Great start by Odigie.. and Kickert!

Odigie!!!!!!

Odigie's played like 10 mins all year and suddenly he's starting in the most important game of the season.

Melbourne really needs Holt and Goulding to fire up if they're going to have a chance.

You cannot reward players who pre empt a potential foul and play for a "shot" that was never going to otherwise be a shot.

Love that aggression HAKIM - keep it coming

Whinging players and crying Coaches improve the spectacle

Smart play by Cedric.

That was a terrible call. Refs that make a more controversial decision instead of the common sense one have lost the plot.

I've never seen a player shoot a three 25 feet from the hoop with their big guy one foot away and running towards them to set a pick and roll....

Great second Q by CG43. United desperately needed someone to get hot and break the game open. Warrick has kept the scoreboard ticking over but CG has taken his game to another level with combination of attacking the hoop and his trade mark 3's.

But I thought it was United who get all the calls their way??

This has got to be the decider. NZ can sweep the series here, but if MU can reverse it it, I wouldn't forsee NZ winning again in Melbourne.

Tai Wesley says don't brung thet shut unto thus buldung

Come on nz bros. I want to see cats v breakers again cuz. (Btw once you have beaten MU feel free to go back to your infighting ways during the GF)

Does Charles Jackson ever just put his hand up and accept the foul?

That Shane Healy guy is playing some useful minutes

Shea Illi playing really well off the bench for a DP. Looking like a solid backup for Ced Jackson moving forward.

Shane Ili > Webster.
Webster is such a confidence player, I dont understand the minutes he is getting at the moment!

Wow, Ced... Again...

Illi can defend and has hops but Ced Jackson is clutch

Get Tomlinson off NOW!

Tick tick tick boom!

Too much time left for Melbourne to jack up rubbish threes. Suicidal stuff those last few possessions.

Complete lack of poise by Goulding & Holt.

CJ v Goulding. Ili having a great game. Best defender of Goulding we have. Should be playing more. But 5 to go and we have 10 point lead. We are in the drivers seat. United look rattled. Keep throwing up those prayers.
Webster time.

Good night Melbourne!

When was the last time the top seed was swept in the first round?

I bet everyone is wishing teams played it so Adelaide made the finals instead now...

It all started with that bad Tomlinson long 2, since then I don't know if Melbourne have run a set.

Well, credit where it's due.
United were a very entertaining regular season team.

Unfortunately for the Finals series, Perth and NZ weren't...

Ced Jackson looking like the finals MVP Ced Jackson and Abercrombie coming up clutch down the stretch

I've mentioned this so many times before, but the Breakers are on a whole different level come finals time. They should be hard favourites to take out the title again.

Given that we couldn't keep the Hawks off the boards, it doesn't take very imaginative dreaming.

NZ are probably the one team that matches up OK inside against Perth with Pledger, Vukona, Tai and Jackson (when not in foul trouble).

@anon183 - I am a Perth supporter and Perth will be fearful of Breakers.

Agreed.
I sure didn't want them in the playoffs.

Webster goes 9/29 and NZ still wins both games.

Holt 8/28, Goulding 14/39.

Vukona and Damian Martin get away with more contact on the perimeter than anyone else in the league.

Breakers will win it so that's something atleast.

NZ Vs Perth Grand Final...AGAIN - Boring.

Credit to them both and their organisations though...just a tad tedious for me.

I never bet against Perth at home in Playoffs. They are still my tip for the Championship.

Tomlinson back on, shoots the brick, Blanchfield gun shooter hasn't had a shot this quarter

Great season United - proud of the team
Did very well for pretty much a new team of players & coach against teams who have had steady rosters for years

Starting to look like a lower tier Euro league, same two teams winning it each year.

United should never of rested players against NZ in the first or their 2 last regular season games. Momentum in basketball is everything. Looking forward to another chapter in the Perth vs NZ rivalry.

Melbourne finished top, but lost their last 4 games, all against the same team. Funny how it only takes one bad match-up to deny a Championship.

LOL! Yeah blowouts galore.
So many blowouts in this league that they might as well re-name it to the "NBL" next season. LOL!

