NBL Round 2: Andrew Bogut’s highs and lows from opening round of NBL22 season

Andrew Bogut names his highlights from the early rounds of the NBL, identifying a major flaw Melbourne United must address and the stars under the pump.

It’s only early in the NBL campaign, but Andrew Bogut is already seeing concerning signs for a few title contenders.

The Aussie hoops legend names his highs and lows from the opening games of NBL22, questioning why people were so quick to write off Perth Wildcats.

Bogut also ponders the issues facing Melbourne United and names the players who need to lift — fast.

Check out his highs and lows below.

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Vic Law drives to the basket during the NBL blitz.

What has surprised you?

That people picked the Perth Wildcats out of the top four. I think the Wildcats have arguably got better than they were last season and they’ll be very tough to beat on a nightly basis. They’ve got more scoring now through small forward Vic Law and they really impressed me the way they played missing Mitch Norton and Todd Blanchfield, who are arguably starters, but they just didn’t seem to miss a beat.

Creek’s redemption

It was a tough year last season for Mitch Creek with injury and assault allegations. The Phoenix also benched him, which is kind of weird, to me anyway. He is playing, so why not start him? He is your franchise guy, but that was a whole separate issue.

I think getting through that case and being found innocent is a big thing for him to move on with his career in a Phoenix side that look capable of competing for a championship.

Mitch Creek.

Creek muscles up against the Breakers.

United must pull the trigger

Melbourne United need to find some imports. That is what it looks like for me.

They’ve got a few import spots up their sleeve and they need to find two good imports, at least a scorer because they struggle to score the ball at times. Even with Chris Goulding (their only iso creator) back, I still think they are going to have stretches where they struggle on the offensive end.

Who has impressed you the most?

Vic Law from Perth without a shadow of a doubt. I always thought he was a very talented player and people had kind of forgotten about last season when he was injured, but he is a bucket and he is perfect for our league. You can play him at the three and if the other team puts a small on him and he’ll punish them in the post and if you put big man on him at the 4, he’ll take them out on the permitter and put the ball on floor and get up some threes.

Bryce Cotton hasn’t had that kind of scoring import. I’m a big fan of Law and he is one of the best imports in the league and when you put him alongside the league’s best scoring import in Cotton, it’s a pretty a dangerous one-two combination.

Andrew Bogut says Adelaide needs to get more out of Mitch McCarron.

Who needs to step up?

You’ve got import guard Peyton Siva at the New Zealand Breakers. He obviously needs to step up.

He is a big part of what the Breakers are going to do now because they have got injuries.

Peyton is going to have to step up and give New Zealand a scoring punch that they are paying him for.

Cairns are also going to need a whole lot from star guard Scott Machado. He needs to have a season like when he was runner’s up in the MVP award to even keep the Taipans in games.

If Machado doesn’t have a night, I can see Cairns losing ugly in most games.

Mitch McCarron at Adelaide also needs to lift as a guard scorer for the 36ers to be a threat in the four.

He is getting paid as the 36ers’ marquee guy and I think he is one of the highest paid players in the entire league. McCarron needs to take on more of a scoring role at times because someone like Dusty Hannahs can be up and down and Adelaide’s other import Todd Withers didn’t really impress me in the opening round.

Peyton Siva.

High on Hawks but question marks remain

Illawarra definitely has a chance to win it. Goorjian coached teams usually improve that second year, so the next step for them is a grand final series. That is what the logic generally says.

I still have reservations about the Hawks’ scoring even though it’s now better following the signing of Antonius Cleveland. I still feel as though the scoring creation relies heavily on Tyler Harvey at guard. I do however think shooting guard Xavier Rathan-Mayes could be that guy to help the load.

I also have concerns regarding Harvey defensively. He is a pretty good charge taker and at times a borderline flopper, even though he is a good position defender. I’d go at Harvey as much as I could to get him in foul trouble, because I think he is the weak link for the Hawks defensively, especially considering he will be working hard at the offensive end to carry the scoring load.

Jury still out on?

I thought the Adelaide 36ers would be a little bit better at this point, but they are where I picked them in sixth for a reason.

I have reservations about a rookie head coach, even if it is CJ Bruton in charge at the 36ers.

He is a winner as a player having won six NBL championships and he is a former Boomers teammate of mine, but I think it is going to take him a year or two to get his feet under him and figure out the coaching caper.

He has coached at the junior level and been an assistant, but the head coaching role is a whole different ball game in the pros.

Which game are you most looking forward to in Round 2?

I think Saturday’s Kings versus Hawks clash based on the fact they are probably both going to be in the top four. It’s the interstate rivalry. Bring it on.

For more from Andrew Bogut, listen to the Rogue Bogues podcast