Defence First: The Shea Ili Impact

Written for nbl.com.au by Tom Hersz

Opposing guards have it tough against Melbourne United this season.

They have to try to execute offensively against Matthew Dellavedova, who built an eight-year NBA career on defence and hustle. When Delly sits, it’s likely they’ll be guarded by NBL veteran and two-time champion Shea Ili.

Ili, who began his career with the New Zealand Breakers, has built a reputation on the defensive end of the court. He’s always been a dog on that end, but this season he seems to be even more locked in and having an even greater impact defensively.

He’s averaging 1.1 steals and has a defensive rating that ranks in the top 20 in the league, but his ability to make life difficult for the best guard on the other team on a nightly basis has been lauded this year. 

Ili’s name is certainly in the conversation for Defensive Player of the Year honours, along with a couple of his teammates in Delly and Jo Lual-Acuil, who leads the league in blocks. So, when Ili spoke on Wednesday, he was ask if he was the league's best defender.

Without hesitation, Ili responded: “No. Delly is.”

‘Why?’ he was asked.

“He’s just super elite on the ball. He gives me tips and just helps the team in that way.”

‘What separates him and you?’

“He’s done it at a high level,” explained Ili. 

“I saw a clip two days ago of him guarding Steph Curry and that’s just inspirational to myself watching that. And now playing with Delly and seeing him go to work every night is awesome to see. 

“I just want to be like him. He’s my idol.”

It’s interesting to hear Ili undersell himself versus his teammate like that. If you look at the analytics (per Realgm.com), the picture will tell you that Ili and Dellavedova both average the same steals, although Delly plays four minutes more each game.

On a defensive rating basis, Ili’s is a fraction better than Delly’s at 99.9 versus 100.0 even. While for defensive win shares, Delly is slightly ahead at 0.9 to Ili’s 0.8. Looks pretty even to me.

Whichever way you slice it, Ili is an elite defender in his own right and having a fantastic season. He’s also extremely humble when discussing his impact.

Ili has always been impactful on that end of the floor. It’s a big part of why he’s been able to carve out such a successful pro and international career both in the NBL and with the Tall Blacks, but his defence has definitely gone up a notch this season.

“I just feel like I’m getting more minutes and defending the best player [on the opposing team] longer,” said Ili. 

“I did that work back when we played Sydney in the semi-finals against Casper Ware, so I’ve always been a defensive-minded player and I’m always out there to do my job and play my role.”

Playing his role is what allowed Ili to get his start in the NBL. It was, ironically, under Dean Vickerman when he was leading the Breakers, that Ili got given his first chance.

Ili had been playing in the NZ NBL for the Southland Sharks and despite some off-court drama that ended his season early, his work rate and athleticism were appealing to the Breakers who signed him as a development player. 

He played sparingly that first season, but worked hard in the background to prove he belonged and Vickerman saw that. The Breakers won the Championship that season and it was the start of a very strong relationship between Ili and Vickerman.

“Our relationship has been great throughout the years,” Ili acknowledged. 

“He was the first coach that brought me into the NBL after a year I don’t want to remember. But he was still able to take me on as a player. 

“My wife and his wife are good friends as well, we know their kids and back in New Zealand it was like a family club. Everyone was influenced by the owners back in New Zealand to bring everyone together and I felt like that’s where we first bonded. 

“Now it’s been happy days.”

They were together just two years with the Breakers before Vickerman departed. But of course, after three more seasons in New Zealand, Ili followed Vickerman to Melbourne.

He’d asked out of his contract with the Breakers and Paul Henare – who initially took over from Vickerman but by then his lead assistant in Melbourne – reached out to Ili to see if he was serious about leaving the Breakers.

“I told him yes and he was ‘okay, I’ll tell Deano’,” recalled Ili. 

“He called Deano and Deano said yes. So, if he’d said no then I’d probably be playing somewhere else. 

“But happy to be in Melbourne. Great club and they’ve looked after me for three years now and happy to be here.”

Now in his fifth season under Vickerman, it’s fair to say that his coach has had a big influence on the player Ili has become. 

Ili reflected on exactly how Vickerman has guided him over the years, both in New Zealand and in Melbourne, and boiled it down to one key thing that’s allowed him to grow and flourish.

“Just the trust,” he explained. 

“I feel like when I was a younger player, I wasn’t really playing much. My first year here [in Melbourne], I wasn’t really playing much. And I knew that; he told me that before I came over. But I gained his trust towards the end of that season and I played more, and I even started starting. 

“So, just getting that trust from him and being able to play my role to the best of my ability, and showing him I can guard the best player on the other team. That definitely helps for the coach to play you more. As well as the relationship off the court, but that’s another key.”

Ili has done more than just play to the best of his ability. He’s helped nearly every team he’s been on to improve and to find success.

The casual NBL fan won’t know that on top of the two NBL championships that Ili has now won (with New Zealand as a development player in 2015 and last season with Melbourne), he’s also won five NZ NBL titles in his eight seasons there. That’s a pretty remarkable record.

Some of it, he says, is about the teams he’s been on. He credits the recruiting or roster construction of his coaches, such as Jordan Mills of the Wellington Saints.

“He used to play himself, so he knows the game and just also knows what he needs in the team,” said Ili of Mills. 

