Going with United despite the injuries.
1-10.

United by 15.

SEM by 11

I would think United would be doing everything humanly possible to keep Smith-Milner off the floor tonight.

Would United start Jo Lual-Acuil at the 4? Seemed to show a bit in the pre-season.

With those outs I'm leaning SEM now, might take a few games for United to mesh with the new guys.

I'm tipping SEM.

United's pre season has been extremely interrupted and their injuries are concerning- Prather and Barlow will be missed on the defensive end against Wesley and Creek.

I'm tipping SEM but even with the outs United should be strong. Looking forward to seeing how Long and Trimble do defensively, but if Long is matched up against Pineau for long stretches down the other end it probably won't matter.

Doubt that. Pineau is pretty much brought in to defend and rebound yeah?

I think he'll do an ok job. I mean Long is one of the best players in the comp.

A lot rests on Long on the defensive end, and Wesley is very crafty and could draw a few fouls.

Pledger is not the defensicve presence he once was at NZB.

A lot of ifs for SEM...should be MEL comfortably.

Someone took over NBL twitter for the last few hours, must be keen for the start of the season!

Bring it on, go Phoenix!

Starting to get a bit pumped now only about 30 mins until the season starts!

The rule for TV is that night games are on ESPN (on/after 7:30pm EST tipoff). Day games on SBS Viceland (before 7:30pm EST tipoff).

Try SBS On Demand? They stream every game.

OMG is she wearing heels on a basketball court?!?!?!?!?

Trying to observe if there's any streaming quality variation between SBS on demand and Kayo...

Onscreen clocks still falling out of sync.

Phoenix sorta fell to shit offensively when Wesley came off injured. Hopefully they can turn it around. Trist's shot was somethign that would have got him benched on my Tuesday night squad.

I see Tommy the poor diabetic kid is back. The amount of chocolate cake he consumes is unbelievable. Mum needs to keep tabs on his intake

Seeing Stacker on an NBL bench again is surreal.

Creek looks like he is too good for this level

Phoenix away uniform is 10 times better than that home green one!

Bad call on Pledger.

After the last few years I can't handle the on screen scoreboard updating in less than 5 seconds. It freaks me out!

Bad call? You'd better be taking the piss there, PW

After the last few years I can't handle the on screen scoreboard updating in less than 5 seconds. It freaks me out!

Don't worry, the clocks are constantly ahead of the real ones. Then they resync at a stoppage.

What is ikuro?

I think Ikuro is actually Oriant that has been phoenixed.

Very nice Splinky.

Benson is garbage. He has to go.

OT would be fitting.

Long with the brain fade.

Adnam isn't that smart.

FT MEL 88-91 SEM

Shout out to Angelo the Phoenix head chef.

Very sloppy but enjoyable game. Creek looks like he's taken a leap post-NBA and World Cup... Missed on a lot of those post up moves up but I like his aggression and 3pt shot. Not sold at all on the Phoenix's depth or Pineau as a starter though. Roberson just plain solid (on one end, at least), and Madgen is still Madgen - frustratingly inconsistent on his open looks, but makes enough to keep the D honest.

To me Melbourne looked like they are still getting a feel for each other overall, but I don't think this game did much to dispel the fears re: some of Melo and Long's weaknesses - the Jekyl & Hyde of their games on full display. IMO they'd have been better off spending big on one of them and getting a more traditional 1 or 5 man rather than 2 guys who both excel on the one end of the court.

Very impressive for SEM to get over the line. Creek dominated and roberson is a weapon. Hope Benson has his bag packed he is very soft. Good to have the NBL back.

Take aways. SEM WOOO CACHING $$$$

Wesley will be dominant offensively when healthy. Huge load for Creek to carry without him
Dane Pineau has jumped up a level. As a defensive rebounding role player he is perfect.
Trist isn't NBL level. Not sure if he is Big V level at this point.
Benson was ok (better than I thought), but will be gone soon
Creek was freaken outstanding, and there's a reason he's been playing at other levels.
Madgen looks half a step off the pace at both ends.
SEM need another big (import) to help on the boards and defensively.

United were very, very banged up.
Pledger hardly played. Not sure what that's about.
Very talented team that will need some time together.
When they locked in and pressured in d, they gave SEM fits, and I think with their guard depth, they could give any team fits.
They will be a totally different team when Barlow comes back, let alone Prather. They need someone solid in that 4 spot.

Cracker of a game, enjoyed it very much! Not much else of substance to add I'm afraid. Bring on the rest of the season!

Creek was brilliant

United out of sorts as expected

Who's United got in round 3? 0-2 Will be ok but don't wanna leave that first win for too long

Let's talk positives for both teams.

Mitch Creek is the Kawhi of the NBL. Elite at both ends, does a bit of everything, versatile and athletic. With an experienced supporting cast you just know they'll be consistently competitive

As far as United goes, nothing to worry about. They did alright considering they were playing without Prather, Barlow and Melo Trimble.

I like the comparison - the Kawhi of the NBL. The much-less-athletic white boy Kawhi of the NBL. lol. It still stands. It's accurate. I like it. If he can keep sticking the three ball like that he will be in the MVP conversation.

Another guy whose launched himself into that conversation is Chris Goulding. Suddenly Goulding plays defense. He actually made a few huge defensive plays and was very disruptive. He even locked up Creek a few times. If Goulding can come with this consistently we might be seeing the most surprising DPOY award ever handed out in world history.

It is no huge shock that the guys who've come back from the World Cup are treating the NBL like their own personal playground. For over two months these guys were playing with and against some of the best players in the game. I always thought they'd come back a cut above the competition and they've definitely done that with noticeable improvements in key aspects of their games.

