Preview: Melbourne vs Perth - Round 12, NBL24

Thursday, December 21, 2023

Melbourne welcomes Perth to John Cain Arena for its annual open-air game. Which stars will shine brightest?

Saturday, December 23 at 8pm AEDT

Watch: Live on ESPN via Kayo Sports | International viewership details
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Melbourne United has sold out Saturday’s open-air game against the Wildcats.

The winner of the clash will win the season series between the two squads. United won their matchup in Round 3, while the Wildcats took a Round 6 overtime thriller.

Dean Vickerman utilised train-on player Joel Foxwell in a Bryce Cotton style role in Melbourne’s training this week to attempt to implement strategies to slow down the three-time MVP.

Cotton earned the most votes in Round 11’s Chemist Warehouse Fans MVP voting, following his clutch performance against the JackJumpers.

Melbourne
107-96 win over Adelaide
106-78 win over South East Melbourne
103-68 win over Brisbane

Perth
89-88 win over Tasmania
82-100 loss to Illawarra
114-105 win over Sydney

Luke Travers
There are going to be eyes on Luke Travers every time he faces the Perth Wildcats for the rest of his career, as is the nature of a young, emerging talent leaving a club for pastures new.

Travers starred in his first game against his old side and silenced the RAC Arena crowd back in Round 3, but was ruled out of the Round 6 rematch with concussion in the first minute of the game.

Cleveland Cavaliers scouts were on hand to keep tabs on the performance of their 2022 draftee last week and he continued his solid form this season. He's consistently played a crucial role in a well-established team-first style under Dean Vickerman in NBL24.

The 22-year-old played down the storyline of him playing against his former team earlier in the week, but the relationship between Travers and the Red Army will likely be an intriguing one for years to come.

The fact this game is a top-of-the-table clash under the stars will only add to the theatre.

“I feel like everyone knew that every team goes through a rough patch and it just happens theirs was at the start. They’re getting their feet and heading in the right direction. There’s a lot of outside noise but we’re focusing like we are on every other game.” – Luke Travers mid-week on Perth.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Luke Travers & Dean Vickerman spoke to the media following today's practice as the team prepare to take on the Perth Wildcats in our sold out Open Air Game this Saturday night. <br>Watch the full interviews here:<br>Luke - <a href="https://t.co/wwW3JhYXrF">https://t.co/wwW3JhYXrF</a><br>Dean - <a href="https://t.co/Nc7iqoF5GL">https://t.co/Nc7iqoF5GL</a> <a href="https://t.co/EEPAGZCDDW">pic.twitter.com/EEPAGZCDDW</a></p>— Melbourne United (@MelbUnited) <a href="https://twitter.com/MelbUnited/status/1737688604716273864?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 21, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Bryce Cotton
Who else? Bryce Cotton continued his flying form in last week’s one-point win over Tasmania, and an incredible turnaround three followed by a pair of clutch free throws won the Wildcats the game in the final minute.

After a blip in form against the Hawks, Cotton was well and truly back to his top-level self against Tasmania, and he has a history of stepping up in big games against Melbourne United – you only need to look at his 24 points in the Round 6 overtime win to be reminded of that.

There aren’t enough superlatives in the dictionary to continue to describe Cotton’s impact on the NBL, and another week topping the Chemist Warehouse Fans MVP votes shows those who watch him know exactly how good he is.

Melbourne has two of the best defensive guards in the league on its roster in the form of Shea Ili and Matthew Dellavedova, and they’ll certainly have their hands full trying to stop the three-time MVP.

"It's such a big task (to shut Cotton down), and at different times we'll put that weight on Shea and 'Delly' a bit more, but we've got to spread it over the whole group ... everyone's got to be more involved in trying to slow down Bryce, from the point of entry of the ball coming in-bounds, to the last second of the shot clock." - Dean Vickerman mid-week.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">TIME AND TIME AGAIN, BRYCE COTTON IS INEVITABLE ?? <a href="https://t.co/uqdTmNCita">pic.twitter.com/uqdTmNCita</a></p>— Perth Wildcats (@PerthWildcats) <a href="https://twitter.com/PerthWildcats/status/1735640356493140326?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 15, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Ariel Hukporti vs Alexandre Sarr
Any positional head-to-head clash between Next Stars is earmarked weeks ahead of the game, such is the potential for these young talents to be able to change games from nowhere – and that’s the exact case for another matchup between centers Ariel Hukporti and Alexandre Sarr.

Hukporti was hobbled by a knee injury last time these two young talents met, and Sarr exploded for 17 points in the narrow overtime win.

In their Round 3 matchup, Hukporti took the chocolates with a beefy 11 points and seven rebounds.

Dean Vickerman implied this clash could have a bit of spice given Sarr’s status as a near-consensus number one pick and Hukporti’s current position in the second round or just out of draft reckoning.

Both have been learning to play alongside their teams’ starting centers in Jo Lual-Acuil Jr and Keanu Pinder, both have established themselves as two of the NBL’s premier rim protectors, and both hold crucial roles in their sides’ continued pursuit of not only week-to-week victory, but title glory.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">No-fly zone ? <br><br>Next Stars Rocco Zikarsky, Ariel Hukporti and Alex Sarr combined for 14 blocks in Round 11 ? <a href="https://t.co/7vebQ9SWTM">pic.twitter.com/7vebQ9SWTM</a></p>— NBL (@NBL) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBL/status/1736934015914143759?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 19, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>