Preview: Melbourne vs Sydney - Round 8, NBL24

Sunday, November 19 at 4pm AEDT | John Cain Arena

Watch: Live and free on ESPN via Kayo Freebies | 10 Peach and 10 Play- International viewership details
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Melbourne and Sydney will meet in a top of the table clash. United sit first on the ladder with a 9-2 record, while the Kings are hot on their heels in second at 7-3 so far this season.

Jo Lual-Acuil Jr has been spoken about as ‘back in MVP form’. JLA came third in league MVP voting in NBL22, and was named the league’s Best Sixth Man in the title-winning side of NBL21.

Sydney’s Alex Toohey has surged to 30^th position in Sam Vecenie’s most recent mock draft for The Athletic, after previously being unranked.

Chris Goulding could score his 6000th carer NBL point in this game. He is currently on 5989. 5092 of those have been scored for Melbourne.

Melbourne
92-83 win over South East Melbourne
95-102 loss to Perth
96-84 win over Illawarra

Sydney
104-95 win over Brisbane
87-85 win over New Zealand
103-83 win over Illawarra

Jo Lual-Acuil Jr
After a strong performance in Round 6’s overtime defeat to Perth, the challenge was issued to Jo Lual-Acuil Jr to step up against a high-quality post double-team of Alan Williams and Mitch Creek against South East Melbourne.

He more than rose to that challenge.

Lual-Acuil Jr finished the game with 26 points, 11 rebounds and a pair of blocks, en route to a famous win over Melbourne’s local rivals, and he has now firmly re-established himself as one of the NBL’s best players this season.

When he arrived back in Melbourne, he stated a belief that the NBL’s pathway to the NBA was superior to any other offers, and he was better than other players who were making the jump over to the world’s top basketball competition.

With former NBA mainstays Jonah Bolden and Denzel Valentine on the Kings roster, as well as NBL22 MVP Jaylen Adams, can Lual-Acuil Jr flex his muscles against some of the best resumes in the competition?

“Yes, he’s a known shot blocker, but his ability to alter shots without fouling was crucial for United’s chance of winning ... watching him on Sunday made me realise there’s potentially no reason he couldn’t do all that and snag an MVP trophy along the way.” – Peter Hooley following Melbourne’s win over the Phoenix.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Is JLA currently the best big in the NBL? ?<br><br>The star center is averaging 17.5 points and a league-high 1.8 blocks per game in NBL24 ? <a href="https://t.co/GjWimrz7OW">pic.twitter.com/GjWimrz7OW</a></p>&mdash; NBL (@NBL) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBL/status/1724616452240769471?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 15, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Alex Toohey
When Alex Toohey was announced as a Next Star for the Sydney Kings, the general consensus was he was likely to be a two-year prospect. That rhetoric has rapidly changed across NBL24 though.

Toohey’s exceptional performances for the Kings at both the small forward and power forward position initially saw him rise up to be ranked 83rd by ESPN draft expert Jonathan Givony, but The Athletic’s Sam Vecenie has taken his assessment of Toohey one step further by proclaiming him a first round talent – for the next draft.

The 19-year-old has immediately impacted winning for his new side, and will once again face a tough challenge this weekend. The likes of Chris Goulding will hold him defensively accountable, while there’s every likelihood he’ll be crashing and bashing with the likes of Ariel Hukporti or Rob Loe through the course of the game.

While fans of the NBL have known about Toohey’s exceptional ability from the day he pulled on a Kings uniform, there will likely be more eyes on him now following two of the leading NBA Draft experts speaking so highly about him.

Let’s see how he handles it.

“I think there’s a real case he’s been as valuable from a game by game perspective as any Next Star. He knows where to be defensively, he can knock down shots from distance, he can really pass the ball ... high IQ basketball player. I really, really love what I’ve seen from Alex Toohey and I think he’s the guy that’s helped himself most among the Australian group of players, and maybe him or Nikola Topic has helped himself more than anybody else in this 2024 draft class to this point.” – NBA Draft expert Sam Vecenie.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">People are taking notice of Alex Toohey ?<a href="https://twitter.com/TheAthletic?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@TheAthletic</a>&#39;s mock draft has the Sydney Next Star ranked as a 2024 first round pick ?<br><br>Read more ?? <a href="https://t.co/lMID8WpoGy">https://t.co/lMID8WpoGy</a> <a href="https://t.co/onx2rBRV5q">pic.twitter.com/onx2rBRV5q</a></p>&mdash; NBL (@NBL) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBL/status/1724708629272789248?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 15, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Dean Vickerman vs Mahmoud Abdelfattah
The switch-heavy defence Mahmoud Abdelfattah has implemented at the Sydney Kings isn’t something that’s been seen often in the NBL, and while the Kings are flying on both ends of the floor, this weekend the other sideline will be populated by one of the greatest coaching minds in the history of the league.

Abdelfattah’s side has been winning a high proportion of their games in offensive shootouts. Of their 10 fixtures so far this season, the Kings have scored over 100 points four times, and two of those wins also saw their opponent exceed 100 points.

Mahmoud Abdelfattah.

There have only been nine other scores of 100 points or more across the entire NBL that do not involve the Kings.

Melbourne rank first in the league for defensive rating though. With Shea Ili guarding strong, and Jo Lual-Acuil Jr and Ariel Hukporti protecting the rim, United are a difficult prospect for this high-powered offence to face.

The Kings rank second in offensive rating behind Tasmania, and third in defensive rating behind Melbourne and Cairns, and recent wins over New Zealand and Illawarra have showcased their emerging ability to lock down on the defensive end.

Can Vickerman and his United side overcome Sydney’s different looking defence and put a stop to its high-powered offence, or can Mahmoud Abdelfattah continue to cement his position as one of the top coaches in the league with a win over one of its greatest stalwarts?

Dean Vickerman.

 Melbourne has won each of the last four games it has been trailling at half-time.

Melbourne
Ian Clark – hamstring (TBC)
Matthew Dellavedova – leg (TBC)

Sydney
Jaylin Galloway – shoulder (TBC)