When it comes to the game overall, it was pretty high quality considering both teams missing at least one star and one key contributor each. I'm not too worried about Melbourne's loss or their direction. They'll be in the mix at season's end even if they go 0-2 or 0-3. Phoenix are going to be competitive and around the mark but it's still hard to see them being able to beat Melbourne at full strength. Good signs for the game - on court anyway.

ESPN coverage was BLEH. The game didn't look in HD. I didn't mind the commentary but really didn't like the visuals when cutting to the hub. It was jarring and detracting. If they have to shoot from the Overtime studio, so be it. It would look less an eyesore than whatever they're doing with the hub.

Other than that, 10,000 people tuned in on Facebook Watch - which is more than what used to tune in on Fox Sports just a few years ago. And with all the other ways to see the game, it probably made a fair splash for sponsors and promoters.

Bring on tomorrow - Sydney v Cairns.

Creek looks like a different player. I guess that year in the G league did him some good cuz he looks coached up.

What has Adelaide doneeeeeeee

[Melbourne was missing Barlow, Prather, and McDaniel (whos had an impressive pre-season]

McDaniel probably won't be in the rotation once the full lineup is there

I thought the absence of Trimble last night was far more significant

Why do you keep referring to Trimble not being there, as though United wouldn't have been immeasurably better had he never touched the ball?

Appreciated watching for free on SBS but didn't love the constant cuts to the crowd.

Great opening game.
Wesley's injury could be a concern along with Benson's form for Phoenix.

United will be better once we see the Melo we know, rather than the imposter running around last night

On the other side,Madgen needs to find form, with Wesley missing for a while they can't rely on Creek and Roberson going for 50 every single night

Jury out on Benson. Him and Pineau did ok on the boards, it wasn't until Q4 that Long really started dominating

Melo was ok wasn't he?

A lot of turnovers, but I think most are attributed to execution rather than his own play.

I thought he had a bad game for his own standards, but wouldn't call him missing.

That may be the case re: good Euro teams, but both sides missing key pieces (SEM when Wesley left the game). If Wesley had stayed in the game I think this would have been a blow out win for SEM. Melbourne are going to take some time to gel offensively. I'm not sure they'll ever be a good defensive team however.

Nice one SEM!

Creek was a beast, and looked like he was enjoying every minute, smiling and joking around with teammates and opposition, in contrast Goulding back to his bitching and moaning ways when he clearly fouls someone or doesn't get a call that was never there, the guy is so hate-able.

Long looked real good after a slow start. JLA looked like he can't basketball with rebounds going straight through his hands. MCCarron is going to be the glue that holds United together.

Roberson looks like he consistently will get high difficulty shots off, didn't realise he was that small till Trimble was guarding him. Was yelling at the TV when they had Adnam and Roberson on at the same time to close out the game, both very small guards compared to Trimble and McCarron.

Bummer for Tai, was looking like he was going to dominate.

^^^^^^
Wut

"Very ordinary game, but will cut some slack as it's the first game. Anybody though who says the NBL is the best competition in the world outside of the NBA is delusional on the back of that. Good Euro teams would pump both teams last night easily."


Both teams missing two big contributors a piece. I am not sure what you would have expected. And I don't think too many people really think the NBL is the second best league in the world on court. That is a marketing slogan and little else.

Do you mean double double?

Benson gives the Phoenix exactly what they need in theory, but some of those easy misses and mental lapses on D/boxing out in the 4th were costly. He wasn't alone there though - Pineau missed a couple that made Kay's World Cup misses look like contested fadeaways in comparison, and Stephens (and a lesser degree Madgen) also blew some stupidly easy looks inside.

The Phoenix did just about all they could to give United a shot at stealing a win really.

Does anyone know wth Ikuro is yet?

It seems ludicrous to have sponsorship on a top if your "brand" is totally inaccessible.

What's with Phoenix having unannounced sponsors on their top? Is this a similar thing to Melbourne Utd where for the lack of a major sponsor, they have a "game night sponsor".

I wonder why 36ers don't do that, it's a spot that might as well be used?!

I asked about Ikuro last night - no one knew. Although the Oraint reference was a classic.

Oriant*

I wonder why 36ers don't do that, it's a spot that might as well be used?!

Kind of a meh game, nice and close, but too many guys stinking it up.

Ok, so MU have injuries, but this game really exposed their lack of depth, especially at the 4 spot.
Smith-Milner is a spud. If he's the solution for when Barlow is off, then MU have massive problems.

People have been raving about Ili for years, but he's just not that good. As a backup PG perhaps, but why would you give him 25 minutes. If that's your only backup guard option, then you're screwed.

I still love Prather, but he has been injury prone for a couple of years now. Without him and Barlow they are going to struggle.

"Very ordinary game, but will cut some slack as it's the first game."

Have to agree, having just watched on replay. Lots of one pass and zero pass offence, very few screen plays, lots of one on one. Wesley's injury probably affected Phoenix's play choices but precious little evidence of a plan B. Just Roberson shaking and baking then taking and making 3s. For Melbourne, Trimble seemed to be trying to outdo Roberson in beating the other team one on one.

Have to think both teams will be better in a couple of weeks but Phoenix have to thank Roberson's shooting and Melbourne's lack of offensive organisation for this win.

And both teams shot pretty poorly, Roberson aside.

"Lots of one pass and zero pass offence, very few screen plays, lots of one on one."

Phoenix ran the high on-ball over and over again and got good results out of it. They often pinned three guys to the baseline and effectively ran a two-man game daring Melbourne to find a way to stop it. In the end they got back into the game on the back of Ili's denial D, with Roberson's foul trouble also helping a lot.

Zodiac, now they've got b solar, what’s the chances it goes the same way lol