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United 'need court time to gel' in NBL

Melbourne United are hoping to find some NBL consistency after putting injury and a heavy travel load behind them.

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Source: AAP


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Title favourites Melbourne say erratic form reflects their disrupted start to the NBL season.

United are two and two after being shock losers in their first home game of the new campaign, falling on Sunday to the New Zealand Breakers.

Captain Chris Goulding, who missed the first two rounds after having his appendix removed, said injury and a massive travel schedule had contributed to the rollercoaster start. That schedule included a flying visit to the United States to take on the NBA's Oklahoma City Thunder.

He said they needed a solid block of training to get back on track, with Tuesday's workout his first full session with the team in almost three weeks.

"We've got a lot of room to grow but it's going to come with time on the floor," Goulding said.

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"The more of that we can have, the better that we will be."

Melbourne next face Brisbane on Saturday afternoon at Carrara Stadium where the team will look for a four-quarter performance after troubling fadeouts in the third stanza in their past two games.

"We're not playing how we'd like in any quarter so we won't be focusing in on any one quarter," Goulding said.

"We'll have some really good practices between now and the game and, hopefully, put a better foot forward."

Coach Dean Vickerman said he felt his full roster hadn't fully gelled, with recruit Casey Prather also suffering a knee knock that upset his training.

"There's definitely a synergy that we've got to get with those guys coming back," said Vickerman, who replaced Dean Demopoulos this season at United.

"We need to adjust our structures a little bit to have those guys come and fit right in."

Vickerman said exciting young guard Peter Hooley came through his first full practice since suffering an ankle injury and was in the mix for Brisbane.


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