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The Brisbane Bullets will be looking to put a heap of injuries behind them and put on a better performance against the inconsistent Melbourne United in Round 16 of the NBL.
The Bullets have struggled with injuries over the last month to sit last in the competition, the finals looking a bridge too far.
Their form is atrocious, but with Cameron Bairstow, Anthony Petrie and now Adam Gibson on the sideline, it’s not difficult to understand why.
Given Brisbane were in the top four just a few weeks ago though, it goes to show the closeness of the competition and how easy it can be to come unstuck – or drop to the bottom of the table.
With a record of nine wins and 14 losses, they aren’t mathematically out of contention for the finals yet, but Andrej Lemanis’ men will have to win virtually every game to the end of the season, using the 14-win mark as the cut-off.
Even then it would come down to series splits, but winning every game from now until the playoffs seems a dream for the Bullets.
Gibson was carrying their offence in the last fortnight, with Torrey Craig, Jermaine Beal, Daniel Kickert and even Tom Jervis being inconsistent and unusually quiet.
The last week saw the Bullets going down to the Illawarra Hawks by five and the New Zealand Breakers by two. Both games they were in positions to win, but couldn’t close it out down the stretch.
Melbourne United, on the other hand, have been below their expected output this season but remain in the playoffs battle.
The signature of Casper Ware to replace Cedric Jackson was an absolute masterstroke, the new import leading all scorers and fending off Jerome Randle with 22.58 points per game.
Melbourne will be looking for an easy victory here, but the result will come down to what their offence can produce.
It looked the goods in their last start, a four-point win over the Cairns Taipans, yet fell away badly playing the Adelaide 36ers in the game before, as they went down by 27.
This inconsistency, with United reverting back to a one-dimensional offence, frustrated fans early in the season and is holding them back from the top two spots – the club sitting third, with 11 wins, a record well below expectations for a team with such firepower.
Prediction
Brisbane’s finals hopes are hanging by a thread, but Melbourne will use their brilliant attacking weapons – Ware and Goulding – to heap more misery on the Bullets.
United by 13.
Key game information
Tip-off: 5:30pm (AEDT)
Venue: Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre, Brisbane, QLD
TV: Live, Fox Sports 503
Online: Live, NBL.TV
Betting: 36ers $1.50, Bullets $2.30
Last meeting: Boxing Day – United 97-57 Bullets at Hisense ArenaBrisbane Bullets (expected)
Point guard: Jermaine Beal
Shooting guard: Reuben Te Rangi
Small forward: Torrey Craig
Power forward: Daniel Kickert
Centre: Mitchell Young
Bench: Shaun Bruce, Tom Jervis, Tom Fullarton, Jarryd Bairstow, Isaih Tueta, Jeremy KindleMelbourne United (expected)
Point guard: Casper Ware
Shooting guard: Chris Goulding
Small forward: Todd Blanchfield
Power forward: David Andersen
Centre: Majok Majok
Bench: Nate Tomlinson, David Barlow, Kyle Adnam, Devin Williams, Ramone Moore, Owen Odigie, Josh Boone
Follow Scott on Twitter @sk_pryde