Melbourne United are hoping their experience from winning last year's NBL title trumps what Sydney Kings superstar Andrew Bogut brings to their game one semi-final showdown in Melbourne on Thursday night.
United coach Dean Vickerman says he's learnt from last year's finals series and has lightened their training load to ensure his team are fresh and ready for the first of the three-game series.
But he's not too sure if their recent experience will give them an edge over the Kings and in particular Bogut, who won the NBA crown with the Golden State Warriors in 2015 while he also played in their losing finals series a year later.
Seven of the Kings squad have never played in an NBL final while Venky Jois and US import DJ Kennedy are the only United players not to have tasted play-off action.
"We have a lot more championship experience and play-off experience than Sydney but obviously Bogut's play-off experience is at a different level that he adds to them," Vickerman said.
"I think that confidence of going through it before - dealing with the pressure, dealing with the environment here.
"There was a great excitement last year with a new experience but this year everyone can relax and go in a bit more composed."
United had a 10-game winning streak against the Kings but that was snapped with a 12-point loss in their last meeting, in round 17 in Sydney.
Vickerman felt he contributed to the loss by not trusting his bench enough to give his star Casper Ware, who finished runner-up to Bogut in the NBL Most Valuable Player race, a break during the second quarter.
"We turned the ball over in that second quarter and allowed them to get their running game going," Vickerman said.
"I didn't sub as well as I should have - it's important when people get to a fatigue point you do get them some rest and trust your bench can come in and do a good job.
"When Casper's empty he can make an error so the way I sub is going to be important."
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