Skip to main content

Hopson, Goulding and Melbourne United's Offense.

There is no denying that Melbourne United have put together a formidable offensive unit, adding Scotty Hopson looks like a theoretical master stroke from the United front office. 

Rumours are currently circulating that they may not be done this week in terms of big free agent signings, Well known local talent Jock Landale and Melbourne have been linked heavily as Landale has been training with the Melbourne squad.

McCarron, Goulding, Hopson and Landale. That's a scary lineup, assuming McCarron brings the ball up, you'd struggle to believe teams could consistently guard Hopson and Goulding rising up from either side off of Barlow/Landale pin downs, with the threat of McCarron also looming large. 

However, Landale hasn't signed anything despite there being a lot of smoke to this fire. 

The theory however remains the same, you can interchange the lead ball handler between Illi, McCarron, Hopson and Goulding all you like, but the concept of dynamic playmaking perimeter players receiving the ball in advantage situations has finals written all over it. 

I see one issue with this team. Do they have the high IQ passing and ball movement skills to compete when the offense gets bogged down and the opposing defence has got all of the momentum?

It's something that will happen, the theory of your offense isn't always going to run smoothly and things will get ugly. Are Melbourne assuming that Scotty Hopson will throw the team on his back and carry them in those moments? Can Chris Goulding realistically take control of a game when he wants to at his age?

When this Melbourne United squad comes up against New Zealand/Perth/Cairns and Scotty gets off to a bad start and a defender starts to get on top, Chris Goulding has one of those 1-8 from three nights, what happens to their offense? 

Scotty Hopson currently projects as their strongest passer with a passing percentage of 24% on 20% usage with an impressive 11% turnover percentage per SpatialJam

But the next best from last season is Shae Illi, who actually had a negative Pass/Turnover% and Mitch McCarron was slightly behind him but turned the ball over less. 

McCarron and Goulding are good passers don't get me wrong, but is a team full of off ball perimeter weapons that's built around Scotty Hopson going to be able to deal with the added attention, effort and scouting that is put into cutting passing lanes, taking away strengths and importance of having strong decision makers? 

For what it's worth, I believe this team will be fine, a definite threat to make the top 4. If everything falls right they could even be a true contender for the championship as well, but it's always fun to analyse these things and envoke discussion on our favourite teams and least favourite opposition.



Thank you for reading, I am thoroughly enjoying writing these short thought pieces and as always encourage all types of feedback or push back on any of my opinions or writing.

Please support my writing endeavour by following me on twitter, subscribing to my blog or sharing these articles amongst anyone that might be interested. 

Thank you. 
Links:
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Will The Wildcats Flex Their Size?

The "Diet Wildcats" will take on the "knock-off Wildcats" in the first semi-final. Brian Goorjian's defensive unit Illawara will be tasked with the daunting job of taking down the ever consistent playoff juggernaut that is the Perth Wildcats.  Except this series will not be a regular Wildcats sort of series, one key ingredient to Perth's success won't be available, Bryce Cotton .  Plenty has been said about Bryce Cotton's absence and the ramifications that will follow for Trevor Gleesons men.  The interesting story will be where does all that usage go? The defence will undoubtedly figure itself out, Norton will go to Harvey and surely do a respectable job, the presumption being they force Harvey right and keep him away from the deadly step back jumper and even deadlier free throw line floater.  With Cotton off the court this means they can insert someone else, whether that be an offensive changeup or a defensive one.  This also means more...
Post a Comment
Read more

A bigger role for Mitch McCarron?

This off-season is surely about to heat up as the NBA free agency moves into the spotlight which could mean big waves hitting the NBL import market. Melbourne United have yet to fill their import spots which leaves the theory of their offence currently unknown.  What we do know about this United squad is that Mitch McCarron will be playing a majority of his minutes at the point guard position, most likely beside Chris Goulding in the starting lineup.  This leaves me with some burning questions. Can McCarron efficiently run an offence?  Does McCarron have the ball distribution skills required to maximize an offence with an off ball scoring threat like Chris Goulding?  Let's start with the lowest hanging fruit.  What is Mitch McCarron as a player?  McCarron being a relatively household name amung NBL circles has certain amount of gravity in this question already, Mitch can score the ball, and he can score the ball well.  In a touc...
Post a Comment
Read more

My off-season thoughts on the Cairns Taipans

Last year the Cairns Taipans suprised a lot of people and laid down the blueprint for the non-powerhouse organisations pathway to success. Three imports.  It's well known to be successful in the NBL you have to hit on all your import spots. This is something that of course is easier said then done.  What made last season so outstanding was Cairns ability to be able to go out and legitimately create the identity of their team through excellent scouting and a brilliant approach to bringing these guys into the NBL, which again, not a simple feat.  However, all of this praise essentially means nothing as we move into the ever changing landscape that is 2020/21. Three imports is no longer an option, DJ Newbill isn't returning to the snake pit and Cairns don't have the same local talent as Sydney, Perth or Melbourne, and for good reason, those designations are breeding grounds for great Australian talent. Click here: Mojave  King Highlights With a n...
Post a Comment
Read more