Blanchfield maybe the most disappointing Aussie of the year, going for up-and-coming star to invisible role player.

Majok Majok going from a league-leading rebound machine to basically invisible in the last third of the season.

Strange year for Melbourne.

Good bye bubbles. Maybe next year you tool. Ok NZ remember when that guy did that thing that the other guy didn't like and your coach and GM leaving? Yeah, well remember that and talk about it on the way over the dutch

May have ended in somewhat of a blow-out, but Melbourne was winning at half time in both games. It's not like they never were in it.

Well done Breakers. Abercrombie, Wesley came up big. United not in it really in Q4. Holt mia. Goulding's outrageous shots will drop occasionally but they never drop when you want them to.
The refs pinched a game off us early in the season. So we had their number...
Perth will be tougher.

I'd say their lack of finals experience played a bigger part in losing than the "momentum" they lost in the final two games.

Love you CG43 - please come back next season

Haters gonna hate

YEAH BREAKERS!! Bring on the GF- I hope Kirk Penney drops 35 tomorrow and Hawks win the series so we can beat them in the GF!

Wesley isn't an import because he lived in Guam for half an hour.

Wanted United to win but was never convinced by The coaching during the season, let alone the finals.

I hope they bring in a tougher coach who doesn't have a bromance with Goulding. Goulding needs a good kick up the jacksy - he believes in the hype too much.

Go Breakers!!! Do NOT let Perth beat you.

It already is a top 6. Don't take it too hard. Mummy's got the tissues ready.

Yeah should be a great series if Perth can put the Hawks away. Perth need to close it out in two and hope no one goes down injured.

NZ with the opportunity to make it 5 titles in 6 seasons and continue the dynasty.
Amazing turn of form considering the started the season poorly missing a few key players and then found some form and rattled off some wins before imploding and turning to crap and then just scraped into the playoffs on after sorting their shit again.

Why is Tai Wesley not regarded as an import?

Breakers #1 rebounding team in the league and owned the series against Perth again this season.

"When was the last time the top seed was swept in the first round?"
1988.

Perth fans definitely lead hoops.com.au in obnoxious anonymous posters.

Obviously this is something else we must blame Perth for? FMD

NZ have won 4 titles in 5 years, obviously they were going to be a tough opponent if they made the finals.
Melbourne dug their own grave when they threw the first game against NZ in the final round, then came out with their CBF attitude in the 2nd. As I said before that week, you don't want to hand that kind of psychological edge to a team you will then meet in the finals. LK should sack whoever made that great strategic decision.

From a Perth perspective, I had no great desire to see the sheeplanders in yet another GF series. Might Perth have eased off in that final game if Adelaide had a chance? We'll never know because it was dead-rubber from the moment MU decided to throw that 1st game.

We still have to get past the Hawks before we can start talking about the GF, but NZ will be a bloody tough opponent for whoever makes it.

Now I suppose the interest turns to what LK will do in the off-season in his next attempt to buy a title. Adelaide fans might want to consider what they can do to keep Randle out of LK's paws.
I'd say chances of the 3-import rule going ahead just increased.

I'm really hoping tomorrow Penney uncorks the genie and goes off for 60 points to make this finals series actually interesting because right now i'm yawning my way into a self induced coma.

What does it take for a close finish in this league?

It's a shame how things shook out, because a Melbourne-Hawks semi or finals probably would've been a series for the ages.

Agree with Angus completely... Blanchfield went from fringe boomer potential to MIA after game 1. Majok either got found out in a big way or is completely disinterested... Remember talk of him finishing the season with ten boards a game?

So that makes it Dockers (AFL), Roosters (NRL) , Scorchers (BBL) and United (NBL) all finishing top of the ladder and not making grand finals (unless I'm wrong) so that seems like a bit of a curse to me.

I anticipate copping a lot of shit for this but to me Mitch Young should be the most sought after player in the market for next season... Games are refugee differently in finals and he is the sort of hard nosed tough defender that will cause issues come playoff time. If Damo and Mila can get away with what they do by being tough and fair then maybe Mitch Young could forge a similar reputation.

