I think the first 5 mins will be telling for Melbourne. Either that game 1 collapse has destroyed their will to compete, or they'll come out firing from the opening tip.

Still going with United but Goulding can't afford another rubbish game.

Will be pretty hard to come back after game 1's incredible choke. Not sure United can recover, but what i'd like to see is:

-Kidd given starter minutes
-Barlow given bench minutes and ideally not sighted in 4th quarter
-Goulding to NOT take fadeaway 3 point shots with 14 seconds left on the shot clock when leading comfortably in last quarter
-If Trimble is hot, don't bench him

If the above happens, they could take it to a 3rd game.

@tribe.
Good call. How United blew that lead was unbelievable.
Trimble needs another big game. Leave him out there all game. Home court advantage. I never get it. It's a basketball court it’s the same length with hoops at either end. Sydney to use the fans as a motivator.
Sydney have to defend better early in game. It was embarrassing Saturday night.
Ware needs a big game for Sydney. He was rubbish the other night. Bogut needs to engage shooters in defense & not just let United shoot & collect the ball out of the basket.
Keep him off court as much as possible. Moves like a building.
Hope it’s a good game with refs having minimal impact.

Oh god, the Corey curse right on the tip off

Looks like a healthy crowd.

Nothing better than NBL playoffs. Exciting!

United should get game 2, Sydney will be keen, but if they don't control the perimeter, that is where the Soy Sippers will get this one

Tate is dirty.

Tate should be suspended

Ahhh there it is the soy reference. Better late than never!

Wtf casper didn't get credited with an assist on the kickout to tate for 3? Serves me right for betting on a market relying on nbl stat keepers to be accurate

Kidd offensive foul, charge. Was no way a charge.

Ware like Saturday shooting. 1/6 from field. 0/4 from 3 point range. Embarrassing shooting.

For a guy who copped so much criticism this season (most of it well deserved) Long is absolutely killing it in this playoff series

So far, Long showing Bogut who really deserved 2nd team all NBL

Let's see if Long does it in the 4th Q, that's usually been his problem this season.

Bogut is most effective off the bench. No wonder the NBA got rid of him. All hype and nothing else.

Well, see ya'll Thursday, I guess. Kings playing like they thought United were just going to roll over

Totally agree.Shouldnt even be considered for Boomers

Ware stinking it up two years in a row at playoff time.

25pt+ lead for MEL? YESSSSSSSS. Please don't choke like last time. #AnyoneButSydney

United you idiots.

If only you had not choked in Game 1 you'd be booking tickets to Cairns or Perth.

Has Lisch been back on since starting

@perth wilburs.
Partly correct. Bogut is best on the bench. Keep him off the floor

Cairns v Melbourne

United you idiots.

If only you had not choked in Game 1 you'd be booking tickets to Cairns or Perth.

Well, if you thought Melbourne played like pussies at the end of game one, I present to you this Sydney Kings 2nd quarter.

Lack of Defense is what is losing this game for Sydney. It is a one way highway, while their offence is crap they are getting a stop, and then getting assists in transition.

I have no idea why they arent playing Moller more minutes. He has clearly been their best defender all season by the numbers. I would take minutes off Bruce, bogut and play a combination of cooks, moller and Tate as small ball fast lineup.

Moller is probably still underdone after recovering from injury? Works for me.

If you removed the last 6 and a half minutes of game 1, Long and Trimble have 89 points to Sydney's 93 over this first 1.5 games.

So what you're saying is Long and Trimble BEAST MODE? Start a thread.

30 point margin. Lovely.

48-7 since quarter time.

50-7.

It's the way it shatters that matters.

Better keep launching 3s Sydney

38-0 run ended. How awesome is this?

Just tuned in. 79-33. What the actual fuck am I watching?

85-36. #SeeIncredible

Last 15 minutes. 59 or 12 United.

what the actual fuck haha

For all this talk about how dominant Sydney has been...

They started 11-1

9-7 since then

Playing with a lineup for the first time. And it's the playoffs

They haven't been dominant for a long time, nor have they had a consistent lineup

Xavier Cooks at half time of Game 1...

Question: you only have 37 points, what do you need to do?

Answer: We're the best team in the league, we'll be right

Who was he trying to convince?

This is what turds like Paul White deserve.

Melbourne playing excellent basketball, unselfish and not settling for the 3 but when they do spray one up they're hitting it otherwise it’s going through the hands till they find the open shot they want.
Their defence has choked the life out of Sydney.

Said it before & Ill say it again. Will Weaver is a fair weather coach. When the team shoots well, basic basketball they do well. He makes zero changes when things go bad, zero adjustments in defence.
Gaze like

I'm in disbelief

Wheres Homicide I thought he courtside with Hooley.

Is Weaver the new Demopolous or Gaze?

From memory, DD started 9-0 and Gaze 7-0

Weaver started 11-1 but he's got possibly the best team ever, on paper

I couldn't understand why anyone had Weaver COTY

United up by 56. This is surreal

Just pack up and play the development players. There's no saving pride if your down 50+ points no matter how much you put up in the fourth.

man they are pissed

Vickerman told his players not to let up during the last timeout.

*like*

Has LK pulled the pants down on AEG/Paul White and all their spending and rule bending at the last second of the season? If so bravo.

