Preview: Melbourne v Illawarra (Round 11)

When: 4pm (AEDT), Sunday 18 December, 2022

Where: John Cain Arena

Broadcast: 10 Peach; 10 Play; ESPN; Kayo; Foxtel; Sky NZ

Who won the last time?

Illawarra 93 (Froling 29, Frazier 16, Harvey 15) d Melbourne 79 (Tucker 27, Goulding 13, Lee 10) – Round 9 at WIN Entertainment Centre, Wollongong

Illawarra ran up 53 first-half points in this clash – after scoring just 56 in a game in Round 5 – and while Melbourne made a brief run out of the main break, the second half was dominated by the Hawks, finishing 40-27 over the final 18 minutes. Sam Froling was the chief destroyer with 29 points, while Tyler Harvey, Michael Frazier, Peyton Siva and Deng Deng all played key roles, supported well by Mangok Mathiang and Will Hickey off the bench.

What happened last game?

Illawarra weren’t as clinical in their execution against Sydney on Friday night and it cost them in a close one. There was still plenty to like though, the Hawks winning fast break points, second chance points and points from turnovers against the champs. Melbourne were ruthless in Thursday’s Throwdown, defending with their highest level of physicality this season and running relentlessly off mistakes and misses in a dominant display.

What’s working?

Rayjon Tucker – No one embodied that physical, fast-paced style better than Tuck, who put together a series of highlight-reel plays en route to 33 points on 7/7 shooting at the rim and 7/8 from the foul line, with 4/5 triples for good measure. Tucker was a lone hand against Illawarra last time with 27 points, and has averaged 21ppg at 55 per cent from the field and 16/34 from deep in his past eight outings. This is a huge defensive challenge for Frazier.

Playing Melbourne – Not much has worked for Illawarra this season but they’ve certainly been good against United. In two meetings the Hawks are +8, their only positive series of NBL23, compared to multiple meetings against Sydney (-17 in three games), Adelaide (-26 in two), Brisbane (-51 in two) and South East Melbourne (-60 in three). Add to that two wins at Melbourne Park last season and the Hawks will be feeling confident about this one.

What needs stopping?

Sam Froling – Perhaps the biggest reason Illawarra have troubled United is Froling, who’s amassed 56 points in those two clashes, connecting at 70 per cent inside the paint. Melbourne give up more points to the roller from ball-screen situations than any other team, hence Froling’s feast, but after limiting Alan Williams on Thursday, they’ll be hopeful Marcus Lee and Isaac Humphries can do a similar job on the Hawks’ ball-screen this time.

Playing rushed – Froling is averaging 22.3ppg at 62 per cent in wins and overtime losses, but in Friday’s close loss the Hawks got sucked into Sydney’s fast-paced game and only fed Froling on the roll four times for the game, for six points at 60 per cent. That lack of interior feeds resulted in 39 three-point heaves, and the Hawks need Sam to present stronger on the short roll, and for Siva to slow down, execute on-balls with poise and then pick the defence apart.

Who’s matching up?

Shea Ili v Peyton Siva – That’s something Siva has done well in two meetings with Melbourne, dishing 18 dimes to help the Hawks rack up 47.0ppg in the paint at 60 per cent. Ili has been in street clothes for both those contests, but given Siva notched 18ppg and 4.5apg against Melbourne last season, shooting 48 per cent from the field and 7/15 from deep, this is a challenge he’s looking forward to. Can Ili force his experienced foe to play rushed?

Chris Goulding v Tyler Harvey – It’s clear CG43 has the fluorescent green light to jack them up, taking 47 shots in his past three games, including 33 from the arc. The result has been 18.7ppg, two wins and United going +33 with their skipper on the floor and -2 with him resting. Harvey has taken 39 shots in his past two games, scoring 20ppg on 8/21 from deep. It’s hard to know who will get each respective match-up, but they better get a hand up!

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">This Sunday, <a href="https://twitter.com/ChrisGoulding43?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ChrisGoulding43</a> will become one of only 50 players to reach 400 NBL games.<br><br>While this would be special on its own, CG43 will share the moment with <a href="https://twitter.com/BradNewley?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@BradNewley</a>, who will hit his own milestone of 300 NBL game.<br><br>Be there to help us celebrate: <a href="https://t.co/Ov5WTvG03w">https://t.co/Ov5WTvG03w</a> <a href="https://t.co/PuC5fwLrlZ">pic.twitter.com/PuC5fwLrlZ</a></p>&mdash; Melbourne United (@MelbUnited) <a href="https://twitter.com/MelbUnited/status/1603604237337796609?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 16, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Who’s saying what?

