LV
Years ago
Melb United early season preview
Just watching the Melb vs UCLA pre season game. I'll put this out there before I get a good look at any of the newbies.
What I like/Strengths
1. Balance. For the first time in many years, Melbourne United/Tigers appear to have a fairly well balanced line up. This has been the bane of the existence of Melbourne bball fans since time immemorial. Going back many years, we had the "Barlow at point" experiment, we had the “Tragardh at small forward” experiment. We had the small forward season with Rush, Greer, Walker, Odigie all battling for minutes. We had the donut year with Kickert trying to play Centre. Then, finally, we had last year- with so many 3 point shooters but Warrick's isolation in the low post was the only real alternative to the 3 point game (Although I believe Demopoulos’ offensive schemes contributed to this, as did the make up of the actual roster), and rebounding was a huge problem.
A run down of the roster shows the balance in skillsets at Demopoulos disposal this season:
Point guard- The offense starts here. Two pass first point guards who don’t need to score to have a real impact on the result. You have two guys who, between them have led the NBL in assists for the past 5 seasons. (Tomlinson having led the league in 2014 while Jackson was absent from the NBL, and Jackson the other 4 years). Neither are particularly good 3 point shooters but both can hit the wide open looks. Jackson does a bit of everything.
Shooting Guard- Two guys who can flat out score. Goulding, one of the best scorers in the NBL and Ramone Moore, a combo guard who is 27 years old and has consistently put up big numbers in Europe in the past few years in Hungary, Ukraine and notably last season, Lithuania- a quality league where he averaged 14.5ppg.
Small Forward- Blanchfield and Barlow- Two good 3 point shooters, who are long, active defenders on the perimeter. Similar players, I expect they will be 3 and D guys- taking a lot of 3’s off Jackson’s penetration or on the fourth or fifth pass of the offense if the main go to guys haven’t scored yet.
Big Men- the lynchpin here is Andersen, who I expect will star in the NBL. Equally comfortable posting up and putting up fade aways and faking out the defender, as he is knocking down mid range jumpers and threes. Tai Wesley is a low post specialist who can hit the open jumpers. Majok and Williams will do most of their finishing at the hoop. Majok led the NBL in per minute rebounds last season, and the scouting report on Williams is that he’s energetic and a hard hitting rebounder. Kickert’s gone and been replaced by Andersen and Wesley- both decent rebounders as well. So hopefully no one will bully United on the boards like Vukona and NZ did in the semi-final last season.
2. Depth. Who will come off the bench? I assume Williams, Wesley, Barlow, Moore and Tomlinson. That’s just ridiculous.
3. Talent. On paper, there’s a lot to work with!
4. Winning and leadership. Jackson and Wesley come from a very successful NZ team. Andersen has won titles everywhere he’s gone, including 3 in the Euroleague. Kickert was a whinger with a questionable temperament under pressure- I suspect that despite his obvious talent, many Melbourne fans aren’t too disappointed in his departure since the team didn’t quite achieve what we expected in the two years when he was a key part of things. Jackson is a tenacious competitor who can step up in the big games (As UTD fans were reminded in the Semi Final) and Andersen seems like a quiet guy who leads by example and his record shows that he simply gets the job done time and time again.
5. Experience. In a revamped NBL with record numbers of new imports, as well as young locals like Drmic and Deng, there are so many 23 year olds with limited experience in the cut throat world of professional basketball. Players might look impressive and show their talent in college and the D League, but how will that translate into a league full of well organised teams like the ever improving NBL? You never know. In contrast, United has the oldest and most experienced roster in the league. They’ve all been there and done that. Looking at United’s additions: Moore has played all over Europe, David Andersen’s done it all in a 15 year career, Wesley played in Netherlands before a couple of successful seasons with NZ. Jackson and Barlow we’re all familiar with. These guys are seasoned professionals (Williams being the only exception).
Questions/Weaknesses:
1. Rim protection. No noted shot blockers. There’s only one player over 6 foot 9 being David Andersen and whilst he’s long, he’s not particularly physically imposing or athletic. How will they go defending Jawai, Maric, Ogilvy, Egwu around the hoop? Majok battles hard and competes, but can Williams be effective in backing him up here?
2. Demopoulos has a new team this year, led by Jackson who’s nothing like Holt. One criticism last year was the repetitiveness and lack of variety in the offensive sets. Teams seemed to figure UTD out as the season went on, and they were all too reliant on the 3 point shot. Can he effectively adjust his schemes to accommodate this new roster? Does Demopoulos have the wares to outwit proven championship coaches like Gleeson, Lemanis, Beveridge in a playoff series? This isn’t just a question for UTD- I expect Sydney and NZ to also do well- two other teams with experienced, talented rosters but inexperienced coaches running the show.
The Franchise Player:
- David Andersen. Very few NBL players have ever possessed a resume comparable to his. An international superstar. As noted, can score from anywhere. Will spread the floor- Majok and Williams don’t have much range, and Wesley does his best work down low- so Andersen’s jump shooting is a vital cog in this wheel. I suspect Moore will be a capable backup for Jackson or Goulding, should they get injured but I think Andersen is the most important individual on the roster.