Well done to the Breakers so it's Kenny/Penney vs. the Breakers

I like Mitch Young, but wow, that's a big call.

HAHAHAHHA

Mitch Young

???

?

Starting to look like a lower tier Euro league, same two teams winning it each year.

How much did MU spend this year. Their coach has no clue on FIBA basketball, hence all his crazy last minute ideas don't work. Over talented playing group for this league but no helm. Goulding has gone from a grind it out work hard guard to a complete Lark, with his strut down the floor and all his other BS. When it works it looks great, when he can't pull it off in clutch it is embarrassing.

No intent to foul a player should ever be rewarded, it needs to always be penalised (hence the multiple of rule changes in the past 15 years, USF break away, foul before the inbound, hard foul verses intentional foul). MU had a foul to give, thought yep lets foul Jackson. Unfortunately when your coach is yelling at one of the dumbest players in the NBL to foul Jackson, of course he is going to jack up a shot. You foul a player in the act of shooting, it should be shots. Hence they got this call correct and it was the right call.

Game control was good tonight. Brad didn't even try and make the game all about him. I can't stand the guy as a ref but I must admit he has stepped up well in the finals. The call on CG for pushing down Abercrombie leg will be a highlight in FIBA training videos when describing Right Call, but Incorrect Call. Lucky there is that little bit in the rule book which speaks about spirit of the game, intent of the rules and gives officials leeway when something happens in the game in which the law makers never thought anybody would be so childish to attempt to pull off.

Nice work Sixers, you might not of got to win the championship but allowing NZ to take your place might have the biggest influence on this years winner

Blanchfield maybe the most disappointing Aussie of the year, going for up-and-coming star to invisible role player.

Majok Majok going from a league-leading rebound machine to basically invisible in the last third of the season.

Strange year for Melbourne.

I'll bet they felt pretty happy with their acquisition when he had amassed 44 points & 23 boards after 2 games.
He was certainly looking good to me, anyway.

Things went mostly in the southerly direction from him from that point, unfortunately.

You're damn right I said Mitch Young, in this series is have picked him over Daniel Kickert of whom looked soft, scared and clueless... Young gives away too many overzealous fouls but they aren't always called in playoffs and with the shit that Goulding and Holt were throwing up I'd rather pick the additional rebounder as Majok wasn't getting it done and the All NBL first team honour seems to have gone to Kickert's head.

Only thing Kickert gave that Young can't and never will was clutch free throws but in a fantasy world where Young was coming off the bench behind Kickert, I'd be dragging him if his shot isn't dropping and putting Young in to play extended minutes and give Kickert fouls up his sleeve in clutch time.

Yes I'd pick Young up before Garlepp as Garlepp doesn't look interested running the floor, can't defend the perimeter, doesn't rebound and unless he replaces Foreman in Illawarra's starting line up I can't see him having a bigger role next season than he had this season unless he stays in Sydney.

Disappointing finish to the season for United. In the final analysis it was experienced finals campaigners like Jackson. Vukona and Abercrombie who won it for NZ. Along with of course, dominating the boards.

Meanwhile Kickert is seriously overrated. All NBL first team but the only thing he's elite at is shooting the ball. Him only getting 5 rebounds in 60 minutes of time was one of the main reasons United were swept.

At least there will be a silver lining to Holt's late season and playoff disappearance: it should decrease his value on the open market, giving United a better chance of bringing him back. Hopefully he'll be better for the experience: like Wilbekin last year, Cedric Jackson showed him that the big boys come to play at the business end. But Holt is young and has talent. United should try copying the Wildcats formula- there's something to be said for import continuity. I'm thinking of Lisch, Beal.

Where to from here? I'm not sure. Is the rebounding issue a terminal one for this team? Or can great ball control and offensive execution overcome it? Because if the former then we simply need to improve the frontcourt. I think Kickert initially signed a 3 yr deal. If so, 1 year left. That kind of means the rebounding issue is here to stay.

