DrinkWise Preview: NBL25 - Round 15 v Adaleide 36ers

Melbourne United will look to start the new year with a bang when we head on the road for a matchup with the Adelaide 36ers.

Having registered a pair of 20-point wins in our previous games against the Sixers in NBL25, we will be hoping to make it a clean sweep of our three regular season matchups on Saturday.

A win would ensure we would stay in a top-two position on the ladder, while a defeat could see the team drop as low as fourth on the table.

For Adelaide, every game is a must-win as they look to lift themselves up into a play-in spot.

WHO’S HOT, WHO’S NOT

(Past five games)
United - L, L, L, L, W

36ers - W, L, L, L, W

After allowing four straight games of 97 or more points, all of which were losses, our defence looked back to its suffocating best against the Taipans on Boxing Day.

Dean Vickerman will be preaching the importance of continuing this defensive consistency, as when holding teams under 90 points, we have won our past eight game.

It’s a similar story for Adelaide, who conceded more points per game than any other team in the competition.

When conceding more than 100 points this season, the Sixers have a 0-10 record. In both previous games against Adelaide, we have scored an average of 109.5 points.

STARS COLLIDE

Through both of our matchups with the 36ers this season, we have done a strong job of keeping their stars in check.

While Kendrick Davis has averaged 23.5 points across the two games, this has mostly come on the back of his 26 made free-throws, with the American averaging just five made field-goals per game.

This is a result of tight defence by the league’s best rim protector, Marcus Lee, who has tallied five blocks against Adelaide this season.

GAME INFO

Who: Melbourne United vs Adelaide 36ers

Tip-off: 5:30pm AEDT, Saturday 4 January, 2025

Where: Adelaide Entertainment Centre, Adelaide

Watch: ESPN