Preview: Melbourne vs New Zealand (Round 4)

Friday, October 20, 2023

Melbourne United has been rolling over these past two rounds of NBL24, but can the Breakers return in style?

Sunday, October 22 at 2pm AEDT | John Cain Arena

Watch: Live on ESPN via Kayo Sports | 10 Peach and 10play | YouTube in New Zealand- International viewership details
Box scores: Download the free NBL App

Melbourne entered its opening Round 4 clash with Illawarra at the top of the ladder, and a comfortable 10-point win against the ninth-place side means they have a chance to open a gap at the top with a win over New Zealand.

The Breakers will be playing their first game since returning from their NBLxNBA tour, having played NBA sides Portland and Utah over the last week-and-a-half.

Matthew Dellavedova will miss this game through concussion, but Jo Lual-Acuil Jr made a successful return to the NBA floor with 12 points in 15 minutes against the Hawks – Next Star Ariel Hukporti started the game though and took home Foot Locker Player of the Game honours.

Former NBA forward Anthony Lamb will make his NBL debut after signing on with the Breakers to replace injured import Justinian Jessup, while the club was in the United States.

*NBLxNBA games included for New Zealand

Melbourne
101-91 win over Illawarra
89-78 win over Brisbane
88-81 win over Perth

New Zealand
94-114 loss to Utah
66-106 loss to Portland
89-84 loss to Brisbane

Ariel Hukporti
Jo Lual-Acuil Jr may have made his return to the NBL floor last night, but Ariel Hukporti was given the nod to start for Melbourne United, and had arguably his best ever game in a United singlet.

The Next Star looks like he has risen to the challenge of competing with both Lual-Acuil Jr and, when the South Sudanese star was injured, Rob Loe for the starting position, and he’s been a dominant force in the paint this season so far.

He entered Friday’s clash leading the NBL in rebounds, offensive rebounds and blocks per game, and ended it with his third double-double of the season.

NBA scouts, are you watching?

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Just another day in the office for Ari. <a href="https://t.co/EI4LFtVPpy">pic.twitter.com/EI4LFtVPpy</a></p>— Melbourne United (@MelbUnited) <a href="https://twitter.com/MelbUnited/status/1715320471707885587?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 20, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Parker Jackson-Cartwright

It’s been a couple of weeks since we’ve seen Parker Jackson-Cartwright grace the NBL floor, but he and his Breakers will be back in action on Sunday – and it’s worth remembering how incredibly he started this season.

Round 1 saw him lead all SuperCoach scorers in the league and had him labelled as an MVP candidate, and the return of Will McDowell-White in Round 2 did little to slow down his offensive game.

Dropping 19 points in each game against Portland and Utah on the Breakers’ NBLxNBA your will have done little to stifle the confidence of the former Basketball Bundesliga MVP, and now he’ll face one of the NBL’s toughest defensive matchups in former Defensive Player of the Year nominee Shea Ili.

‘PJC’ as he’s becoming known is the type of player who puts bums on seats, and it’s great to have him back in NBL action this weekend.

“PJC got it done, he was all over the floor. Steals, defensive pressure, shot creativity, he’s able to score the basketball ... he’s a real problem. He can create with the ball, he has a good sense of when to inject his scoring into the game, and I think PJC – this is a crazy comment – but he is going to be one of the leaders to win the MVP this season.” – Derek Rucker om Moments That Mattered following New Zealand’s Round 1 win over Cairns.

Luke Travers vs Anthony Lamb

If Luke Travers wants to impress the Cleveland Cavaliers this season, who better to perform against than someone who was in the thick of the NBA action just last season?

Since starring for the Cavaliers at the NBA Summer League, Travers has established himself well in Melbourne United’s roster and has been doing that little bit of everything that makes him such a consistent threat everywhere on the floor.

He’s long earmarked his three-point shot as an area for improvement, and after shooting a strong 39.3 per cent from behind the arc last season, that number has dropped this season – but he is scoring, blocking and rebounding the ball more than he ever has in the NBL.

Lamb made 62 appearances and four starts for the Golden State Warriors last season and was a member of Mahmoud Abdelfattah’s NBA G-League winning Rio Grande Valley team. After linking up with New Zealand on its NBLxNBA tour, he’s arrived in the NBL with a serious level of pedigree.

If Travers wants to make the most of his talent and have the Cavaliers take up his draft rights, Lamb is the type of player he needs to be outperforming – but if Lamb wants to return to the NBA as is his ambition, he needs to be getting the best of the emerging Travers.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Parker Jackson-Cartwright sinks it from downtown! <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NBL24?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NBL24</a> <br><br>?Watch the second half LIVE on ESPN! <a href="https://t.co/LkvOvO9UEv">pic.twitter.com/LkvOvO9UEv</a></p>— ESPN Australia & NZ (@ESPNAusNZ) <a href="https://twitter.com/ESPNAusNZ/status/1708038524442997196?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 30, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

This game will be Chris Goulding’s 300^th game for Melbourne. After starting his career with stints and Perth, Brisbane and Gold Coast, the now legend of the game joined the Melbourne Tigers under Chris Anstey in 2012, and the rest is history.

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Chris Goulding playing for the Melbourne Tigers in 2013.