Melbourne United coach calls for 'grand final' mindset for Perth trip

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Melbourne United coach calls for 'grand final' mindset for Perth trip

By Roy Ward

If Melbourne United want to show they are a serious championship contender, a win in Perth is a must this Sunday.

Melbourne coach Dean Vickerman has put it on the reigning NBL champions to find a way to beat the Wildcats at home and signal they are ready to take back-to-back crowns.

The Wildcats are in a serious form slump in which they have lost eight of their past 10 games including a 97-84 loss to Adelaide 36ers in Adelaide on Thursday night.

But Vickerman still rates the trip to Perth as a true test of his team as they head towards the finals.

"Even though their form hasn’t been great they are still in a reasonable position in the league and I think with five home games left we have to make sure we go over there with a 'grand final' mindset," Vickerman said.

"I always believe if you can win in Perth, which we haven't done this year, then you are in a place where you can deal with a lot of things and show a lot of resilience.

DJ Kennedy is expected to be available for Melbourne United on Sunday.

DJ Kennedy is expected to be available for Melbourne United on Sunday.Credit: Mick Connolly

"You have the chance to win the championship if you can win in Perth."

The Wildcats still sit in third place and remain as dangerous as ever although a loss to Melbourne would keep open the shocking prospect of them missing the finals for the first time in 33 years.

As Perth's form dropped so has their free-throw attempts and their offensive rebounds, Vickerman says teams have looked to let Perth take more three-point shots rather than risk fouling them and giving them foul shots.

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"There is probably a couple of changes that you notice," Vickerman said.

"They were so elite at getting to the foul line earlier in the year and teams have, sort of, lived with them taking more three-point shots to take away their foul shots.

"I think that has allowed people to rebound a little bit better against them when that has been their strength."

Limiting fouls will be a big part of Melbourne's game plan after star guards Chris Goulding and Casper Ware have both had their minutes reduced due to foul trouble recently.

Ware usually has first go at guarding Perth NBA import Bryce Cotton and will likely do so on Sunday but Vickerman will use other players too.

Melbourne import DJ Kennedy has trained well this week and taken plenty of contact after a concussion kept him out of the past two games. Vickerman said Kennedy was expected to play.

Melbourne's form hasn't been as consistent as they would like either after playing just three games in 18 days leading up to Sunday's overtime win over Cairns.

But with their Australian Open game against Illawarra Hawks coming on Wednesday night, Vickerman said his side was ready to play more games.

"They are looking forward to it, all these weeks of practices have been longer than previous weeks," Vickerman said.

"They are looking forward to getting back into these double weekends, we are fortunate enough to play the early game in Perth which means we get home [that night] and can have a few days to prepare."

Melbourne United play Perth Wildcats in Perth on Sunday at 3pm AEDT then host Illawarra Hawks at Melbourne Arena on Wednesday at 7.50pm. Tickets for that game include an Australian Open ground pass.

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