Melbourne United are heading to Adelaide on Thursday with four straight wins, two imports in outrageous form and a new test waiting for them. The 36ers have just beaten Illawarra by 28 points, with Zylan Cheatham orchestrating the attack and Bryce Cotton catching fire after half-time. It's a meeting between two sides that suddenly look much more dangerous than they did a fortnight ago.
United's 120–92 win over Brisbane on Saturday was built on a remarkable 60 points from Cole Anthony and Josh Oduro. Anthony scored 32 on 13-of-14 shooting and handed out six assists; Oduro added 28 points and 14 rebounds on 11-of-15 shooting. Their combined 24-of-29 from the field isn't merely a hot shooting night. It shows how efficiently Melbourne can convert possessions when its guards and bigs are finding each other in advantageous spots. The official NBL match report also records a 37–19 final quarter that shut down Brisbane's comeback.
Adelaide have an answer of their own, and it's more varied than simply giving Cotton the ball. Cheatham's 21 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists against Illawarra made him the first player to record a triple-double in NBL27. Nick Rakocevic added 20 points, 16 rebounds and six assists, while John Jenkins III hit five threes. That distribution forces defenders to make choices: helping on Cotton can leave a shooter, cutter or interior finisher free.
The 36ers' 106–78 win had a telling sequence. Cotton managed just four first-half points on 1-of-9 shooting, yet Adelaide led by 12 at the break because Cheatham and Jenkins were doing the damage. Cotton then poured in 17 third-quarter points as the Sixers scored 36 in the period. That's the danger for Melbourne: Adelaide can build a lead without its headline scorer dominating, then accelerate when he finds his range. The NBL's Adelaide–Illawarra recap details that shift.
Melbourne's challenge is equally clear. Oduro held Brisbane centre Tyrell Harrison to five points and five rebounds, while Anthony was almost impossible to stop once he found space. Adelaide's frontcourt won't be able to surrender easy catches and deep position, but sending constant help towards Oduro risks opening lanes for Anthony and Melbourne's other shooters. United's coach Jacob Chance has emphasised spacing, screening and collective decision-making in the club's post-game coverage. Those details will matter more than the individual scoring duel.
Both clubs now have a useful recent benchmark. Melbourne improved to 7–5 after beating Brisbane; Adelaide reached 6–6 by defeating Illawarra. United's four-game streak gives them momentum, while the Sixers have an opportunity to show that their dominant response to the Hawks wasn't just a one-night correction. Thursday's meeting at the Adelaide Entertainment Centre is scheduled for 7.30pm AEDT on 12 November, or 7pm in Adelaide.
For fantasy managers, the recent performances put Cheatham, Oduro and Anthony firmly in the conversation, but Thursday's matchup is especially interesting for how each team creates those opportunities. Cheatham's passing and rebounding, Oduro's interior efficiency and Anthony's ability to score without wasting possessions all offer more to assess than a points total alone. The strongest takeaway from Round 8 is that neither side is leaning on just one route to a big score. That makes their first clash of Round 9 worth watching closely.
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