Game 1 of the 2024 NBL Championship Series is done and dusted, and Melbourne United looked nothing short of dominant.
Going into the contest, this series projected as one of the tightest in recent memory: the two best teams in the NBL, with comparable talent, who play a similar style of basketball. And, while both teams came out hot, it was United who were eventually able to impose themselves in a multitude of areas, ultimately running away with a 104-81 win and a 1-0 series lead.
Here are the key takeaways from Game 1.
A defensive masterclass from Melbourne
Defensive performances don't get much better than what United displayed on Sunday.
It's something we know this United team is capable of, because they have the personnel and showed it semi-consistently over the start of the season, but we hadn't seen it recently, and there were questions on whether they could lock down the league's No. 1 offence in the JackJumpers.
Well, that's exactly what they did. United held the JackJumpers to just a 101.1 offensive rating in Game 1; That's Tasmania's second-worst offensive showing of the season, and down significantly from their NBL-leading average of 118.7.
United just seemed to have their number. Pick-up points were high, making it difficult for the JackJumpers to get into their sets, with the point-of-attack defence from Shea Ili and Luke Travers, in particular -- on Jordon Crawford and Jack McVeigh, respectively -- stifling any sort of offensive rhythm. The JackJumpers dominated Perth's drops defence in the series prior, but the ability of United's guards to fight over screens and keep contact made sure the likes of Crawford and Milton Doyle didn't get quality looks in that in-between area. United's bigs were disciplined and disruptive, and protected the rim in an elite way from the second quarter onwards.
Crawford was held to just seven points on 3-of-13 shooting -- he was shadowed by Ili all night -- while Doyle managed 16 points, but had just 13 shot attempts.
"We preached connection," Vickerman said postgame.
"[We] thought our guards were really into it tonight, and our fives were in great positions to help. We contested mid-ranges as well; it's not just that we said, this is the shot we live with, we made it really tough for them to shoot that one as well. The biggest thing is how you rebound against this team, and I thought we hit first and saw the result.
"The connection has to be good enough so that they can't come off picks and shoot threes. We kept them to a pretty low rate from the three-point line, drove them into our bigs, where we think we got great rim protection."
The job Travers did on McVeigh was also extremely impressive, staying in front of the JackJumpers' second-leading scorer, while using his athleticism to beat him to spots. McVeigh finished with 13 points on 4-of-11 shooting, but most of that came in the fourth quarter when the game was already decided.
"We felt it through the Illawarra series, that [Luke] continued to get better and better on an elite scorer," Vickerman said, referring to the Hawks' Gary Clark.
"He still had a couple of gambles tonight, and Jack's good enough to punish him if he does gamble. Any time it was a one on one, he slid, he bumped, he challenged; when he got to that tonight, he was fantastic. I thought Kyle Bowen, the same. I thought he came in and had a really good impact on the game."
To put it simply, it was a professional showing from United. The scout was on-point and executed to perfection, while the urgency was evident from the tip.
Melbourne United have taken game 1 of the NBL Championship Series with a 104 - 81 thumping of the Tasmania JackJumpers at John Cain Arena. ESPN's Olgun Uluc breaks down what happened.
The physicality and athleticism difference was on show
The defensive intent is one thing, and United had the JackJumpers' number in that area, but the other thing that looked clear in Game 1 was the physical disparity between these teams.
United looked like the bigger, more physical, more athletic team, and that allowed them to really impose themselves on the game. United was able to lift the tempo of the game -- the JackJumpers prefer a slower, tighter pace -- and the physicality they played with on the defensive end was enough to get the road team out of their stuff offensively.
The early foul trouble to Will Magnay absolutely helped United in that area, because the JackJumpers big-man is his team's physical barometer. United finished the game with a 52-37 advantage on the boards, imposing themselves against a JackJumpers team that eventually became thin up front.
"Big, strong, athletic guys and they're tough to play against," Roth said, postgame.
"We weren't on point. They played a little bit harder than us across the board.
"In general, we're usually quite physical ourselves. Definitely not an excuse, but there's a slight fatigue factor with us; the travel coming all the way back from Perth, then having a day to turn around and come here. It is what it is, and it's not that big of an issue, other than the fact that we were much more bouncier in Perth, and a little bit more lively with some rest in that series."
United also had an 18-0 advantage in fast break points, but the eye test showed the athletic contrast between the two teams. Travers' athletic advantage over McVeigh was noticeable, Jo Lual-Acuil Jr.'s mobility made life difficult for the JackJumpers' bigs, while Hukporti's strength and speed was a clear positive for United when he hit the floor.
Fatigue probably played some sort of role, as well as United being primed to play with a different level of intensity at home, but the JackJumpers have shown their physicality bonafides over the course of their season, so how they respond in Game 2 will be key. There'll have to be a balance: coming out strong is extremely important, but perhaps not as crucial as keeping Magnay out of foul trouble so he can continue putting that physical pressure on United.
Will Tasmania stick with their hard hedging?
The story of the game was United's defensive showing, but what they did on the offensive end was also elite.
Acuil Jr. had 20 points and 10 rebounds -- really finding his spots against a multitude of coverages -- while Goulding finally found his rhythm in these playoffs, hitting 6-of-10 from downtown for a game-high 22 points. And, while this was a great overall shooting performance for United -- 14-of-28 from downtown is tough to overcome -- the JackJumpers' defensive schemes played a part in it.
Over the season, the JackJumpers have been a hard hedge team, with the big jumping out to pressure the ball-handler coming off on-balls. They did it through all of Game 1 and, while that works against some teams, this is the Championship Series, and United is as organised as they come. They did a good job absorbing the double, finding the outlet, and ultimately playing four-on-three to get the best possible looks.
Ian Clark beats the buzzer to add three more points onto United's lead over the JackJumpers.
United got impressive creation from Acuil Jr., Travers, and Bowen out of a JackJumpers defence that was aggressive, but perhaps misguided given the personnel they were up against. Once the ball hit the middle of the floor, even when the eventual shots were semi-contested, they were coming after a stretch of ball movement, so guys were able to step into them in rhythm.
"I thought Jo played with a whole lot of patience tonight," Vickerman said.
"His ability to see the floor and make extra passes... I thought our whole group was into making that extra pass tonight. It makes us really tough to guard."
In saying all of that... the home team has to lose before we overreact
Yes, this was dominant from United. And, yes, there were some worrying indicators if you're the JackJumpers.
But, it's one game, and the JackJumpers now have the opportunity to play Game 2 in front of what's undoubtedly going to be a raucous, hostile home crowd at MyState Bank Arena.
It's important not to overreact to one game in a series, especially when the home team wins. We know how good the JackJumpers' offence has been all season long -- literally the most effective in the league -- so, while you'd expect United's defence to remain stingy and locked in, you trust Roth to make adjustments to put his players in better positions to succeed.
United's win being a product of their defence is a great indicator for them, because you can generally trust that to travel. Whether their impressive shooting from Game 1 follows suit is a different story, so this will more than likely end up as a much tighter affair.
Officiating also changes from venue to venue, with the home team getting a friendlier whistle, so the prospect of Magnay staying out of foul trouble would do a lot when it comes to fixing some of the JackJumpers' deficiencies in Game 1.
"I can't describe it," Roth said of Tasmania's home crowd.
"If you're not down there, you can't feel it from the TV. The place is obviously electric and exciting to play in. The thing that's great about it is, I think the visiting teams love to go and play in that kind of atmosphere. If you're a player, you want to be in tough buildings to play in. Our building will be excited and our fans around the state are just excited about the group. It should be an exciting night."