Preview: Melbourne v Sydney

Friday, October 7, 2022

Two of the early title favourites clash as Xavier Rathan-Mayes and Melbourne play hosts to Derrick Walton and the undefeated Kings.

When: 4pm (AEDT), Sunday 9 October, 2022
Where: John Cain Arena, Melbourne
Broadcast: ESPN; Kayo; Foxtel; 10 Peach; 10 Play; Sky Sports NZ

Who won the last time?

Melbourne 82 (Agada 24, Goulding 20, Lual-Acuil 12) d Sydney 68 (Martin 19, Cooks 12, Sawka Lo Buluk 10) – Round 4, NBL22 at Qudos Bank Arena, Sydney

Amazingly, the last time these teams met was Boxing Day last year, when Melbourne opened a can of whoop-ass on the undermanned Kings thanks to Caleb Agada’s inspired 24-point, 14-rebound, four-steal, three-assist, three-block haul. Many expected a rematch in the grand final, but injury to Chris Goulding and the plucky JackJumpers intervened.

What happened last game?

It wasn’t all smooth sailing for United in their NBL23 opener against New Zealand, but coach Dean Vickerman was pleased with how his team made big plays down the stretch to close it out, after struggling for clutch players not named Goulding last season. The Kings raised their championship banner and then ran up their second century of the season behind Derrick Walton and Xavier Cooks, withstanding Brisbane’s run then beating them with athleticism.

What’s working?

Backcourt shot-making – Against New Zealand, 73 of Melbourne’s 103 points came from Goulding, Xavier Rathan-Mayes and Rayjon Tucker, who combined for 14/28 from deep. In addition, 14 of United’s 18 assists came from that trio, showing it will be difficult for defences to overplay any individual, but also begging the question where else can they get points from given their starting bigs added 10 points on 5/17 and the bench contributed just 18 points.

Paint domination – It’s no secret that rim-running is Chase Buford’s favourite viewing, and his new-look line-up has taken to that very quickly. The Kings are +46 on scoring from ‘ones and twos’, +32 on points in the paint and are shooting 61 per cent from two-point range. That’s led by Xavier Cooks, who has scored 34 points inside at 65 per cent while drawing 11 fouls, and Derrick Walton who’s scored 26 inside at 68 per cent and drawn 15 whistles.

What needs stopping?

Shaqtin’ a free throw – While forcing opposition fouls is important to create foul trouble and get your defence set to apply pressure, it’s not quite as effective if you miss the free throws. Remarkably, the Kings are 29/52 from the charity stripe at 56 per cent across their opening two games, with Cooks the prime culprit having made 7/17 in Shaq-like fashion.

Xavier Rathan-Mayes – XRM’s shot chart against New Zealand tells quite the story – four points at the cup, five at the foul line, six from mid-range and 18 from the arc – with all bar one of his made jumpers coming from the right side at the top of the arc as he manipulated ball-screens. It was a masterful display, punctuated by 15 points on 5/7 in the final 11 minutes.

Who’s matching up?

Jordan Caroline v Xavier Cooks – Things have been anything but sweet for Caroline, who followed a sub-par pre-season with a 1/10 shooting performance against the Breakers. It doesn’t get any easier either, with the NBL’s best two-way player rolling into down having racked up 47 points at 59 per cent, 15 rebounds and five dimes in the opening two outings.

Chris Goulding v DJ Vasiljevic – CG43 scored nine points in 65 seconds to start the fourth quarter against the Breakers, finishing the game with 24 points on 6/11 from range and +12 in an overtime win. DJ scored nine points in 55 seconds against Illawarra to change that game, and after a 2/11 stinker on Friday, will be ready to make a statement on the big stage.

Rayjon Tucker v Justin Simon – After being a defensive specialist with the Hawks, Simon spent a year developing his offensive game in the German BBL, now stepping back up to the NBL hoping to make an impact, with his 16.5ppg at 70 per cent to suggest he can. Tucker produced 16 points on NBL debut, including the athletic highlight of the week, while Simon was producing some acrobatics of his own at the Q on Friday night.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">A little dance to finish it off <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WeTheKings?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#WeTheKings</a> <a href="https://t.co/TLndjES0gZ">pic.twitter.com/TLndjES0gZ</a></p>— Sydney Kings (@SydneyKings) <a href="https://twitter.com/SydneyKings/status/1578332102663491584?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 7, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Who’s saying what?