I honestly believe if United had a tough, physical guy at the 4 spot: eg: Wortho, Vukona, instead of soft Kickert, they'd be the best team in the competition. Instead, we were unlucky enough to get our nightmare matchup, and got beaten up by the Breakers.

Interesting times ahead.

@ anon I just checked, the dishes are still sitting there.

Perhaps I can contemplate Uniteds future while I do them.

Argh, my weekend just got worse ;-)

Well there are plenty of reasons I'd love to see NZ defeat Perth, one of them being all the money I've got on them, including the extra I slipped on @ $3.20 before the game this arvo

But another will be that it'll hopefully cause Dazz to tone down his bullshit

"Unlucky enough to get our nightmare matchup"

I believe many Adelaide fans, whether right or wrong, will suggest otherwise and counter with the view United got what they deserved, with the last round decision to rest players being a footnote in the Breakers dynasty story (a fictional story according to some).

I slept on NZ this year. But once I saw them in Game 1, I knew they were going to sweep the series. I really, really don't want NZ to win again this year. It is becoming a little bit embarrassing from an Australian perspective.

Adelaide weren't good enough to beat Illawarra or Perth, so United's decision to rest players was irrelevant- if United had won both games NZ would still have finished 4th and Adelaide would have missed out.

Adelaide weren't good enough to beat Illawarra or Perth, so United's decision to throw a game was irrelevant

Let's be honest, the Breakers are a National team playing against club teams - they should be dominating.

Yeah that's my point about Young... You'd take Kickert, DJ and to a lesser extent Ogilvy every day of the week of the likes of Young, Petrie (Wortgo, Vukona, Damo and Mark Dalton back in the day types) during the regular season but when it's playoffs and you're coming up against opponents that would run through a brick wall for their team and refs are only calling soft fouls then you don't want to appear like Kickert of whom looked like he was worried about having a hair out of place.

I seriously wonder what the strategy will be if teams get a third import, surely teams will go for a player with grunt otherwise it will forever be NZ and Perth grand fonals

Is Abercrombie still just an average shooter and nothing to fear?

Spot on Mystro, but you have to admit where has this Abercrombie been all year. He has the ability but I'm not sure he has the confidence to go to the Penney, Lish, He subbed for Webster last night down the stretch.
He could be the difference against Perth with that athleticism.

Abercrombie has been having a pretty solid season bar a couple of games where he went MIA but the whole team especially Ced Jackson and Corey Webster were in the same boat during that period. His defence is superb and his consistent outside shot and mid range jump shot makes him an even tougher guard.

Every once in a while Jack Toft gets on the turps and tries and talks up the one dimensional Mitch "Dr No J" Creek as surpassing Abercrombie but it's games like last night that show how large the gulf between the two really is.

Lol, agree.

Creek is a bum compared to Abercrombie. That guy is a serious baller.

Creek needs to be at least not scared to shoot from more than 10 feet to have any chance to catch Abercrombie. He passes up wide open shots all game, to the point where teams don't even bother defending him.
He has a lot of good abilities, but his shooting really holds him back as a player.

Abercrombie had a down patch when the team did, but apart from that he's had a super season, he does so much for the team at both ends of the floor, that's why he leads them in minutes per game.

I hope Mitch Young has an NBA out clause with the hype he's generating on this forum.

Mystro, it's my right as a goddam Adelaide fan to talk up Mitch Creek!

"So that makes it Dockers (AFL), Roosters (NRL) , Scorchers (BBL) and United (NBL) all finishing top of the ladder and not making grand finals (unless I'm wrong) so that seems like a bit of a curse to me."

The eventual winners all finished 3rd or 4th too. So NZ would have to be favourite, if the trend continues.

Mitch had an excellent finish to the season. Hopefully Adelaide have faith in him as their main SF next year and he delivers that form consistently.

Mystro...whilst Abercrombie is better than Mitch, in the past you have also said Terangi is better than Mitch - that's not accurate.

Wrong thread, Mystro. There's already one for 'Biased NZ Commentators'.

Abercrombie is 5 years older than Creek, and has been repeatedly hyped up as NBA-bound over the years. You'd hope that he is actually better than a fringe NBL starter.

