to get people confident.

“I think there was a part of me that got down about the way we were playing and the accountability on me as a leader.

“I've just got to shake that off and I turn up to practice positive, to every game, every situation, still hold people accountable to their job, but we’ve got to have fun playing basketball.”

His new-found positive mindset was on display in the post-game press conference.

While disappointed in defeat, Vickerman was buoyed by his team’s impressive defensive display, holding the NBL’s third leading scoring team to 78 points at 32 per cent.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Mason Peatling tips it in to close out the third quarter. <br><br>Tune in: ESPN via Kayo or Foxtel <a href="https://t.co/dq31VFliZQ">pic.twitter.com/dq31VFliZQ</a></p>&mdash; Melbourne United (@MelbUnited) <a href="https://twitter.com/MelbUnited/status/1598988741871566848?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 3, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Though fouling was an issue, Vickerman loved the way his team defended, and put that down to the panel trying to adjust to a tighter officiating philosophy mid-season.

“There were some quick whistles, I just thought they anticipated some contact the other way,” Vickerman said.

“I thought our interior defence was good tonight, the way we guarded the post, people coming downhill a number of times and they scored 24 points in the paint at 34 per cent and we score 50.”

There was plenty to like offensively too, with their final tally of 72 points really a reflection of good shots not going in, including a remarkable run of missed long-range shots in the final term.

XRM started the quarter with two wide-open triples that wouldn’t drop. Mason Peatling rimmed out an uncontested corner three. Goulding air-balled a triple. Dave Barlow missed a naked three-point attempt, then CG43 couldn’t convert a golden opportunity from the corner that would have tied the scores with two minutes to play.

“We had some great chances, some shots we’ll live with 10 out of 10 times,” Rathan-Mayes said.

“CG in the corner, that’s a shot we live with every day of the week, but we have a group of guys that stays positive.”

That positivity is likely to carry over to Wollongong if XRM’s testimony is to be believed.

“Coach came in and energised us this week, he was super-positive, picked us up and kept the belief in us,” Rathan-Mayes said.

“You hear things like the season’s over. No, we don’t believe that, we think we have a great culture and a group of guys who are willing to stick together and fight through tough times.

“There’s nothing worth having without going through something tough.”

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">NO CHILL ? <a href="https://twitter.com/DengDeng19?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@DengDeng19</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/hawknation?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#hawknation</a> <a href="https://t.co/foP95R1CaS">pic.twitter.com/foP95R1CaS</a></p>&mdash; Illawarra Hawks Basketball (@illawarrahawks) <a href="https://twitter.com/illawarrahawks/status/1596742708001144833?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 27, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

That’s a battle the Hawks are fighting right now.

“That’s one thing we really rely on, our spirit,” Tyler Harvey said.

“Especially in the situation we’re in right now we’re really leaning on that, but spirit can only get you so far, we have to go out there, we have to execute, we have to play well and we’re not doing that right now.

“The spirit’s always high but we do need to put out that effort on the court.”

Last week’s mauling at the hands of South East Melbourne was depressing to watch, but the Hawks have had eight days to recover, and one positive is their starting group was highly-competitive with one of the best quintet’s in the league.

“There were patches where Peyton was in the one where we looked good offensively, which helps us defensively,” coach Jacob Jackomas said.

The other positive was the form of Michael Frazier, and with a full week of preparation with Siva back from injury and Frazier more incorporated into the group, Jackomas has put it on his team to perform.

“When you go around the league and when you speak to people, they feel a bit sorry for us and what’s happened in regard to injuries and stuff,” he said.

“What the great thing about (Frazier) right now is he is a talented American, he doesn’t really give us a whole lot of excuses now.”