Casper Ware says time is now for United to put NBL rivals on notice
Casper Ware says Melbourne United can’t afford to wait until the NBL finals to flex its championship muscle, with vital games against Cairns and Perth to come.
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Casper Ware says Melbourne United can’t afford to wait until the NBL finals to flex its championship muscle.
United must defeat Cairns Taipans on Thursday night and then Perth Wildcats on Sunday, both at Melbourne Arena, to cement top-billing going into the postseason.
The reigning champs absorbed a mountain of pressure last Sunday in Adelaide to erase an early 10-point deficit and bounce back after going down to Sydney Kings.
“We were in better form going into the finals last year,” Ware said on Tuesday.
“Playing hard and doing it every game, I feel like Sydney we took a step back, where last year we were already there and doing no step backs.
“Of course we’re going to step up (in the finals) but we want to show it now and not wait until finals.
“That’s the biggest thing for us, showing it now, these last two games, like ‘OK we’re ready’ for finals.”
Despite Cairns set to finish the season in last place the Snakes have troubled rivals, including United, behind stars Melo Trimble and Nate Jawai.
United will need to defend strongly, as it did in Adelaide last Sunday, to disrupt gamebreaker Trimble.
Melbourne captain Chris Goulding warned United against looking past Thursday night’s game.
“We’re definitely in a position where (we take a couple of minutes off during games) and it hasn’t been too costly,” Goulding said.
“It wasn’t too costly against Adelaide but at this time of year, when the stakes go up a little, once the playoffs hit, we can’t be doing that so we definitely need to sort out a few things.
“It’s easy to say we’ll win Cairns and then worry about that (Perth) but that’s just not showing enough respect to Cairns as a team and the players that they have.”
Cairns stunned Brisbane last week and all but torpedoed the Bullets’ chances of qualifying for the playoffs.
The Bullets must beat New Zealand and then rely on the Wildcats to defeat the 36ers in Perth.
If both Brisbane and Adelaide lose this week then the 36ers will claim the fourth seed.
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Originally published as Casper Ware says time is now for United to put NBL rivals on notice
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