Melbourne United are preparing to unleash star guard Shea Ili at full throttle in the playoffs in the hope he could make the difference in their NBL championship push.
Ili returned from his latest hamstring injury with a 15-minute cameo in United’s narrow last-start loss to New Zealand Breakers and will suit up again in the crunch clash with Adelaide on Saturday night.
But the two-time reigning NBL defensive player of the year is set to remain on restricted minutes throughout the remainder of the regular season, as fourth-placed United jostle for best position for the playoffs.
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It is all part of the plan to have one of the league’s most influential players firing when it matters most.
“We’ve got to get him to play five games in a row to start with, so you probably won’t see him playing 20 minutes at the moment,” Melbourne coach Dean Vickerman told AAP.
“Maybe he gets there by the end of these next four games.
“But we still want to restrict that a little bit and know that there’s another two weeks after that before we play another game (because of a FIBA window).
“We’ll keep building him up.”
Melbourne are understandably cautious, with two-time NBL champion Ili’s decorated career littered with soft-tissue injuries and concussion setbacks.
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The 33-year-old has been limited to just eight appearances this season because of three separate hamstring issues.
But Vickerman is also eager to get his premier defensive guard back to his best, as Melbourne seek to go one better than the defeats they suffered in the last two championship series.
“He has the highest winning percentage at the club,” Vickerman said.
“In the eight games he’s played this year, the three losses have been two in overtime and one in New Zealand where we had the last shot of the game.
“When he’s in our line-up we have a very good chance of winning basketball games.”
Ili’s Melbourne and New Zealand Tall Blacks teammate Finn Delany said the experienced guard’s return had given United a lift at the business end of the season.
“He can do things that no other player can. We love that and I love playing with him,” Delany said.
“He makes people’s jobs easier and he lifts the intensity and the defensive will and grit.”
Melbourne (18-11) return home to John Cain Arena for the first time since December 18 when they host first-placed Adelaide (21-8).
