Chris Goulding, Melbourne United sharpshooter, set for NBL game 450 but wary of 36ers

Melbourne United doyen Chris Goulding is less concerned about chalking up a milestone 450th game and more worried about his team’s Jekyll and Hyde start to the season.

Chris Goulding of United warms up ahead of the round three NBL match between Melbourne United and Cairns Taipans at John Cain Arena, on October 06, 2024, in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Daniel Pockett/Getty Images)

Melbourne United doyen Chris Goulding is less concerned about chalking up a milestone 450th game and more worried about his team’s Jekyll and Hyde start to the season — and the challenge a rejuvenated Adelaide poses.

Since Goulding’s squad beat the 36ers in the 2018 NBL Grand Final, United has owned them, winning 15 of 20 contests, including eight of 10 at home.

But Goulding watched on Friday night as the 36ers’ ‘big four’ lit up Sydney for a third straight win — and he couldn’t help but be caught up in their histrionics.

Chris Goulding will suit up for his 450th NBL game. Picture: Getty Images

“They’re a fun team to watch — I was laughing, I had every emotion going through me, they’re a team full of characters, they’re entertaining and they’re playing good basketball, so it’s certainly in no way, shape or form where anyone would say they’ll roll in and we’ll just pencil in a win,” Goulding said.

He’s expecting the likes of NBL scoring leader Dejan Vasiljevic, energiser Montrezl Harrell, speedster Kendric Davis and big man in the middle Isaac Humphries to bring their best on Sunday afternoon at John Cain Arena.

And he’s conscious third-placed United, sitting 3-2 after last week’s loss to Cairns, hasn’t quite put it all together for long enough.

Chris Goulding shoots from the arc during a game against the Taipans. Picture: Getty Images

“Having won a championship not too long ago and having just been in a championship series, the reality of it is, you have to go up a level and try to knock us off — we’ve got targets on our back,” he said.

“We haven’t been good enough at raising ourselves to that level.

“We have shown, when we defend and we’re locked in, talking to each other and letting the ball move at the other end, how good we can be in stretches, and we have to see that more often and try to extend it for 40 minutes.

“We weren’t good enough last year for a few minutes in game five of the Grand Final and we saw what happened there — you lose a year’s worth of work.

“It’s a work in progress for us. We know we need to be better and more consistent but the positive is, it’s in there and we can do it.”

Second only to Perth veteran Jesse Wagstaff in NBL appearances among active players, the 35-year-old superstar has kept his milestone so quiet, United teammate and fellow Boomers’ Tokyo Olympic bronze medallist Matthew Dellavedova wasn’t even aware of it as late as Friday.

“I found out last week and, to be honest, and I don’t know why, but it’s a weird number, doesn’t really seem like a milestone,” he said.

“(It’s) not something I’m super keen on celebrating or making a big deal out of.

“Maybe (game) 500 I’ll reflect and might tell someone or do something different.”

Originally published as Chris Goulding, Melbourne United sharpshooter, set for NBL game 450 but wary of 36ers