Melbourne United has tough run home to stay top of NBL ladder

MELBOURNE United must contend with arguably the NBL’s toughest run home in its quest to hold on to top spot on the ladder.

NBL: Melbourne United v. Illawarra Hawks at "The Picture: Jay Town

MELBOURNE United must contend with arguably the NBL’s toughest run home in its quest to hold on to top spot on the ladder.

United is leading the league again after scoring a thrilling one-point win over an in-form Illawarra at The Cage on Thursday night to improve its win-loss record to 14-7.

But it has a huge test to stay there with five of its last seven games on the road and its final four against top-four teams.

United coach Dean Demopoulos, who is not one to look too far ahead, said he was only concerned about ensuring his side continues to improve.

“It is a process and a journey that is not near over,” he said.

“Winning is a learned ­behaviour; it is not something you’re born with.

“You learn how to and we need to do a better job of learning how to win.

“We’re trying and these guys give effort every day and they learn every day.”

Melbourne star Chris Goulding, who scored a game-high 27 points against Illawarra, said his team must not become complacent after winning three games in a row.

“Winning is better than losing, but there are definitely some things we need to shore up,” he said.

“To come away with that win (over the Hawks), we have to be happy with it.

“But we just can’t rest now because we have a lot of things to work on and a lot of things to get better at to be where we need to be.”

Chris Goulding hit a game-high 27 points against the Hawks. Picture: Jay Town

A big reason for Melbourne’s recent run of wins, which came after a mid-season slump, has been the form of 206cm import Hakim Warrick.

The 532-game NBA big man has provided a huge impact off the bench and scored 20 points against the Hawks.

“He’s a big-game player,” Goulding said of Warrick.

“Some of the things he does can change games, so we need to put him the right positions to do that regularly.

“I think over the past few games he has done that and it has really helped us.

“It is coming to the business end of the season, so that is what we expect from him now, and he’s producing.

“He’s been fantastic for us at both ends.”

Melbourne will meet the Taipans in Cairns next Wednesday night before facing them again at The Cage next Friday night in what will be United’s last home game until February 14.

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Originally published as Melbourne United has tough run home to stay top of NBL ladder