A SPOT in the NBL Grand Final Series is on the line as the Perth Wildcats and Melbourne United meet in game one of the penultimate round of the season. The three-game series kicks off on Thursday February 27, with game two to be played on Saturday March 1 and game three on Tuesday March 4, if required.

Melbourne holds home court after finishing the regular season in second spot on the NBL ladder and therefore will host the Wildcats in game one.

United has won six of its last seven games, while Perth enters the contest having won 12 of its last 14 games, including four straight after toppling the South East Melbourne Phoenix in the opening playoff game.

In that game it was the Keanu Pinder show, the versatile big man scoring 35 points and grabbing 11 rebounds. Pinder was welcomed back into the starting lineup towards the back end of the regular season and has returned to his absolute best form since then and will be a force in the frontcourt in this series.

Perth was also boosted by stellar performances from Dylan Windler and Kristian Doolittle, who will both seek to continue that form into the Melbourne United matchups. Meanwhile Bryce Cotton is the focal point of all of Melbourne’s potential issues, and scheming to defend him will give United head coach Dean Vickerman all kinds of headaches. 

The last time these two sides came together was January 22, where they played out a thriller that Melbourne ended up winning by six points.

Cotton played all 40 minutes but was held to just 14 points on 5/17 shooting. All credit for the subpar performance from the five-time MVP goes to Shea Ili, the Defensive Player of the Year. Ili has given lead guards problems scoring the ball with his defensive instincts and tenacity, and his ability to force tough shots for Cotton in that game was to be marvelled at.

It is the battle that will likely determine the series, as Perth has been elevated by Cotton’s miraculous scoring all season, and without it will need some extreme scoring outbursts from others. 

Of course, there are other matchups that will be key in this series, such as Kristian Doolittle likely being tasked with the challenge of preventing Jack White from getting off the chain. White was enormous in the January matchup, scoring 26 points and ripping down 16 rebounds.

That was only Doolittle’s second game back from an extended absence, but he will need to do a much better job of protecting the rim against White on this occasion. Doolittle did have a huge impact however on the offensive end in that game, scoring 33 points and shooting 77 per cent from inside the arc. The battle between the two frontcourt stars will be one to watch closely. 

The other question for Perth to answer is how to keep Chris Goulding’s shooting in check. Goulding scored 16 points in their last outing against the Wildcats, but who could forget the clash before that, where Goulding lit up John Cain Arena with 46 points and nine three-pointers. Cotton did not play that game and got the Goulding assignment last time out against Melbourne, so perhaps he will get the defensive matchup this time around again.

Having dropped all three regular season games to Melbourne in 2024/25, Perth will be keen to make amends in this series, but with home court advantage and the best matchup for Cotton of any team in the league, United will hope to continue their winning ways and advance to the NBL Grand Final Series.