Tucker Not Sweating on Wildcats' Result

Melbourne United’s immediate NBL23 future is out of their hands. After their up-and-down, momentum swinging victory over the Adelaide 36ers in the second to last game of the regular season they now must hope the final result of Round 18 falls their way.

United’s nine-point victory over the battle-hardened 36ers means Perth must overcome a short-handed yet still dangerous Sydney Kings side, who are without Derrick Walton Jr due to a wrist injury. That being said, the Kings haven’t locked away top spot because they’re a one-man team.

Rayjon Tucker proved crucial in Melbourne’s win. He finished the game with 31 points, eight rebounds and five assists in an all-action showing – including a long three right on the final buzzer to extend the margin that little bit more.

He says regardless of the way the Perth game goes, he’s happy with how the team has evolved over the campaign.

“I don’t think I’ve watched this much basketball ever,” Tucker said of United’s recent finals push. “Today, I don’t even want to watch [the Perth game]. I just want to let the chips fall where they may and hopefully they go our way.

“We’ll figure it out from there.

“I love how this group – coaches and staff included – has just rallied together. We’ve made sacrifices and just got it done.”

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Is this the three that sends Melbourne United into the post-season? ?<br><br>They&#39;ve done their part, now all eyes head to the Perth Wildcats and Sydney Kings ?<br><br>Catch the action live and free on 10 Peach and 10 play | Live on ESPN via Kayo Sports and Foxtel ? <a href="https://t.co/b0kXQPrBh7">pic.twitter.com/b0kXQPrBh7</a></p>&mdash; NBL (@NBL) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBL/status/1622101902854074368?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 5, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Melbourne’s chances of making the post-season were initially boosted on Friday night, when a Cairns side that was missing key stars Keanu Pinder and Tahjere McCall defeated the Wildcats by 13 points at RAC Arena.

Had Perth won that game Melbourne would have had to defeat Adelaide by 38 points to overtake local rivals South East Melbourne for a finals place.

Head coach Dean Vickerman says the ability to not have to think about winning by so much helped the side’s performance against Adelaide.

“I’m glad Cairns won that game, because trying to roll in and think the only scenario for us to win by 40 – that’s a challenging one to get your head around,” he said.

“Cairns getting that win pulled our aggressiveness back a little bit.

“It was something new for us to come out and play the way we did at the start of the game, to switch everything, to double every post-up, and to the boys’ credit every time we’ve thrown something different at them they’ve bought in.

“I love the concept of us playing out 40 minutes and that this league encourages it.”