Melbourne is the first team to break away from the chasing pack in NBL24. United have an 8-1 record after Round 5 – and the manner in which they’re winning games is a terrifying prospect for its NBL opposition as the season progresses.

Matthew Dellavedova was missing for the entirety of the round as he continues to recover from concussion, while Ian Clark was absent for Sunday’s win over Illawarra, after top scoring in Friday’s win over Tasmania.

Kyle Bowen stepped up with 17 points against the JackJumpers to help cover for a rare off shooting night for Chris Goulding, who then exploded with 33 points to lead the team to victory over Illawarra.

United has been getting the job by committee, and Goulding says the manner in which any player can step up on any given day is what’s most pleasing about the roster’s development.

“There’s going to be opportunities for a lot of guys. We saw Kyle Bowen take that the other night, we saw Tanner and Flynn step up tonight and take the opportunity,” Goulding said following the win over Illawarra.

“That’s what you want to see from a team that’s got young guys, they’re hungry and want to prove themselves when opportunity presents – especially when you’re doing well, we’re on a nice little roll at the moment.

“Sometimes it’s harder to get minutes or whatever it may be but guys stepping up into their roles and grabbing opportunity is the most pleasing for me.”

“I don’t think anyone’s crying about minutes or anything right now. It’s natural of any team that everyone wants a little bit more, but I think everybody is happy to sacrifice to get wins and that’s a priority for everybody,” head coach Dean Vickerman added.

Four players scored in double-digits for Melbourne in the win over Tasmania, while five players scored at least ten points for United in their Round 4 win over New Zealand.

The heavier usage associated with Goulding putting up enough shots to score 33 points meant the spread of scoring was slimmed against the Hawks, but every player who hit the floor, bar DP Campbell Blogg, managed to hit the scoreboard.

“We were disappointed with our d-trans and rebounding last time we played this team, and I was so happy with the performance and the way we rebounded the ball this weekend,” Vickerman continued.

“Ariel (Hukporti) – I thought he was a menace to start the game – and we’ve really challenged LT to get up and be a top ten rebounder in this league and in both games this weekend he got after it.

“KB (Kyle Bowen) to start with his coverages, he never really gets one wrong ... he’s just on point in all those things, that’s what we recruited him.

“Tanner, we needed that extra defender today with not having Ian or Dely and it really put it on Flynn and Tanner to take on that role today.

“I thought Flynn and Tanner, the way they competed to get over or under screens and their commitment to it, it was nice to see them making a couple of shots as well.”

United next take on Perth on Monday, November 6 at 7:30pm AEDT.