Starting 5: The key talking points from Round 8

Round 8 is finished and there is plenty of movement in the standings, but perhaps no one more has been more damaging than the defending champion Hawks. As Justin Tatum's team starts to fire, teams around them continue to drop games. The Sydney Kings have found their form and then there's the Brisbane Bullets who have enough talent to continue to rise up the standings.

Pete Hooley looks at some key talking points from the round just gone.

1 – The champs are back‍

Don’t look now, but the defending champs are back and in a big way. It’s no surprise that when Davo Hickey returned to the lineup that the Hawks look like a contender once again. Alongside JaVale McGee, that 1-2 punch might just be the best combination in the league and Justin Tatum is using them to perfection. After a slow start, the Hawks might just find themselves in the top four by season’s end.

2 – United’s flex

After back-to-back defeats last week, including a 14-point loss to the Hawks, Melbourne United bounced back in a big way in Throwdown 30. It was the performance that Dean Vickerman needed to see from his team, who once again flexed their muscle over their Victorian rival. While the scoreboard reflected an 11-point win, the actual game reflected a much bigger margin, with the way United picked apart a Phoenix team that came into the game on fire.

3- Perth’s masterplan

It was the game of the round and arguably the most anticipated matchup of the season thus far, with Bryce Cotton facing his former team for the first time. With all the emotion and narratives on both sides of this game, it was the Wildcats who came out and executed a perfect gameplan against the five-time MVP. Cotton still hit seven threes, but the disciplined Wildcats limited his free-throws and found a way to grind out a massive win on the road.

4 – Prather’s dominance‍

Outside of Bryce Cotton and JaVale McGee, there’s a strong case to be looking at Casey Prather as a legitimate MVP candidate. The Bullets superstar forward has been as damaging as ever and continues to put up numbers each week. Another 28 points and eight rebounds against Tasmania, further solidified himself as the best forward in the league right now.

5 – Kings are Cooking‍

The Sydney Kings have won three straight games and Xavier Cooks is a major reason why. The former MVP has been unstoppable across the winning streak and he’s leading from the front on both ends of the floor. His 21-points and 14 rebounds were enough to get the job done against a gritty Breakers team on Sunday and now sets up a huge game this weekend against the Illawarra Hawks.