Melbourne have united at the right time

Written by Roy Ward for Melbourne United. 

Dean Vickerman knew his roster had depth but even he never expected to see his side making a top-two finish with Sam McDaniel and Mason Peatling in his starting five.

The Melbourne United coach had faith both players would become reliable members of his side, but their rise has been a good shock for Vickerman.

The longer-than-usual NBL season and some untimely injuries gave both players the chance to show they could hold down regular roles and Melbourne has kept on winning with them in the line-up.

“Sam is a guy who has been with us a couple of years and he was searching for an opportunity and how he can make an impact on this league,” Vickerman said.

“Having the defensive capabilities he has shown us and to just get locked in and be starting on a group where his strengths fit with Mitch [McCarron] and Chris [Goulding]. That has helped him relax at the offensive end and be shooting close to 40 per cent from three.

“It’s great progress from him from where he has come from as a development player.

“Mason, again a development player, signed this year and we expected to bring his progress on slower. But for Jack White to go down, we just went ahead and trusted him as a starter and he just keeps delivering both with his sprints, his energy, his rebounding and that crazy desire to win the basketball.”

A sign of United’s depth has been that no player averages more than 30 minutes a game heading into the final round with point guard Mitch McCarron averaging just over 30 minutes a game which is 16th best in the NBL while Jock Landale and captain Chris Goulding average 27 minutes per game.

Melbourne’s bench production has been a factor in much of the team’s success with the likes of Shea Ili, Jo Lual-Acuil, David Barlow, Japanese guard Yudai Baba and import Scotty Hopson, making game-changing impacts.

The late-season addition of Boomers great and United championship-winning big man David Andersen has only added to the wisdom on the bench.

“They have all just slotted into their roles,” Landale said.

“Earlier in the season we had an offence that was up and down and that was maybe because we had too many guys trying to takeover and be the hero.

“Then we sat down after our 28-point loss to Sydney and said ‘everyone needs to figure out what their roles are and do them to the best of their ability’. Being able to have a real conversation as a team was really character building for us and from there things sorted themselves out.

“As a whole, we felt a lot more comfortable as a team because we knew what we were going to get from each guy and could hold each other accountable to that.” 

Ili, who battled ankle issues earlier this season, was voted best player by his teammates in the recent win over Brisbane Bullets while Barlow is enjoying one of his best shooting seasons in the NBL despite one of the oldest players in the league.

Hopson is starting to find his role in the side with Vickerman building him up ahead of the finals.

“Shea Ili got voted by our team as the best player the other night [against Brisbane] as that game was the one, earlier in the year where he hurt his ankle and it has gone full circle as we can see he is back to his full capabilities now,” Vickerman said.

“Seeing what Jo was capable of doing as a starter. We have a special player there. 

“Hop is one right now where we have underplayed him in multiple games, but we know that we are getting him ready for the big stage as well and we think he will make a major contribution in the finals.”

Vickerman said a key to keeping the side focused when minutes were hard to come by was to acknowledge players who make a big impact on a game.

“For us, to recognise what they have done in those minutes and how we acknowledge and value that,” Vickerman said.

“It might be that it’s a defensive assignment.

“Hop has bought into that in the second part of the season. He has put his hand up and said I want these challenges, I want to guard certain people and contribute to us being the best defensive team in the league.

“If they don’t play 20-25 minutes but have called their own sub because they are playing hard at both ends, then that’s ok.”

Vickerman thinks we are starting to see Lual-Acuil’s best play as both a scorer and a shot-blocker.

“Jo is a guy who takes time to build trust with and that’s both ways,” Vickerman said.

“We have got to a pretty good point, but we are still not totally there, there is still some work we have to do in situations, but we are at a comfort level where we can have really good conversations. 

“He will tell me ‘I don’t think you trusted me in that moment’ and I will assess myself and ask, ‘Did I?’. We are having great conversations and continuing to build on those conversations.”

The team take on the Wildcats in a top-of-the-table clash at RAC Arena on Friday night, tip-off at 9:30pm AEST, broadcast on ESPN, SBS On Demand and Twitch.

They team will then fly to Adelaide on Saturday to play the 36ers on Sunday at 3.00pm AEST.

Roy is a sports journalist with The Age.