Melbourne Back in Homicide’s Good Books

Melbourne United have been rolling recently and haven’t shown any signs of slowing down.

2010 NBL MVP Corey ‘Homicide’ Williams has declared the Melbourne side “could win the chip” if they continue their winning streak, as Dean Vickerman’s men have won seven of their last eight games to storm into the top six.

United slumped midway through the season but were quick to dig themselves out of a hole. Williams admitted he had the team down as finished, but now has faith Melbourne could potentially win the championship.

“They’re rolling, they’re probably the hottest team in the league at the moment,” Williams said on NBL Overtime.

“I wrote this team off a long time ago, from the beginning. The whole year I’ve been off them.

“What they have shown and what other teams have not been able to do, puts them in this position that they’re in.

“This team right now, they could win the chip.

“They’re in the top six, they’re not looking back, this is a dangerous team and I wouldn’t want to see this team, straight up.”

Melbourne have won four straight games and seven of their last eight, a result no one saw coming after a messy start to the season. Their recent performances has shifted perceptions of United, with some declaring them certainties for the finals.

“If you arrive at that point and you’re playing tremendous basketball, who knows what you might be able to do,” NBL analyst Liam Santamaria said.

“Let’s stop talking about whether this team is going to make playoffs, they’re in.”

With a fully healthy roster, Williams praised the Melbourne players and in particular import guard Rayjon Tucker who has found his feet within the league.

“The biggest thing they were able to do was get Marcus Lee. Rayjon Tucker starts to hit threes, game changer. Shea Ili comes back healthy, game changer. CG43 (Chris Goulding) has been who he is, he’s the constant. XRM (Xavier Rathan-Mayes) is finding his identity back coming off the bench, that ain’t something easy to do.”

Tucker averages 17.4 points and 5.9 rebounds per game.

“Rayjon Tucker is a different player than he was in the first half of the season,” Williams said.

“He is the guy. They have all of the pieces and they rolling, they’re locking up on D.”

United play the eighth placed Adelaide 36ers on Saturday night at 8:00pm AEDT.