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Adelaide 36ers vs Melbourne United |
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|---|---|---|
2016/17 NBL Season, 13 January 2017 |
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| Titanium Security Arena, Adelaide, SA | ||
| Adelaide 36ers | Melbourne United | |
| 100 | SCORE | 73 |
| 17 | Q1 | 24 |
| 24 | Q2 | 18 |
| 24 | Q3 | 17 |
| 35 | Q4 | 14 |
It might be the NBL’s heritage round, but the closest competition in history will roll on when Round 15 gets underway with the Adelaide 36ers looking to move closer to a confirmed finals spot when they host the in-form Melbourne United. Join The Roar for live scores from 7:30pm (AEDT).
The 36ers have had a monumental second half of the season, going on a massive winning streak to sit top of the table and well clear of their nearest rivals.
It started with a double-drubbing of the Sydney Kings six weeks ago and while they lost to Melbourne a fortnight ago, they hit back in a big way during Round 14, running up 117 and 113 points against the Illawarra Hawks and New Zealand Breakers respectively.
The incredible offence of the 36ers has been their strong point all the way through this run, but last week proved they could take it up another gear. Their defence has been lacking, but they simply haven’t needed to draw on it in the last six weeks.
Jerome Randle has been leading the way for the club and should be well on his way to a league MVP award averaging 22.6 points per game and combining with Daniel Johnson, Nathan Sobey and Brendan Teys to form the most dangerous offensive unit in the league.
Melbourne themselves have been no slouches on offence but spent much of the season in recovery mode after losing Chris Goulding to injury and moving on the under-performing Cedric Jackson.
With Goulding back on the floor and replacement import Casper Ware leading the league for points, United have still struggled for consistency, but such is the closeness of the league winning three out of their last four has propelled them into the fourth spot, ahead of the Sydney Kings.
Another of Melbourne’s new imports, Josh Boone has also been dynamic on the floor and brought another edge to United as they have gone on this small winning streak, the forward averaging 7.25 rebounds per game.
If everyone clicks, United could well claim the mantle from the 36ers of best attacking team, but like Adelaide their defence has been soft with Majok Majok and the other big men simply not providing what they need in the paint.
Prediction
The 36ers played some outstanding offensive Basketball last weekend, but there are real questions surrounding whether they can repeat that this time.
Melbourne will need to muscle up in defence, but with a strong offence themselves up against the weak defence of Adelaide this could be an insanely high scoring game.
At home though, Jerome Randle should power to the 36ers to a narrow victory.
36ers by 4.
Be sure to join The Roar for live scores of this crucial Round 15 NBL match from 7:30pm (AEDT) and don’t forget to add your own comments in the section below.
Follow Scott on Twitter @sk_pryde