United bigs praised

Friday, March 15, 2024

Melbourne United coach Dean Vickerman has praised his big power duo of Jo Lual-Acuil Jr and Ariel Hukporti.

Jo Lual-Acuil Jr and Ariel Hukporti have been hailed as one of the strongest big man duos in the league all season and head coach Dean Vickerman is confident they will be able to withstand the Tasmania JackJumpers' pairing of Will Magnay and Marcus Lee.

Vickerman knows how important Lual-Acuil Jr and Hukporti will be in the Championship Series, and has belief in their versatility against the JackJumpers.

“I rate Ari and Jo as two very good pick-and-roll players that have the ability to guard too, pretty well, as good as anyone in the league,” Vickerman said.

“How efficient they are in that coverage is going to be important.

“But if we need to, we know that those two can change their level and play in different coverage as well.”

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Lual-Acuil Jr and Hukporti are both ranked within the top five for blocks per game in the NBL, with Magnay sitting at the top. All of them enter the Championship Series in strong form, with some experts suggesting Magnay should be in Olympic considerations.

Lual-Acuil Jr was out earlier in the season, with Next Star Hukporti thriving in his absence. Ever since stepping on court together, the pair have become unstoppable, creating a relationship both on and off the court.

“His growth since he’s been here – obviously I had that year where I was away – but coming back, his professionalism off the court and how much more dialled in he is to his role and understanding of scout, the energy that he plays with, everything. He’s taken it to a whole new level, it’s great to see that growth in him and I’m super excited for what’s next for him,” Lual-Acuil Jr said of Hukporti.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">The Championship Series is locked in ?<br><br>Who will be crowned the champions of NBL24? ?<br><br>? Catch all the action on ESPN via Kayo.<br>?? Tickets: <a href="https://t.co/hyiDI5lxxc">https://t.co/hyiDI5lxxc</a><br><br>Read more: <a href="https://t.co/xU16hiC3yI">https://t.co/xU16hiC3yI</a> <a href="https://t.co/pO6mVTXcls">pic.twitter.com/pO6mVTXcls</a></p>— NBL (@NBL) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBL/status/1768136456344830196?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 14, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Lual-Acuil Jr was quick to shut down any talk of a fiery individual match-up against Tasmania.

“We don’t talk too much about positioning or personnel,” he said.

“We just try to do as best as we can, we don’t get too caught up with match-ups…it’s about us winning the game, not the match-ups.”

Game 1 of the Championship Series tips-off on Sunday at 4:00pm AEDT at John Cain Arena. The game will be broadcast live and free on ESPN via Kayo Freebies, 10 Peach and 10 Play.