R18 Preview: Perth Wildcats v Melbourne United

When: 9.30pm (AEST), Wednesday 13 May

Where: RAC Arena, Perth

Broadcast: ESPN; Sky Sports NZ; SBS On Demand; Twitch

The last time
Perth 82 (Mooney 30, Cotton 16, Blanchfield 9) d Melbourne 69 (Landale 11, Goulding 10, Baba 10) – Round 16, John Cain Arena, Melbourne

It was only eight days ago when the two teams last locked horns in Melbourne and it was quite the statement performance from the Perth Wildcats on the road to snap Melbourne United's 11-game winning streak with the 82-69 victory.

United were on track by quarter-time leading 19-12 but from then on the Wildcats dominated the contest in all areas and were remarkably well led by big man John Mooney. He delivered 30 points, 14 rebounds, three assists and steals on shooting 12/18 from the floor and 4/5 from three-point territory.

The Wildcats outscored United 70 points to 50 over the last three quarters and would end up dominating the rebound battle with 43 to 35 including 16 offensive boards for 18 second chance points along with 22 points from the 18 turnovers they forced Melbourne into. 

Bryce Cotton's shooting woes might have continued with him going 5/17 from the field and 1/7 from deep for 16 points, but he dished out 10 assists to be a big factor in the game still.

Jock Landale returned for Melbourne but battled foul trouble all night on his way to 11 points and four rebounds. Chris Goulding finished with 10 points, Yudai Baba 10, Jo Lual-Acuil eight and Sam McDaniel eight, but largely it was a last three quarters to forget for the home team.

The now

Well the two powerhouse do battle once again on Thursday night in Perth and it could be the match that very well ends up determining top spot at the end of #NBL21. 

That could certainly end up being crucial providing that team with home court advantage right throughout the playoffs, and if recent history especially tells you anything, that can play a huge part in deciding who becomes the eventual NBL champion.

The race for that top spot closed right up when Perth got that win in Melbourne last Wednesday night meaning that coming into Thursday's clash out west, United are still in first place with a 22-6 record while the Wildcats are second at 20-7.

They are both well clear of the chasing pack so there's not really a danger of either of them not finishing in one of the top two positions, but who ends up in which spot is well and truly up for grabs.

Thursday night's game will go a long way to deciding what happens with the regular season championship. A win for Melbourne and suddenly at 23-6 opposed to Perth at 20-8, and it's going to be tough over the last month of the season for the Wildcats to make up that gap. However, a win for the 'Cats on their home floor and Perth will be 21-7 and hot on the heels of United at 22-7 setting up a fascinating last month.

The clash also signals the first of six games in 11 days for the Wildcats while United are playing their first game out of Melbourne since April 4. That was a win in Cairns and since they've played their last eight matches in Melbourne for seven wins with the only blemish up against the 'Cats. However, now United finish the season on the road in five of their last eight matches.

Since that game between the two last Wednesday, Melbourne bounced back with a 93-82 win against the South East Melbourne Phoenix on Saturday while Perth beat the New Zealand Breakers 98-84 at home on Sunday.

Both teams have also made a late signing of a big man each who they hope can be a difference maker. Perth has added Will Magnay fresh off his stint in the NBA with the New Orleans Pelicans while 40-year-old David Andersen has returned to the club he won a championship with back in 2018.

The stats

- Will Magnay and David Andersen are the newest arrivals at both clubs, but neither have ever played in a win at RAC Arena. Magnay's last game he hit the court for at RAC Arena was a loss with the Brisbane Bullets on February 9 last year while Andersen has lost all six attempts he's tried to get a win in the building, three each with United and the Illawarra Hawks.

- Bryce Cotton might not be shooting the ball great right now but his role as a distributor and creator has been on point, and crucial in the Wildcats continuing their winning ways. He has now had 10 assists in multiple games for the first time in his career, and has done that in three of the last four matches.

