In the Philadelphia 76ers visitors locker room the battered and bruised Melbourne United are, by turns, frustrated and excited following their showing against Ben Simmons and the Sixers. Sure, they ultimately came up short, but both the United coaches and players are encouraged by how hard the NBL champs played, and just how hard they made the Sixers — with an obvious advantage of a clear talent gap — work.
After checking on Chris Goulding’s injured ankle that was submerged in a tub of ice (and would continue to be so for a while), coach Dean Vickerman spoke first to his players about focus and not getting frustrated, and then to media about how pleased he was that his team gave it a red hot go.
“I thought we took the shot at the best group and hung in, which is pleasing,” said Vickerman. “We just needed more guys to step up. There were just little patches, but they started that fourth quarter and ran with that group and had a number of elite shooters which kept them in the game.”
With former Australian and NBL coach Brett Brown going up against his former PG in Vickerman, the game itself was a wide-open display that was dominated by the class of the Sixers big 3 of Ben Simmons, Joel Embiid and Markelle Fultz. New additions MIke Muscala and Wilson Chandler also showed how they fit with their new team (even though Chandler left early with a calf injury) and TJ McConnell remains a Delly-esque fan favourite.
For United, Goulding in particular proved that he could mix it up with NBA talent, hitting numerous shots in the paint and getting to 15 points on 6/12 shooting before leaving the game with the ankle injury he sustained while being flattened by 7’2” worth of Joel Embiid.
Later, Ben Simmons — aka The Fresh Prince, aka Box Hill Benny, aka Big Simmo — took in his Sixers locker room and intimated how impressed — but not surprised — he was by United’s tenacity. Considering that Big Simmo started the game with a hip’n’shoulder of Goudling as the ball was being tossed up by the ref, he relished the opportunity to go up against the physical style of his countrymen.
“It was a good matchup, physicality-wise,” said Simmons. “You’re always going to get that from Australian teams, the physical side. I think that’s just the way we play. I love it. It’s a good test for us, to the way we play and the way we handle ourselves. They definitely brought that.”
Simmons’ game was typically impressive: 8 points, 8 rebounds, 14 assists, in 26 minutes… even if there was no sign of the jump shot he’s been working on during the offseason with his brother, finishing 4/9 on field goals. But there are few scarier things on an NBA court than Big Simmo on a breakaway: his handle is next level and no one on United could really slow him down defensively, to the point where on one fast break, Simmons tossed the ball off the backboard to himself… and then to Fultz for one of the more bizarre and spectacular assists you’ll see.
Fellow Australian Jonah ‘Son Of Bruce’ Bolden, played in his first NBA preseason game after a season with Israeli team Maccabi Tel Aviv, and got out on the court for 12 second-half minutes. Son Of Bruce also hit his first shot (a swish bomb corner 3 right in front of NBA Straya), went 2/4 from the field and overall looked confident and had a solid outing. Even though he missed his first 3 free throws, Bolden kept playing with a good intensity, setting consistent screens for guards TJ McConnell and Landry Shamet on pick & pops while showing off his impressive inside-out stretch-4 game.
For their part, United clearly weren’t overawed by the experience, with a number of players and coaches leaning on their experience playing against NBA teams last pre-season, and it was heartening just how the Aussie champs came to play. Just watching Craig MANIMAL MOLLER and Big Dave Barlow get stuck in and have a red hot go was as inspiring as ‘The Castle’.
For instance, even though he was towered over by Simmons and would hit the hardwood numerous times in a physical encounter, former Sixer Casper Ware kept attacking consistently and finished with 19 points (even if he went 3/12 from 3 and 6/22 overall), while big man Alex Pledger was figuratively and literally huge, with a 19/13 night… all while getting abused by Joel Embiid (who had 20/10 in only 23 mins).
United’s approach garnered an appreciation from the Sixers crowd — who were understandably more pumped by Markelle Fultz taking and making numerous jumpshots (and also damn near stealing DJ Kennedy’s soul on a brilliant chase-down block) — and while they kept it close throughout, the depth and class of the Sixers won out in the end.
But there was lot for United to keep their heads high about: going toe-to-toe with an NBA playoff team and playing them close and hard for most of the game, while also representing Australian basketball with a huge dash of heart and class. And the experience of NBLxNBA is clearly beneficial for teams like United: they get to measure themselves against the best in the world, while a team like the Sixers get to face up against a team who are playing with a physicality and intensity probably lacking in their fellow NBA teams.
As such, with the NBLxNBA keeps producing such entertaining games, it’s easy to see the cross-league series’ potential and value… while, the smile on Ben Simmons’ face after the game while talking about Goulding and the Aussie team’s toughness said it all: it was an acknowledgement that Australian basketball doesn’t back down to anyone, especially one of their own.
TJ McConnell – end of Sixers-United
And if also introduces cult heroes like Peter Hooley to a new audience, who’s going to argue that that’s not worth the entire enterprise?