Preview: Melbourne vs Tasmania - Championship Series, Game 5

Sunday, March 31 at 4pm AEDT | John Cain Arena

Watch: Live on ESPN via Kayo | International viewership details
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Game 1
Melbourne emerged as 23-point winners from the Championship Series opener, in a game where Tasmania looked competitive in the first quarter but buckled under United’s defensive pressure as the game wore on.

Jo Lual-Acuil Jr was named Foot Locker Player of the Game for his dominant performance inside, while Chris Goulding his six threes en route to a game-high 22 points.

Luke Travers has been near-universally praised for his defensive performance on Jack McVeigh, and ended the game with four blocks.

Will Magnay played just 13 minutes due to picking up four fouls over his short time on court, while Anthony Drmic top scored for Tasmania with 18 points.

Jordon Crawford’s poor run of shooting form continued, and he finished the game with seven points on 3-13 shooting.

Game 2
Tasmania travelled back to MyState Bank Arena to defend the island in Game 2 of the Championship Series, and a surging comeback from a 15-point deficit saw the JackJumpers emerge from Friday’s clash with a hard-fought and emotional five-point win.

Jordon Crawford shot the lights out in the first quarter with 13 points, but quietened late and remained sat on the bench in favour of Sean Macdonald down the stretch.

Only Milton Doyle and Jack McVeigh ended the game having played more minutes than Macdonald for Tasmania, and the development player added 13 points and a staunch rearguard action in the win.

Melbourne found itself in foul trouble in the second half, and all three of Jo Lual-Acuil Jr, Shea Ili and Ian Clark fouled out of the game, while Matthew Dellavedova and Chris Goulding ended the clash with three fouls apiece.

Ili was the game’s top scorer with 20 points, while Goulding ended the clash with 19.

Game 3
Melbourne United continued their run of leading for most of the game but stumbling at the final hurdle in Game 3, as a near-half court Jack McVeigh game-winner flipped the series into Tasmania’s hands.

United has, at this point, been in the leading position for 77 per cent of the series, but fell to comeback defeats in games two and three.

Majok Deng hailed himself as ‘the forgotten one’ following his stellar fourth quarter performance in the victory. He scored 15 points in the final term alone as Marcus Lee exited the game with an apparent knee injury.

Matthew Dellavedova top scored for United with 21 points and eight assists, while McVeigh’s last gasp triple saw him lead the JackJumpers with 18 points.

Marcus Lee was ruled out of the remainder of the Championship Series due to injury in the aftermath of the game.

Game 4
Melbourne spectacularly forced a decisive fifth and final game of the series with a dramatic two-point win at MyState Bank Arena, where Jack McVeigh once again had the opportunity to win the game from almost half-court, but couldn’t land another miracle shot.

Desperation fueled United’s push in front of an intimidating MyState Bank Arena crowd, and NBA champions Matthew Dellavedova and Ian Clark both stood tall when Melbourne needed heroes.

The under-fire Jo Lual-Acuil Jr put in a strong performance on both ends of the floor despite being hobbled with four fouls for the final quarter, and registered a decisive steal in the final 10 seconds of the game.

Fabijan Krslovic was injected into the starting lineup for the first time this season for Tasmania due to the injury suffered by Marcus Lee in Game 3. Jack McVeigh once again starred for the JackJumpers and top-scored with 28 points.

Chris Goulding
At this time of the season, almost every player is carrying some kind of twinge, knock, or injury – and it’s likely Chris Goulding is no different. That being said, the amount the veteran sharpshooter was limping towards the back end of Melbourne’s Game 4 win was genuinely concerning.

Both Goulding and Travers looked to be in obvious discomfort over the course of the clash, but both pushed through the pain barrier to play key roles in keeping the series alive.

When United needed some inspiration, Goulding did what Goulding does and hit a handful of frankly ridiculous shots.

He ended the game with 17 points and, perhaps most concerning for Tasmania, connected with five of the ten threes he attempted in the victory.

The question surrounding Goulding isn’t whether he can find his shots, or if he can have an impact – because both of those are pretty much a given, and he has the resume to prove it.

The question surrounding Goulding is will he be fully fit to play and, if not, how can he still help guide his team to victory?

Even though Vickerman has asserted his captain is fine, there will be some Melbourne minds that are already thinking back to that NBL22 Playoff Series defeat to Tasmania, in which Goulding was a late omission thorough injury for the decisive Game 3.

“They don’t need Chris Goulding at 100 per cent, let’s be totally clear. 75 per cent of him is better than 75 per cent of the players in this competition. They need his threat, if he can catch and shoot he’s good enough to be out on the floor.” – Derek Rucker on the Coca-Cola Cool Down.

Jack McVeigh
If Tasmania was going to win Game 4, it was going to almost solely be off the hot shooting hand of Jack McVeigh.

The star forward just keeps continuing to improve as this series progresses, and Melbourne United elected to try to make Tasmania a one-man show, and allow McVeigh to receive the ball in the post in single-coverage over the course of the game.

That defensive coverage may have meant the likes of Milton Doyle were kept quiet in the opening half, but McVeigh steamrolled United’s defence en route to a game-high 28 points in the defeat. He even had a chance to win the game off another miracle half-court attempt, but this time he couldn’t connect.

While McVeigh is the one who likely holds the key to a Tasmania win, the thing to watch is almost how United elect to defend him, as opposed to the player himself. If they keep him in single-coverage and allow him to receive the ball in the post, they’re asking the forward to almost defeat them single-handedly, but if they silence him Milton Doyle could come to life – much like he did in the second half of Game 4.

Vickerman said Melbourne will be looking to “lock in” on McVeigh more in the upcoming contest. Can he still have his game-breaking impact to lead Tasmania to a title, or will he be shut down and left to think what might have been?

“McVeigh was great again tonight and we left him a little bit more single coverage, I think we can hopefully try and restrict his talent a little bit but he’s pretty tough down there. Everybody else we feel like we’ve done a reasonable job on. We’ll lock in on him a little bit more.” - Dean Vickerman following Melbourne’s Game 4 win.

Dean Vickerman vs Scott Roth
After four breathless games of moves, countermoves, and strategic changes, it all comes down to 40 minutes of basketball for Dean Vickerman and Scott Roth’s teams.

Both head coaches have already pulled tactical masterstrokes in this series to ensure it even got this far, whether it be Melbourne’s blanketing job on Milton Doyle, or Tasmania’s necessitated but effective switch to small ball, both coaches’ fingerprints are all over the results of the opening four games.

You could argue Vickerman has an advantage, having been here before. His 2018 title win with United came in a decisive Game 5 victory over Adelaide, while his other two championships as a head coach came in sweeps over Cairns and Perth respectively.

Roth and his JackJumpers were on the receiving end of a sweep in their NBL22 Championship Series against Sydney, however he has asserted there’s no pressure on his side to win, purely because nobody expected them to be here.

If United win, Vickerman will cement his name in the NBL history books as just the fourth coach to have won four titles, after Brian Goorjian (6), Trevor Gleeson (5) and Brian Kerle (4).

If the JackJumpers win, Roth will cement himself as one of the most revered modern-day figures on the Apple Isle.

History is calling.

Melbourne
Nil

Tasmania
Marcus Lee – knee (season)