Hoop City Geelong United Supercats coach Grant Wallace is the first to admit his roster is leaving itself with very little wiggle room if it wants to feature in this year’s NBL1 South playoffs.
Three consecutive losses before the King’s Birthday bye have United sitting precariously with a 6-7 win-loss record.
If the 12 wins that helped Geelong United snatch eighth spot last year is any guide, then Wallace’s men need to find at least six wins over the final nine regular-season matches to at least match that finish.
That starts with Dandenong (19th, 3-12) on Saturday night.
“We know that Dandenong has got depth, and they’ll play,” Coach Wallace said. “But, they’ll also bring you down a level from what we want to play.
“So, we’ve got to be nice and disciplined about that.
“It’s a must-win game.”
NBL1 WOMEN | PATON WARY OF RANGERS
The meeting with the Rangers will mark the first appearance of Matt McCarthy in a Geelong United singlet.
At 205cms, McCarthy provides a handy interior presence.
“We’ve really struggled defending the middle on-ball screens, too, with our bigs,” Wallace said. “So, it adds another component to that.
“It gives us more flexibility to have Ma’alo (Hicks) and George (Blagojevic) on the floor at the same time and have George in the three (spot) and gets DeMarcus (Gatlin) to the two,” he said.
“Flexibility, depth, another presence around the basket, another scoring option.
“Without Owen (Odigie) being there, we’ve lacked that third or fourth (scoring).”
Dandenong has five players averaging double-figure points, led by Jack Roberts (16.1ppg) and Jesse Ghee (15.1ppg).
Tickets for Saturday night’s Roderick Insurance Brokers Game Night are selling fast and available now at https://bit.ly/3JspNN5.
