Rucker tells Scoochie to home in on Ware
NBL great says pressure on rival rookie will put Melbourne off game
NBL great Derek Rucker has urged Taipans point guard Scoochie Smith to attack out of sorts Melbourne United star Casper Ware tomorrow night.
United will be desperate to snap their three-game losing sequence when they host Cairns for the first time this season in the second game of tomorrow night’s Round 5 double-header.
Ware revitalised Melbourne’s campaign last year, averaging a touch over 22 points a game, but has put in two poor performances recently, scoring just five points on 2-of-8 shooting in a loss to Brisbane after dropping only six against New Zealand the week before. The 1990 NBL Most Valuable Player, Rucker, believes rookie floor general Smith’s aggression towards the former Philadelphia 76er will set the tone for Cairns.
“If I am Scoochie, I would be looking to attack Casper,” Rucker said.
“Scoochie plays in a ballcontrolled offence and there is opportunities for him when he gets the ball back to really put pressure and make plays for the offence.
“I liked the way Cairns went to some early on-ball stuff against Adelaide and Scoochie looked comfortable there.
“I did not think Cairns played that well against Adelaide but they hung in there.”
The NBL-owned United have countless weapons at their disposal as they try and integrate star Chis Goulding back into the offence from surgery while former Perth Wildcat Casey Prather is also finding his feet in the Dean Vickerman offence.
Ware is still second in the league for assists, with just over five a game, but Rucker, who coaches Logan Thunder in the QBL, is not sure how the three stars can play together.
“I am not convinced that Ware, Goulding and Prather can coexist. I have my doubts,” Rucker said.
“Some point guards are physiologically constructed that when they are required to provide for others, that then detracts their ability to score.
“It is a fine line to be able to score and get people involved and Ware has not shown that yet. He was playing dynamite until Goulding coming back and now he looks like ‘what is going on?’ It was the same against Brisbane and New Zealand.
“Ware is the import, go out and do your things because Goulding will find his way.”
The 15-year NBL veteran is live streaming NBL matches through his YouTube channel “Black Bald Media”, featuring commentary by former Cairns Taipan Dusty Rychart and exBrisbane Bullet Isaih Tueta.