Mitch "Dr No J" Creek:
22(MPG), 10(PPG), 54(FG%), 55(3P%), 63(True Shooting %)
Tom Abercrombie:
32(MPG), 14(PPG), 46(FG%), 38(3P%), 55(True Shooting %)

As well as Abercrombie has played this year, the gulf really isn't THAT great.

Mitch Creek 0.38/0.69 55%
Teams leave him wide open like 8 times a game and he only shoots it 0.69 times per game.
Percentage isn't everything.

Abercrombie is athletic and has a great midrange game, but he's just not very aggressive and that's what's held him back. Too many stretches where he fades into the background. Only similarity between him and Creek is that they are both athletic, but Abercrombie is more well-rounded. I'd like to see a shot chart for Abercrombie and Creek, because my eyes tell me that most of Creek's high FG% comes from inside the key.

Stoked. Eat that LK. Maybe next season he needs to steal another player from a struggling team so United can win a playoff game?

TeRangi showed real promise early on and is still very young. His 3 ball was on in his first couple of NZNBL seasons and he's athletic but his percentages fell off a cliff and he hasn't developed as hoped at NBL level. But again he is still young and if he can pull his finger out of his ass and work hard he may still reach his potential. His confidence also took a dive after his off court transgression almost cost him his career.

Fair enough call though in regards to my previous calls about Reuben TeRangi, I'll cop that one on the chin but BJ Anthony was a scrub and a bum until he pulled on a Sixers jersey apparently.....

Abercrombie's only flaw is lack of aggression, Creek is one dimensional and is only dangerous attacking the rim.

Abercrombie > Creek

Hendo, true shooting percentage takes into account the relative value of three pointers, which at least partially account for the difference in the attempts per game disparity.

Abercrombie IS clearly the better player, which you would hope given that he's 5 years older than Creek and has been hyped up as an NBA-caliber player.

Throwing in "Dr No J" was just a silly comment and a flawed argument given that Abercrombie has been a poor free throw shooter for years, has a worse FT% compared to Creek and has a comparable (not definitively superior) three point shot.

As others have mentioned: Abercrombie's mid-range game and ability to shoot of the dribble is elite. Creek playing well within his capabilities isn't a weakness though, particularly given the lower relative value of the mid-range jump shot.

Very true PlaymakerMo but you get way more bites with "Dr No J"....

Mystro, Abercrombie does have another flaw, dribbling. He is very shaky and thankfully limits it to 1,2 hop and does not try to do too much.

Hook, line, and sinker.

You guys watched Melbourne play right? Talk about Blanchfield was a local guy that can´t cut in on the big bucks, what blah blah rubbish. Did you watch game 2? I watched intently as in 13 minutes of the second half, the whole third and first 3 mins of the 4th, Blanchfield TOUCHED the ball twice. That´s right, even included there lame attempt at ball reversals, he touched it twice. So GTFO with any talk that Blanchfield has suddenly forgotten how to ball.

The United system turned him into David Barlow. I had wondered what happened to David Barlow and now realise he is living through Blanchfield. United´s sets, against the well-oiled machine, were an unimaginative disgrace. Pretending like there is ball movement as they go through a slow ball reversal that results in Goulding inevitably and predictably comes off a pick and tries to make something happen. Failing that, option 2 Holt attempts same thing. Option 3 hit Kickert for the 3, if there´s a close out... pretend he can take someone off the dribble. Option 3b, maybe dump into the post to a guy who once played NBA. None of those options to get any kind of look for Blanchfield unless he is naked for 3. Otherwise he runs up and down for 30 minutes, plays D and rebounds. If he stayed at Townsville and had another big year I think he´d be off to Europe next year, tough break, but definitely was a result of the system not Blanchfield ´feeling the pressure´ or any other Skip Bayless-style generality.

Having said that... this is also the thread that was comparing Abercrombie to Creek.

"Having said that... this is also the thread that was comparing Abercrombie to Creek."

To be fair I bought up that comparison from a previous thread a while ago so Adelaide fans had something to talk about :)