Rucker's massive Throwdown call

Sunday afternoon’s top of the table Throwdown looms as one of the biggest games of NBL24 so far, but former league MVP Derek Rucker believes there is already a clear winner between Melbourne and South East Melbourne – and he’s tipped the third-placed Phoenix to strike a crucial blow against their local rivals.

Melbourne will likely enter the clash with a depleted lineup, following injuries suffered by Luke Travers, Ariel Hukporti and Ian Clark in Monday night’s overtime loss to Perth.

While the severity of Travers’ head knock is yet to be confirmed, it would be safe to assume he’s unlikely to play against South East Melbourne, especially considering how dazed he looked heading into the change-rooms against the Wildcats, while Clark exited the game in the second quarter with a hamstring injury and did not return.

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Hukporti did end up playing 10 minutes after suffering his knee injury, but looked like he was struggling throughout the game.

“South East Melbourne are winning that game by at least six points – lock it in,” Rucker said on NBL Now. “Mitch Creek and Alan Williams will be far too much to handle.”

“JLA (Jo Lual-Acuil Jr)  is a rim protector but sometimes he can be exploited on the perimeter defensively. Against a guy like Sauce Williams, I don’t like that matchup for JLA.

“I’ve got Phoenix all the way in that game, it’s going to be a brilliant contest, but I don’t think Melbourne Unted can go with them without their full lineup.”

The injury suffered by Hukporti in the first minute of the game saw Lual-Acuil Jr take on a heavier load against Keanu Pinder, Alex Sarr and the Wildcats on Sunday, but it can be assumed Rob Loe will be activated as United’s injury replacement player, should any of Travers, Clark or Hukporti fail to prove their fitness ahead of Sunday.

Lual-Acuil Jr led the per-game average SuperCoach score in the competition for round for his performance against Perth and subsequently earned himself a nomination for the Chemist Warehouse Fans MVP, but Rucker believes Melbourne needs to see more from the former MVP contender if they’re to win with their depleted lineup.

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“Is JLA ready? Dean Vickerman was livid with him at moments during that game,” Rucker said.

“JLA looked like he was rushed, his skills weren’t as sharp as they should have been, and for Melbourne United to continue that championship pursuit, JLA’s got to lift himself to MVP level.

“From a strategic point of view it exposed some weaknesses, definitely in the perimeter shooting category without Clark out there who I think is one of the top ten players this season ... (and) Travers who capitalizes off of good perimeter shooting by making plays at the rim.

“Without those two guys they looked stagnant offensively, I thought, in the second half an overtime period. [Is] a little sign there for other teams where they may be able to exploit Melbourne United?”

Melbourne and South East Melbourne lock horns on Sunday, November 12 at 2pm AEDT, live on ESPN via Kayo.