No one outside of adelaide and the gong are happy if the hawks win.... go you good thing! United 6 pts in thw 2nd ouch....

Wow, wheels really coming off at MU.
How do you go from beating Perth in Perth, to losing against Crocs and TWICE against the Hawks.

"Battle for the top 4" just got a whole lot LESS interesting.
Only thing to be decided is who plays who, might as well toss a coin and bring on the finals.
Disappointing when you consider that for a long time it looked like a 6 horse race.

Score? Live stats has stopped working for me

gong by 6

Melb 73 Gong 81

76/82 Gong wins. exit NBL Web and reneter to reset the live stats.

Ok Ok
Melb 76 Gong 82

Goodbye DMAC....

United has been incredibly bad lately.

If they were a race horse there would be a stewards inquiry for sure.

Laughable. Can United even really catch us from this point?

Even if Melbourne win out from here I think Adelaide have to lose two of the final three to miss out.

@GWB "Can United even really catch us from this point?"

They easily still can. This is the run home.

United has @ Cairns, @ Townsville, @ Sydney, Sydney
Adelaide has @NZ, Perth, @Hawks

IF United win all games and Sixers win only the Hawks game then it will be equal and United with go through.

There is also the possibility that the Sixers lose all 3 games and then United just have to win 3 out of 4

Sixers are in a good position but they are still not out of pressure yet.

Massive under-achievement for United this year and not the best way to start out under there new identity. Many people had them to finish top 2 this year, just goes to show you can have a loaded roster and still not be a champion team.

Kudos to Hawks though, shame they weren't playing this well from the start of the season.

Blanchfield at half time 7 RB and 18 points against NZ who have not played Pledger yet ??? Thinking the Sixers front court will manage.

I don't think United is that loaded anyway. Who have they got really? An aging worthington - who hasn't had a great game in atleast 3 years. An aging Barlow? - the same goes, but can hit the three. McCrae? - probably the most overrated import to come to the league in recent times. Kickery? Soft as butter. They have nothing consistent inside and live and die by the three.

No on or off court leadership. Need to move Wortho and his attitude out. He's like the kid kicking stones in the playground cause no one wants to play with him. Until someone is honest with him a nd tells him it's his attitude that needs to change no one will...

United have a loaded starting five but not the greatest bench with Tomlinson and particularly Walker not having the same impact as last season.

@GWB You are close to the money that United are very overrated.

Worthington however has had several great games over the past 3 years but he is getting old. Also no way is Mcrae overrated. He is very talented and a similar player to Ennis.

Kickett is no way a Marquee player and Barlow is overrated.

Melbourne tanking to get more lottery picks, oh hang on wrong thread!

I find Barlow most frustrating, (at the risk of offending Adelaide fans) he reminds me of Darren Ng, who used to just stand on the wing and wait for a 3 pt shot. Barlow is worse though because he has the size to do something else. I can't believe he was a boomer.

You can't believe a 6'9 SF who could defend and can three-pointers at 40% could be a Boomer?

Townsville beat NZ, I don't see NZ losing two in a row, and 36ers have NZ up next, in NZ.

On that, Perth match is really do or die for us. If we can beat Perth and not slip up against the Hawks, we make it. If we lose to Perth as well and beat the Hawks, then we're hoping United lose to Cairns, and we still make it. If we lose to the Hawks as well, then United will likely make it.

Just realised KJ said the exact same thing. But yes, pressure is still on the 36ers. In saying that, at least it is very much in our own hands, and if we can't beat NZ in NZ or Perth in Adelaide then it's as if we have had our playoff shot and simply got eliminated. We are basically playing the playoff series before the playoffs.

"United are done. Think they recruited too many older players and had an unbalanced roster."

Yeah I think the "loaded" label was based on history, not on the future.
Worthington is a great player, but at 31 he's getting on, and trying to carry that front court on his own.
Corletto at 32 appears to be past it.
Barlow (31) also seems to be going down hill.
Kickett (31) ditto.
Walker (30) past it.
It's like the geriatric ward.
Lot of good players play on well into their 30's, but I just think they've got too many who are apparently struggling to play out the season.

I also think that they have realised their season is over, and may be struggling for motivation.

Time to rebuild.

Keep three older players and send the rest into retirement so they can bring in a lot of players with potential in their early twenties.

New coach, team-first ethic, and maybe in two years they could challenge for the finals.

If I was Melbourne I would've got a Centre instead of Barlow.

Well this is turning out to be a very sorry end to a season that looked very promising not all that long ago...

United's achilles heal has been rebounding and interior defense all season. That's remained consistent. But when they've gotten the running game going and shot confidently, it hasn't mattered. Turnovers, and rebounds don't seem to matter to this team- when they run and hit threes they'll win. The last two games have been some of the ugliest stuff I've seen in professional basketball.

In terms of individuals, only 3 guys have had a decent season and the rest have been disappointments to me.

The 3 are obviously Wortho, McRae and Patton. Everyone else has has delivered less than I expected.

I should add, it's when they pressure the ball and force the opponent into turnovers, then run and hit threes they are great. But they're a one trick pony. Great teams are multi dimensional and can throw numerous looks at you. Because of the limitations in the make up and balance of their roster, United have not been able to do that.

United Achilles heel is it's coach. Great player undoubtedly but he will go the way of Chris A...... what was his name?

Wortho has had some great games this season but he isn't a great leader. He lets his personal battles with his opponents and the refs distract him from playing the team game.

There would only be a few coaches who could manage the attitude of Wortho on court. He dawdles down court sulking about calls and only puts in an effort when he feels like it. It's like watching an U14 who didn't make it to Div 1. Remove him and I think you will find the team will gel better, and get a decent PG to run the show.

Why did McMillan not get court time in the last ???? I would have pulled Wortho for his lack of effort and fitness

Tigers/United for all the years have never been known for the defence and nothing has changed.They must make Goorijan there number 1 priority.

They were a very good defensive team in the run of four straight grand finals, and last season they were one of the better defensive teams.

This year, when their pressure has been on, they've been the best at forcing turnovers, but their intensity has just been too inconsistent.

The lineup is unbalanced but is still extremely talented. The coaching is the main problem in Melbourne

As a United supporter that continues to defend them I have to say its getting harder to justify defending them.
Was at last nights game and poor body language plus lack of outward enthusiasm from both coaches and players was very very ordinary.
How are supporters meant to get excited?????????

Watching the game, I was very critical of United on Twitter and obviously I'm not alone. Very poor body language and effort. Some of that comes down to players, but as much on the coach for not getting and keeping them in line. If your stars are trouble, bench them.

You can't put it down to roster or age. Walker, Corletto, Barlow, Kickert and Wortho are all 30-32 going by figures listed - should be in their prime. Forman is 33, Davidson 31, Coenraad 30, Ballinger 35 - the Hawks seemed able to execute their plays more often than not. Only Walker really relies on athleticism that might fade with time.

Hawks played well (besides against the press). Martin was left to play his preferred casual style, United barely respected Davidson and the others did enough. Carson had two assists to Nevill I was really impressed with.

It'll be interesting to see if Melbourne respond and put up a fight for finals, or whether they lazily phone it in.