‘We are not scoring enough points’: Chris Goulding’s warning to title favourites Melbourne United

Melbourne United is favourite to win the NBL title, but star guard Chris Goulding concedes his side must dramatically improve.

Melbourne United star Chris Goulding has put his side on notice, declaring one win doesn’t mean its championship campaign is back on track because they aren’t scoring enough points.

United snapped a four-game slide with a big victory over Illawarra on the weekend, but Goulding isn’t getting carried away.

“We lost four in a row and we win one game – we haven’t turned it around,” Goulding said.

“We need to be consistently better and string some games together.”

Goulding is particularly unhappy with Melbourne’s inconsistent offence heading into Thursday’s clash against the New Zealand Breakers.

The Boomers guard is concerned that his ultra-talented side, rated by many as the NBL’s best, has lost its shooting mojo.

“Our defence is good, and it is what we pride ourselves on, barring that Sydney game, but it’s on the offensive end where we are not putting enough points on the board,” he said.

“It is a problem and something that we need to fix.”

Chris Goulding says Melbourne offence isn’t firing. Picture: Graham Denholm/Getty Images

United’s inconsistent form is why Goulding is refusing to look past Thursday’s game against New Zealand.

Part of him is excited about renewing the Melbourne Throwdown rivalry against the Phoenix on Saturday, especially with former NBA swingman Ryan Broekhoff to make his debut in the local derby, but he knows his erratic United side can’t look too far ahead and lose their focus.

“The way we’ve been in the last few weeks, we can’t look further than the first quarter against the Breakers,” he said.

“That is good to have that rivalry (with the Phoenix), but I’m not even considering it until hopefully we can get over the line against New Zealand.

“But the games against the Phoenix are always good.

“They want to knock us off. I think we saw by their celebrations when they beat us last time how much that meant to them.”

Goulding has played five games since returning from a calf injury, producing a mixed bag of form.

Like his teammates, he struggled in the big loss to Sydney, but he was best on court against Illawarra on the weekend with 16 points, five assists and three rebounds.

Goulding was best on court against Illawarra. Picture: Graham Denholm/Getty Images

Goulding says his return to peak form is a work in progress post his calf injury.

“I came back after injury and I was trying to come in and be super aggressive,” he said.

“I was also on minutes restrictions, which played with my rhythm a bit.

“The last couple of games I’ve been trying to find where I can help the group, and sometimes I’m going to get it wrong like I did in Sydney.

“I missed some wide-open looks and I just wasn’t good enough overall.

“Against the Hawks they were doubling me almost every time I got the ball, but I was able to play a more facilitator role until the fourth quarter.”

Originally published as ‘We are not scoring enough points’: Chris Goulding’s warning to title favourites Melbourne United