Preview: Sydney vs Melbourne - Round 14, NBL24

Tuesday, January 2, 2024

Will the Kings prove too strong at home, or will United take another win over their inter-city rivals?

To start Round 14, it's a battle of Sydney and Melbourne.

The Kings are riding high after beating the Taipans, but United were sent home licking their wounds against Cairns on New Year's Eve.

Which team will be able to respond best at Qudos Bank Arena?

Thursday, January 4 at 7:30pm AEDT | Qudos Bank Arena

Watch: Live on ESPN via Kayo - International viewership details
Box scores: Download the free NBL App

Sydney bounced back from its disappointing Christmas Day loss to Illawarra with a big win over the Taipans in Round 13.

Denzel Valentine put in a season-best performance from the bench, as the Kings continued to utilise the wing pair of Jaylin Galloway and Alex Toohey in the starting five.

Melbourne United endured its fourth loss of the season on New Year’s Eve – two of those defeats have now come at the hands of the Taipans.

Cairns head coach Adam Forde believes United did not change their defensive system in the final term in order to see if their players could weather the storm, and cited Melbourne’s lead at the top of the table as a possible reason for doing so.

Chris Goulding has said the accountability of the side heading into the clash with Sydney will not change just because Melbourne is coming off a loss.

Sydney
101-82 win over Cairns
90-94 loss to Illawarra
101-109 loss to New Zealand

Melbourne
78-95 loss to Cairns
109-103 win over Perth
107-96 win over Adelaide

Denzel Valentine
A challenge has been issued to Denzel Valentine by the Sydney Kings and he’s responded in incredible fashion. In fact, he’s played so well since his move to the bench that he may have found his perfect niche within the reigning champions’ system.

It’s worth noting that a team’s starting five absolutely does not have to be its five best players, rather the five players who work best in tandem. Valentine is such a capable scorer and distributor that the Kings could benefit from having a player like him leading the second unit.

The 30-year-old played by far his best game in a Kings uniform to date in Sydney’s win over Cairns. He scored a season-high 29 points, to go with eight rebounds and two assists.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">VALENTINE WITH THE FULL STOP ???<br><br>Catch the action live on ESPN via Kayo. <a href="https://t.co/Q5oO2jddt1">pic.twitter.com/Q5oO2jddt1</a></p>— NBL (@NBL) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBL/status/1740681809724064212?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 29, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

The Kings have so much talent in the wing spots from young stars Jaylin Galloway and Alex Toohey, to established veteran Angus Glover and ex-Melbourne Makuach Maluach, that finding the right combinations is a continued battle for Mahmoud Abdelfattah.

Thankfully, one of those pieces might well have fallen into place with Valentine’s improved performances off the bench in recent games.

“I really don’t have any expectations on starting or coming off the bench, it’s the same mindset for me which is to control what I can, bring energy and be positive. I believe in the coaching staff and that they’ll do what’s best for the team ... whatever that role is I’m going to do my best.” – Denzel Valentine following the win over Cairns.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Off the bench and into the buckets. Denzel Valentine has a game-high 20 points at three-quarter time ?<br><br>Catch the final term live on ESPN via Kayo ? <a href="https://t.co/WhqcNEQXen">pic.twitter.com/WhqcNEQXen</a></p>— NBL (@NBL) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBL/status/1740674707190354290?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 29, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Chris Goulding
Bul Kuol didn't give Chris Goulding an inch in Melbourne’s New Year’s Eve clash against Cairns, and the veteran wing looked frustrated at the close attention he was getting from that Taipans’ go-to stopper.

Goulding’s 11 shots (eight from three) were well below his season average of over 13 a game, 10.5 of which come from behind the arc, but he still managed to hit half of his three-point attempts – including a pair of heavily contested threes from deep, as Melbourne looked to mount a comeback late in the third quarter.

Goulding is a player who demands tight on-ball attention, and Sydney’s switching defence will likely mean no player will be told to solely run with the sharpshooter.

We’ve seen the Kings’ hectic defence work at various times through the season, but we’ve also seen it falter. If Goulding can find a way to get himself open against the movement-heavy Sydney stoppers, he could end this game very, very quickly.

“The Taipans play with a style and with an intensity that really gives Melbourne United a lot of problems – but in particular the Taipans are able to defend Chris Goulding pretty well. They really limited his looks and I thought it created a really sluggish Melbourne United.” – Derek Rucker on Moments That Mattered.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Is it too late in the season for a ‘Welcome to the NBL’ moment? ?<br><br>Chris Goulding crosses over Next Star Taran Armstrong and then hits the smooth three! <br><br>Watch the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NBL?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NBL</a> live on ESPN! ? <a href="https://t.co/hSFoxuTOW8">pic.twitter.com/hSFoxuTOW8</a></p>— ESPN Australia & NZ (@ESPNAusNZ) <a href="https://twitter.com/ESPNAusNZ/status/1741387722718069146?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 31, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Jaylen Adams vs Shea Ili
Patrick Miller has torched Melbourne on both occasions United have faced the Taipans, despite the close attention of one of the NBL’s best one-on-one defenders, Shea Ili.

Derek Rucker has asserted Ili’s struggles against Miller come down to the Taipans import’s strength and athleticism, both of which are qualities Jaylen Adams also possesses.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Are the Kings in trouble? ?<br><br>Listen to the full NBL Now episode: <a href="https://t.co/Ui5GB7fvLe">https://t.co/Ui5GB7fvLe</a> ? <a href="https://t.co/h2N3kwuaPt">pic.twitter.com/h2N3kwuaPt</a></p>— NBL (@NBL) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBL/status/1740551631752884282?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 29, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Ili and Adams have already encountered each other in key matchups across their careers, and although Melbourne possesses a number of defensively astute guards including Matthew Dellavedova, Flynn Cameron and Adams’ former teammate Ian Clark, it seems highly likely Ili will be the first player to take on the former MVP.

Adams’ metrics aren’t far below his MVP season of NBL22, but it just feels like he hasn’t quite been as dominant as that title-winning campaign – that being said, he’s already proven himself to be a game-winner in NBL24, and he’s got plenty of past game-breaking form from his previous stint in the league.

Adams and Ili usually represent the unstoppable force and the immovable object, however, that force has been slowed at different points during this season -- and the object has been shifted ever so slightly. There are plenty of scenarios where either of these two can come out on top in this individual battle, so it remains to be seen who can make their presence felt more.

Gettyimages 1896813516
Shea Ili.