“He’s always getting good players but also good guys off the court and that’s massive getting that camaraderie, not just on the court but off the court as well.”

But once again, Ili doesn’t naturally look to give himself too much credit for the success his teams have had. The fact is his work ethic, his attitude and the example and tone he sets on the defensive end of the floor are all things that his teammates notice and they can’t help but follow his lead.

He’s certainly had an influence on building strong team cultures with the teams he’s been a part of.

“I just play my role,” he says modestly. 

“I’m a defensive-minded player like I said before. I feel like I bring the energy on that end. I’m not the greatest offensive player; I let other people do that and I just play my role and that kind of inspires other people to jump on board and play defence. 

“Even though they’re not great defensive players, they still try and I feel like that’s the aspect that helps.”

While Ili says he’s ‘not the greatest offensive player’, he’s in the midst of one of his most productive seasons on that end of the floor. His game has really improved this season.

Ili is averaging the second most points of his career, is having one of his best shooting seasons from the field and another strong season from long-range, plus he’s on pace for a career-high in assists.

The assists may be the part that excites him the most, and the fact that he’s healthy and playing nearly five more minutes per game this season has also helped his opportunities to show growth offensively.

“I feel like it’s just that this is probably the most I’ve played throughout a season,” he explained. 

“I like to have the ball in my hands and create for others as well as myself, and when I first started in the league I was just sitting in the corners and not really creating for others. So, I feel like getting more minutes and just more opportunity to make plays. That’s where I’ve been great.”

And he has been. During Melbourne’s current five-game winning streak, he’s been playing some of the best basketball of his career. He has scored in double digits in four of those five games, has had at least five assists in three of those, has hit 9/14 three-pointers (64.3 per cent) and 18/30 (60 per cent) overall from the field, and has had at least two steals in four of those games.

Ili had probably his best all-around game this season last Saturday in Melbourne’s home win over Brisbane, with 13 points (4/7 FG), six assists and four steals. His only blemish was his off night at the free throw line where he hit 4/9. But, he also played the most minutes he’s played in a non-overtime game this season with 28 minutes.

However, it may have been his game against Perth in Round 11 that was the most impactful. While only recording three assists to go with 11 points and no steals, the defensive job he did on Bryce Cotton at times in the second quarter and then in the third quarter was masterful. Cotton still got his over the course of the game, but when things were going against Melbourne, Ili’s pressure, energy and hustle really lifted his team and helped them close out a big win.

After an injury-plagued campaign in NBL21, he’s definitely enjoying being healthy and playing more minutes this season, and Melbourne United are benefiting from that, sitting two games clear on top of the ladder after 17 games.

If you think back to preseason, this team had its doubters. Did they have enough offensive firepower to win consistently?

Well, they’re the second highest scoring team in the league to this point of the season. They have the second-best effective field goal percentage and rank fourth in offensive rating. They also lead the league in pace (per Realgm.com).

And defensively, they rank first in defensive rating by a whopping 5.4 points per 100 possessions from second ranked Tasmania. United is also best in points allowed (just 78.2 ppg) and also in opponent field goal percentage (opponents shoot just 39.7% from the field). 

Their record speaks for itself, Jo Lual-Acuil is an MVP candidate, Chris Goulding has been in All-NBL form and according to Ili, Matthew Dellavedova is the Defensive Player of the Year. 

“I feel like when Delly came in, he definitely set the tone defensively and also Caleb and Jo, and Jack,” explained Ili. 

“And then Chris picking up his defensive intensity just shows everyone that we’re ready to play defence and if you’re slacking off, someone else is going to come off the bench and give that defensive energy that we need. 

“That’s where we start offence. Once we get stops, we push the ball in transition, that’s when we play our best basketball. If we get stops then everyone’s happy on the break; everyone gets their shots. 

“And it’s fun when you play like that. You’re getting your shots, you’re winning, team chemistry is great. But when the ball starts sticking, that’s when we get in a lull, and we need to get back to getting stops and pushing the ball.”

We’ve seen exactly that from Melbourne on numerous occasions this season. Some say they’re able to find another gear defensively when they need to. 

But, if you listen to what Ili is saying, it’s more about the collective effort on that end of the floor that then gets their transition game going. Once that starts flowing, their offence opens up and they become incredibly hard to stop.

Despite sitting on top of the ladder, Ili knows that Round 15 is a massive test for Melbourne. They have home games against the teams that sit second and third on the ladder in Perth tonight and then South East Melbourne on Sunday. He’ll undoubtedly try to limit Cotton again and then look to slow down Xavier Munford on Sunday.

United are on a five-game winning streak (after winning eight straight earlier in the season), and that is something Ili wants to keep going.

“We’ve just got to come out and show that we’re consistent in winning,” he said. 

“We’re as hungry as the other teams coming into our gym. It’s a big game and they’re going to be wanting to come in and beat us on our home court. We’ve just got to come out and play the way that we play. Play defence first and everything else should fall into place against Perth. 

“And then to the Phoenix on Sunday, we go by series against every team and right now we’re one and one. They got us on our home court the first time we played them, so we’ve got to go into their gym and fight for that win on their floor. 

“I know it’s going to be a hostile crowd. They’ve got a lot of support and we’ve just got to come in and do our work.”