NBL25 Finals Tips

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Melbourne United vs Illawarra Hawks NBL25 Tips - Melbourne United NBL25 Champions

Jeremy Darke

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Last updated: Mon 17 Mar 2025 13:07

Jeremy Darke 17 Mar 2025

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Melbourne United vs Illawarra Hawks expert predictions for Wednesday’s Championship Series NBL matchup
Tip-off is at 7:30 PM AEDT at John Cain Arena
Matthew Dellevadova's leadership crucial in clutch time.
Ian Clark averages 22 points per game in the NBL25 Playoffs.

Why Melbourne win it all on Wednesday.

Melbourne United vs Illawarra Hawks NBL25 Tips

Matthew Dellevadova will win his first NBL Championship ring when Melbourne United get an elusive Championship Series win at John Cain Arena.

Melbourne United vs Illawarra Hawks NBL25 Tips
Head to Head
Melbourne United Form & Team News
Illawarra Hawks Form & Team News
Melbourne United vs Illawarra Hawks Frequently Asked Questions

United haven’t won on their homecourt in their last 6 matches at John Cain Arena in a Championship series and Matthew Dellevadova has NBA rings Olympic medals but doesn’t have an NBl Championship. All that changes on Wednesday when his composure is the difference in clutch time.

Experience is key in the Championship series and Game 3’s victory by United was the prime example. Dean Vickerman out-coached Justin Tatum and United were cool, calm and collected in the fourth quarter.

I expect Illawarra will come out early in Game 4 of the series but Melbourne will go with them. The score will once again push the limits of 200, but United will skip away, with Gary Clark being the X-Factor for the home team, stepping up when Melbourne get their noses in front.

Melbourne lost 2 consecutive home games just twice this season in a 3-game home stretch.
9 of the last 10 Melbourne games at John Cain Arena have gone over the 187.5 game total.
4 of the last 5 games between Illawarra and Melbourne have gone over the game total of 187.5 points.
Ian Clark has averaged 22.16 points in the NBL25 Playoffs.

Head to Head

2024/25 Championship Series Results

Mar 16th 25: Illawarra 77-83 Melbourne

Mar 12th 25: Melbourne 100-102 Illawarra

Mar 8th 25: Illawarra 88-96 Melbourne

2024/25 Season Series

Jan 18th 25: Illawarra 117-95 Melbourne

Dec 13th 24: Melbourne 93-106 Illawarra

Oct 24th 24: Illawarra 87-92 Melbourne

Offensive & Defensive Rankings (NBL25 Season)

MEL Off	Rank	Stat	Rank	ILL Def
95.6	4	PPG	3	91.2
43.3	2	RPG	5	40.3
46.1%	7	FG%	2	44.2%
35.0%	5	3P%	3	33.9%
11.6	6	TOV	5	12

MEL Def	Rank	Stat	Rank	ILL Off
91.4	4	PPG	1	101.4
40.2	4	RPG	1	44.4
45.1%	3	FG%	1	48.6%
34.5%	4	3P%	4	35.3%
11.5	6	TOV	1	9.6

Melbourne United Form & Team News

Matthew Dellevadova inspired his troops on a 20-4 run in the fourth quarter to beat the Hawks 83-77, giving United a chance to wrap up the series at home on Wednesday night.

Delli scored 12 of his 16 points in the second half and if he wasn’t sinking buckets himself he was getting dimes, finishing the match with 11 assists. The veteran’s experienced shined through and his poise under pressure was the difference, directing his team with composure, even 10 points down in the fourth.

Without Defensive Player of the Year Shae Ili, United stood up and did not allow any Hawks player to control the match, with no Illawarra player scoring over 12 points. Deli also played a huge role in that, often shutting down the Hawks NBL First-Team players, Kell III and Harvey.

After scoring 0 points in game 2 of the series, Jack White bounced back in a big way for United, top scoring in match 3 with 20 points and 5 boards.

Illawarra Hawks Form & Team News

There are some serious concerns for the Illawarra Hawks heading into Game 4 of the series against Melbourne with All-NBL First Teamer Trey Kell III going down late with a knee injury. The Hawks will likely be tight lipped until very close to game time.

The injury to Kell III was salt in the wound after the Hawks gave up a late 10-point lead to lose by 6 points in game 3. Fourth quarters have not been kind to the Hawks all season and they did not look comfortable, making poor shot selections and panicking with the ball in hand.

The alarming factor for the Hawks was that once again Melbourne were able to limit the offensive production from both Tyler Harvey and Trey Kell III, who combined for just 17 points, shooting at just 35% from the field.

Illawarra played slow, scoring just 2 fast-break points all game, a category that they topped the league with in NBL25, scoring an average of 14.8 FBP/G.

Melbourne United vs Illawarra Hawks Frequently Asked Questions

What time does Melbourne United vs Illawarra Hawks start?

Tip-off between Melbourne United vs Illawarra Hawks is at 7:30 PM AEDT, Wednesday, March 19th

What channel is Melbourne United vs Illawarra Hawks on?

You can watch Melbourne United vs Illawarra Hawks on ESPN via Kayo and Foxtel.

Verdict

Melbourne United v Illawarra Hawks

Melbourne United will win and become NBL Champions. Gary Clark will drop 15+ points in a game that goes over the total of 187.5 points.

Melbourne United

Money Line

$1.76 - 3 Units

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Over 187.5

Game Total

$1.91 - 3 Units

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