The truth eventually comes out, sometimes it just takes a new face to find it.

One of the most staggering performances of NBL22 was when Melbourne destroyed the Kings 89-47 in Round 3 at Melbourne Park, sparked by a remarkable 26-0 run in the opening six minutes.

Why were United breathing fire on that day? It didn’t take long for boom recruit Rayjon Tucker to be filled in on the story.

“Sydney beat them last year (in Round 1) and they heard them knocking on the walls in the locker room,” Tucker told the Herald-Sun.

“Once they came here, they held them to 47 points, seven minutes without a score.”

And Tuck is more than happy to jump aboard.

“I know it’s a huge rivalry for the cities and so it’s a huge rivalry for me,” he said.

There is a personal rivalry involved for Tucker too, who used to be coached by Kings boss Chase Buford.

“He’s not my coach now, so it’s all war,” Tucker said.

“We had a great relationship, we’re super close, I respect him as a person and as a coach. All love at the end of the day but, once I step in between those lines, he’s the opposition.

Perhaps more importantly, that connection means Buford and Co are fully prepared for what Tucker can unleash, regardless of his off-shooting night in Round 1.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">THE FLIGHT HAS ARRIVED ???<a href="https://twitter.com/th3flighttuck?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@th3flighttuck</a> <br>Tune in live: 10 Peach or ESPN via Foxtel or Kayo <a href="https://t.co/q8Y2fnYb4T">pic.twitter.com/q8Y2fnYb4T</a></p>— Melbourne United (@MelbUnited) <a href="https://twitter.com/MelbUnited/status/1576413180300906497?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 2, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

“Rayjon is an explosive athlete who is different to anyone that I’ve ever been around, other than Giannis,” Buford said.

“He is a freaky type of athlete with his size, power, and explosion. He is different.”

The Kings must find a way to slow down Melbourne’s perimeter trio, with Tucker ever-dangerous and Xavier Rathan-Mayes and Chris Goulding unstoppable last week, combining for 57 points on 12 trifectas, while also getting to the free-throw line 14 times.

“We found a rhythm with the three-ball,” coach Dean Vickerman said.

“X had a hell of a game and CG, both of them making six threes each and really wanted the basketball, that was huge for us.

“We certainly want to get up over 30 threes a game, but the goal was to be around making 11 or 12, so to stretch that to 18 and still to get to the foul line as much as we did was a good balance.”

Sydney have posted 106 and 100 in their opening two games, and could be tempted to try and outscore their rivals on Sunday, especially with Shea Ili sidelined and the incredible Derrick Walton having amassed 53 points and 16 dimes in his first two games.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">TRICKY ?<br><br>Watch is live on <a href="https://twitter.com/ESPNAusNZ?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ESPNAusNZ</a> via <a href="https://twitter.com/kayosports?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@kayosports</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/Foxtel?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Foxtel</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WeTheKings?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#WeTheKings</a> <a href="https://t.co/P2fpoUWz6N">pic.twitter.com/P2fpoUWz6N</a></p>— Sydney Kings (@SydneyKings) <a href="https://twitter.com/SydneyKings/status/1578330709906919424?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 7, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Coach Vickerman knows Walton will create some headaches with his outstanding speed and intelligent use of picks, just as Barry Brown and Co did in the opening game against New Zealand.

“Defensively they challenged us with their on-ball screening today,” he said.

“Their ability to roll on the rim, their ability to hit floaters in the paint. Probably the biggest work on for us is going back and seeing how much better can we be in the ball-screen.

“It’s a relationship thing between our bigs and our guards.”

However, Buford knows racking up points against Melbourne won’t be so easy, his team having scored just 79, 47 and 68 in their three meetings with United last season, albeit never at full strength.

“They are a tough team and we’re excited to go and measure ourselves up against a team coached by Dean Vickerman,” he said.

“The way they defend, you are going to find out about your team, so we’re excited to go and learn and find out what we are about playing in that environment.”

With Walton and Rathan-Mayes the two hottest backcourt stars in the league early days, Goulding and Vasiljevic two of the most dangerous shooters, and Tucker and Cooks two of the NBL’s elite athletes, this could be an early-season show for the ages.