Drinkwise Preview: NBL25 - Blitz, Game 3 v Illawarra Hawks

Melbourne United are set to take to the court one final time at the NBL Blitz in a matchup with the Illawarra Hawks on Thursday evening.

Having both split their two games so far in the Blitz, Thursday’s game will be big in terms of building some momentum heading into Hoopsfest.

CATCH UP WITH THE HIGHLIGHTS FROM UNITED’S SECOND GAME OF THE BLITZ HERE

WHO’S HOT, WHO’S NOT

(Pre-season) 

United - L, W, W, L

Hawks - W, W, L

It’s been mixed results for both United and the Hawks heading into tomorrow night’s contest.

For Melbourne, the play of guard pairing Ian Clark and Shea Ili has been a positive, with the duo combining for over 36 points per game across their three per-season games together.

United has however been hampered by foul trouble at the Blitz. In their two games up in the Gold Coast, opposing teams have combined for 83 free throw attempts, which has slowed the game down and given up easy points.

Illawarra’s strength thus far comes from their ball movement, having tallied 20 assists in both their games.

STARS COLLIDE

Thursday night will be the first time United gets to see what new Illawarra import, Darius Days, is capable of, as he matches up with Jack White at the forward spot.

In his Hawks pre-season debut, Days scored 14 points in 22 minutes, while knocking down a pair of looks from beyond the arc.

White was equally impressive on Tuesday night, taking on a greater scoring load in the absence of Matthew Dellavedova and Chris Goulding. The NBA Champion finished with 17 points and 13 rebounds. 

Having gone up against each other in the G-League across the past two years, it should be an intriguing clash between two of the premier forwards in the league.

GAME INFO

Who: Melbourne United vs Illawarra Hawks

Tip-off: 5pm AEST, Thursday 12 September, 2024

Where: Gold Coast Sports and Leisure Centre.

Watch: Kayo