It’s now been four close losses in the past five rounds for Illawarra, with only one win to celebrate in that stretch, which could be enough to break the resistance of some struggling teams.

However the Hawks are still full of drive for one very important reason.

“We’re still figuring each other out, we’re half-way through the season but it’s been such a weird year for us,” Tyler Harvey said.

“The more we play with each other, the more we get in these situations, the more comfortable we become … these games are coming down to the wire, early in the year we weren’t even in games to get to late-game situations like this.

“I know coach will have us ready and we’ll figure out a way to get wins as we go on through this year.”

The Hawks had to crawl before they could walk, and their first step was consistency from one game to the next, something they have finally achieved, for at least two games in a row.

“I think it was a hump we got over today, it was like a hanging cloud over us, we’d talk about it after we’d have one good performance,” Harvey said after the loss to Sydney.

“We've got that boxed checked, now we've got to check the box of winning some games ... It’s been a tough journey for us this year but no one in our locker room is hanging their heads, no one’s feeling sorry for themselves.”

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">STEAL AND SLAM!! ?<br><br>? ESPN via Kayo Sports + Foxtel!<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/HawkNation?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#HawkNation</a> <a href="https://t.co/k0N08hTjGD">pic.twitter.com/k0N08hTjGD</a></p>&mdash; Illawarra Hawks Basketball (@illawarrahawks) <a href="https://twitter.com/illawarrahawks/status/1603673287661621248?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 16, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

While having their next stop against Melbourne, the team they’ve been most competitive against in NBL23, might seem like a great chance to get win number three, coach Jacob Jackomas knows this is a much tougher Melbourne team at full strength.

“We’re good enough to play with anyone ... there’s no excuse not to play well now,” Jackomas said.

“It’s going to be tough down there, they’re coming off a pretty good performance but they're in pretty much the same space we’re at, last time we were a little bit more ready than they were, but this time with that result they’ll be ready for us.”

Melbourne are also filled with positivity, truly believing they can give the playoffs a genuine shake.

“As a team we’re desperate. We believe in ourselves to make a run and every day, night in and night out we have to play with that desperation,” Rayjon Tucker said.

They were a team on a mission on Thursday, owning a very talented Phoenix side.

“We won every quarter which was very pleasing,” coach Dean Vickerman said.

“We still had our little patches at different times, but built our way into it and at times our pace was really good tonight, I think that was a difference for us getting 16 fast break points to four.

“We've had some games close together and some travel and just to see the willingness to go on sprinting and do those things was good.”

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Rayjon Tucker was HOT last night ?<br><br>Re-live his 33-points here ??<a href="https://twitter.com/th3flighttuck?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@th3flighttuck</a> <a href="https://t.co/1aPLY4cvSU">pic.twitter.com/1aPLY4cvSU</a></p>&mdash; Melbourne United (@MelbUnited) <a href="https://twitter.com/MelbUnited/status/1603623454951018496?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 16, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Tucker was the undisputed star as Melbourne let their defence generate scoring chances in the open court and their growing familiarity create shots in the half-court.

“We probably called the least amount of sets for the whole season and just let our motion and ball movement, and ability to read the screen and attack as Tuck did or move it and let the next guy (attack),” Vickerman said.

“That was pleasing, good teams are able to do that, not run a lot of sets and to play together and understand what each other’s doing, so that was a real pleasing part of our offence.”

Following a horror start to the season, Vickerman has followed the well-worn IT advice of turning it off and back on again.

“Right now we’re 2-1,” he said.  

“I just stopped the season and said this is our team, now we've got everyone back, this is the team that needs to go on a serious run to make the playoffs. So we’re 2-1 and we know there’s a game we should have won as well.”

Tucker is confident there is going to be no let up on the intensity now that Shea Ili is leading the way.

“He’s definitely one of the best that I've seen, just his dedication to the defensive side of the ball, getting through screens, late contests, he cooks himself all the time,” Tucker said.

“When you see somebody going like that you have no choice but to follow suit.

“He’s great ... he's a hungry guy in general, he likes to do all the right things, he plays with an intensity that’s a skill, it’s really impressive to see, as a club we value that.”