- United are the last team to play the Wildcats at RAC Arena this season while they have so far only lost one match outside Victoria in #NBL21. Melbourne has won in Cairns, Adelaide, Illawarra and Sydney already this season with their only defeat being a sizeable 28-point one against the Kings.

The key men

John Mooney – He arrived in Perth for his rookie season as a pro expected to be a dominant rebounder and defensive presence, but his shooting prowess and offensive arsenal continues to surpass all expectations. He is leading the league in three-point shooting at a phenomenal 57.9 per cent having gone 22/38 while hitting 56.7 per cent from the field to go with his 12.0 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 0.9 blocks a game. He put up 30 points last ween against United while going 4/5 from deep and he'll be looking for more of the same up against Jock Landale, and alongside Will Magnay for the first time.

Jock Landale – He remains the centre piece of everything Melbourne is doing and now that he's settled back from injury after putting up 27 points and 11 rebounds on Saturday against the Phoenix, he'll be as motivated anyone to have a stronger showing and avoid foul trouble this time around against the Wildcats. His match up with John Mooney will be fascinating along with Will Magnay at times while he now has a bit more support with the emergence of Jo Lual-Acuil and return of David Andersen.

The quotes

United coach Dean Vickerman knows what a test his team is going to face in Perth on Thursday night, but he's confident they can tidy up a couple of areas of concern from last Wednesday's loss to the Wildcats.

"Going to Perth is always the greatest test in the league and it's when you can find out where you're at. They play great at home, they have an amazing home crowd and it's about being able to weather the storms," Vickerman said.

"They are going to have runs where so it's about dealing with those periods, and not letting them stretch out too far. They are also a great rebounding team and we weren’t great in being able to box them out last time, and we know we have to do a better job there. 

"The other thing is just taking care of the ball. We did a poor job of protecting the basketball and making great decisions with it so if we can keep our turnover rate to 10 or 12 in that area this week I think we'll be in great shape."

Vickerman knows how important of a final stretch of the regular season is upcoming for his United team and he's asked for an extra lift from his playing group.

"We spoke to the group before our last game that we have a quarter of the season to go and we've got to finish the right way," Vickerman said. 

"We've asked everybody just to look at their schedule a little bit more in terms of how they sleep and how they eat, and what are the extra things they can do to make that little added sacrifice for this team to try and do something special."

Vickerman is also looking forward to continuing to blend Andersen back into the United line-up.

"DA is a championship player for the club and having him around already just in video sessions and on the floor, his detail in scouting and knowledge of the league, and of big situations is going to rub off on the team," Vickerman said.

"He's now been able to practice with us so we'll continue to build his load and we'll put him in a position where he can help us on the floor as well."

Wildcats coach Trevor Gleeson has confirmed that Will Magnay will make his debut for Perth on Thursday. It might be in a limited role, but he's looking forward to ramping up his role over the next month to ensure he's firing come finals time.

"Will will suit up for the game. He had just come straight out of quarantine for the game on Sunday and to come straight into an elite game is never a good thing," Gleeson said. 

"He's got a couple of days under his belt now to get some legs underneath him. He'll still be on reduced minutes but he'll certainly get some court time. We'll throw him out there and my guess is that he's going to fatigue pretty quickly so we'll just keep an eye on it and play it from there.

"He has to understand our philosophy on offence and defence, and it just takes a little bit of time but we don't want him to think too much and just play on instinct because that's when he's really good."

Gleeson knows what a test Melbourne is going to be on Thursday night as the Wildcats embark on their most gruelling part of their NBL season.

"Melbourne are very talented, they've done a great job recruiting and they are playing some great basketball out there. It's really going to test our defence to see if we can hold that up," Gleeson said.

"We've got six games in 11 days so it really is like an NBA schedule just without the luxury of having private jets. We know this was going to be a tough period of time for us and it's really going to test us out, especially at the back end, but we want to start it out on a good note with a good game against Melbourne. 

"It's just a one game at a time kind of theory and we'll just play what's in front of us, but we know it's a big schedule and we'll do everything we can to make sure we're on point and just take it from there."