How to watch & talking points: Melbourne v Cairns (Round 4, NBL26)

Melbourne United v Cairns Taipans
Sunday, October 12, 4.30pm AEDT
John Cain Arena

How to watch‍

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Talking points

United's bogey team

MelbourneUnited arguably the leading championship contender early in the season, yet none of that seems to matter when they face the Taipans.

Dean Vickerman has lost six of the last nine games against Cairns, which provides a unique battle on Sunday afternoon.

Will United match the increased confidence that theTaipans come into this game with?

Edwards the unsung hero

Jesse Edwards has very quietly been one of the most dominant players across the entire league to begin NBL26.

Outside of Bryce Cotton, there’s a strong case to say Edwards needs to be in the next pack of MVP favourites, as he leads his team to an undefeated start to the season.

He’s doing it on both ends of the floor at an extremely high level, and could provide big problems to theTaipans.

What they're saying

United coach Dean Vickerman on the return of star Chris Goulding:

“What we saw today (on the practice floor) is a super high-IQ player who sees coverages and understands how to manipulate them," Vickerman said.

"He can use the gravity of his shot and be a great positional defender.”

Cairns coach Adam Forde on the Taipans' quick turnaround from Friday:

“We build up some mental calluses from having done it before,” Forde said.

“We’ve talked about the things we could identify that are fixable and made sure the guys are as physically and mentally prepared as possible.”

Depth charts

Melbourne

‍Projected depth chart:

PG: Walker(IP) / Daniels (NS)

SG: Doyle (IP) / Wilson / Blogg (DP)

SF: Goulding / Krebs / Machar

PF: Delany / Bowen / Koppens (DP)

C: Edwards (IP) / Krslovic / Tata (NRP)

Cairns

‍Projected depth chart:

PG: Andrews(IP) / Adnam

SG: Smith / Stattmann / L.McVeigh (DP)

SF: Schofield (IP) / Higgins-Titsha / Mag

PF: J.McVeigh / Galloway

C: Lee (IP) / Richardson (DP)

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Missing in Action

Melbourne

Shea Ili – Hamstring – November 8

Cairns

SamWaardenburg – Ankle – December 10

>> View full injury list

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