Delly catches fire on Blitz Day 1

Matthew Dellavedova came off the bench for Melbourne United in his first game back in navy after a one-year stint with the Sacramento Kings, and it looked like he never left.

‘Delly’ had 28 points in just 19 minutes of game time with an impressive shooting display from beyond the arc (4/8). He also had three rebounds, two assists and a steal in that stretch.

But what else happened on day one of the NBL Blitz?

Game 1: Tasmania JackJumpers 97-84 SEM Phoenix

Tipping off this year’s pre-season tournament was the new look Tasmania JackJumpers and South-East Melbourne Phoenix.

Phoenix were without four major players in Mitch Creek, Gorjok Gak, Matt Kenyon and import centre Alan Williams. But this did not stop them from showing fight in their first hit out.

New Phoenix import guard Will Cummings led them in the first quarter with a 15-point opening term on impressive 6/6 shooting from the field, but he would fade out and finish with only 17 for the game.

“FIBA” Reuben Te Rangi and Williams’ injury replacement Tyler Cook finished the game with 17 and 18 respectively, with the latter collecting 11 rebounds, four assists and three blocks.

For the JackJumpers imports, Marcus Lee and Milton Doyle fouled out early into the third quarter, as they both finished with eight points.

Back-up big man Fabijan Krslovic filled the void left by Lee fouling out, as he finished as the JJs top scorer with 16 points.

New import point guard Jordon Crawford had a stat-sheet-stuffing performance with seven points, six rebounds and eight assists but did so on incredibly inefficient shooting. 3/14 from the field and 2/10 from inside the three point-line.

Game 2: Melbourne United 96-92 Brisbane Bullets

Besides the aforementioned Delly shooting performance, it was backcourt partner Shea Ili who helped United to their four-point victory. The Tall Black finished with 15 points, six rebounds and four assists as the team’s starting point guard as Dellavedova was coming back from a ‘tight hamstring’.

For Brisbane, Ex-Chiba Jet Chris Smith impressed in his first blitz game. The sharpshooting small forward did everything in his power in the last quarter to keep the game within an arm’s length for Brisbane. Hitting clutch three after clutch three in the final term. Finishing with a game-high 21 points on 5/7 three-point shooting.

Next Star Rocco Zikarsky impressed the 40+ NBA scouts in attendance with the absence of Kiwi centre Tyrell Harrison, having 11 points in 17 minutes.

Tomorrow’s action will see Trentyn Flowers’ Adelaide 36ers take on Finn Delany’s New Zealand Breakers (1pm AEST), and Taran Armstrong’s young Cairns Taipans play potential number one pick Alexandre Sarr’s Perth Wildcats (3:30pm AEST).