Corey's earphones doesn't work. He says hi and says Sydney are done. This series is over. He told me Sydney are like fake news, creates alot of hype but is all bullshit.

Melbourne up by 55 hahahaha.

Didn't his wife or mother start defending him on here after that choke as the G-League final started after the Kings announcement of his hiring. Classic. Will she reappear after a Game 3 loss?

Maybe Melbourne can go one better and win by 100 on Thursday.

We picked a bad week to unveil the retro Sydney Spirit throwback roster.

Trust fund, baby!

and two Next Stars.

[I actually think Melbourne had the best team "on paper" this season. Especially if Prather is fit.]

Possibly at the start of the year but not since Sydney signed Cooks, no way

To be fair to Weaver, they didn't have Cooks when they started the year so well

But you need a sustainable game plan. You need to scout the opposition and make changes when they scout you. That's what Mediocre coaches can't do. Anyone can coach a team to a winning streak for a few weeks

I'm really enjoying the smiles wiped off Ware and Tate.

Shout out to Paul Smith.

Could it be a Taipans v United final?

Taipans with home court advantage? Make it happen!

FT MEL 125-80 SYD.

Ridiculously the final score line actually doesn't do United's performance justice.

LOL

#AnyoneButSydney

Ware stinks again. 10 points. Kings stink. Will Weaver sucks balls

I just wanna see United get some revenge on Perth!

Could happen too- United owned Perth during the regular season

(Then again, Sydney owned United so maybe regular season means nothing!)

Agree with commentator suggestions- Bring Newley or Didi into starting 5 for Cooks

That's a good starting point.

If Bogut's body isn't right, bench him too. Run small ball Cooks/Tate/Newley/Lisch/Ware

Not calm, in shock

Think that was the biggest shellacking I've ever seen

For all Boguts shit talking, the pressure is really on Sydney.
They have a stacked roster that cost a bundle and have been title favourites all year.
Similar to the GSW breaking Chicago's regular season win/loss record and then losing the finals, Sydney have been top of the table all year and it’s starting to look like it was all for nothing if Melbourne can play like this in game 3.

[United owned Perth during the regular season]

Technically I think it was 2-2 and United only + 20

But that's very misleading. United were far superior across 4 games, especially when absences and circumstances are considered

Still, I'm not counting chickens. Sage words from David Andersen. I've been watching Bogut, Casper too long to believe United has this in the bag

Perth must be licking their lips

Totally agree, I think Sydney Melbourne game 3 is a 50/50 proposition

I expect Perth to beat Cairns. But I still give Cairns a very serious chance of winning. The odds I saw were about Perth $1.50 Cairns $2.55 Or so. That seems about right to me.

No big deal. As a part owner, Bogeyman just wanted the extra ticket sales of a game 3.

Ware playing like he has somewhere else to be on the weekend.

Bogut choking so far. He's barely scored in the series.

Unfortunately, I was surprised Melbourne lost Game 1. Kings were completely shut down by Melbourne except for the last 6 minutes. Game 2 is more reflective of where the teams are ATM - ie As I've said all year - Kings' Achilles heel - the inability to defend the on-ball all year. W Weaver outcoached and outplayed - has no answer to Kings inability to defend then on-ball. Letting Taylor go for Lisch was a mistake. No plays to free up shooters. Every shot is against the defence. The only legit player Kings have is Tate.

Bogut never defends the perimeter, but the way Long even dominated him inside tonight says that either Bogut lacks passion, or his body is completely cooked

I'm giving him the benefit of the doubt. I'm calling BS on his late season "resting". His body's done. If so, then is this the last we'll see of him? How does this bode for Tokyo? Boomers need him healthy....

Bogut choking so far. He's barely scored in the series.

21 And 9 still the best record in the league. And home teams usually win. Pretty good for a new guy. But it doesn't look good for the Kings on Thursday. Some times a big old dose of humble pie is what's needed. But this kind of butt whipping will be hard to overcome. Guess we'll find out Thursday.

21 And 9 still the best record in the league. And home teams usually win. Pretty good for a new guy. But it doesn't look good for the Kings on Thursday. Some times a big old dose of humble pie is what's needed. But this kind of butt whipping will be hard to overcome. Guess we'll find out Thursday.

NBLfacts @nblfacts
No team in NBL history has ever lost a playoff game by as many as the Kings did tonight and recovered to win the series.

They will indeed.
If they advance, they will be the only greatest NBL lineup of all time to reach the finals.
Meanwhile if they lose, they will be the only greatest NBL lineup of all time to fail to reach the finals.

Plus let's not forget they are the team with the biggest ladder lead after nine rounds in NBL history. #SeeIncredible

If the Crumbles don't win through to the grand final Billy Beaver could be a one season wonder.

More refs poor decision making. Giving it to Sydney. Home cooking strikes again

Trimble has been great but a bit of hero ball there.

FFS Goulding.

United fall apart again. Should have won series in2. Go out in 3.

Will the same thing happen in Perff?

Wrong thread George you mong.

@Perthworld.
It's the right thread you wanker.
Will Cairns fail in Perffff just like United has?

Game 2 was on Monday.

Hint: today is Thursday.

Are you in Perfffff, Perthworld? That would explain your failure to understand. Oh & thanks I know it's Thursday. 2020 here in Sydney too. What year in Perff? 1985? Nightly night.

Thanks Refs! Even I think United hard done by. (Kings fan)