# 2019–20 Melbourne United season

The 2019–20 NBL season was the 37th season for Melbourne United in the NBL, and the 6th under the banner of Melbourne United.

## Roster
### Depth chart

| Pos. | Starting 5 | Bench 1 | Bench 2 | Development |
| C | Shawn Long | Jo Lual-Acuil | Alex Pledger | |
| PF | David Barlow | Tohi Smith-Milner | | Jack Purchase |
| SF | Mitch McCarron | Dillon Stith | Casey Prather | |
| SG | Chris Goulding | Sam McDaniel | | |
| PG | Melo Trimble | Shea Ili | | Sam Short |

## Game log
### Preseason

2019–20 pre-season game log :
Pre-Season: 4–2 (Home: 4–2; Road: 0–0)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
1
6 August
California Baptist Lancers
L 78-79
David Barlow (30)
Short, Lual-Acuil & Diing (6)
Sam Short (5)
Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Centre
0-1
2
18 August
Zhejiang Lions
W 97-77
Jo Lual-Acuil (20)
Jack Purchase (11)
Mitch McCarron (6)
Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Centre
1-1
3
3 September
Shanxi Loongs
W 111-66
Shawn Long (22)
Mitch McCarron (10)
Casey Prather (6)
State Basketball Centre
2-1
4
6 September
Cairns Taipans
W 104-88
Jo Lual-Acuil (25)
Jo Lual-Acuil (9)
Mitch McCarron (6)
Casey Stadium
3-1
5
8 September
Brisbane Bullets
L 80-102
Shawn Long (22)
Shawn Long, Jo Lual-Acuil (10)
Melo Trimble (4)
Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Centre
3-2
6
13 September
Illawarra Hawks
W 111-70
Casey Prather (31)
Shawn Long (11)
Mitch McCarron (6)
Ballarat Sports Events Centre
4-2 :
NBL Blitz: 1–1 (Home: 0–0; Road: 1–1)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
1
20 September
New Zealand Breakers
L 76-97
Shawn Long (24)
Shawn Long (8)
Melo Trimble (3)
Kingborough Sports Centre
0-1
2
22 September
Illawarra Hawks
W 110-91
Casey Prather (23)
Shawn Long (11)
Shea Ili (5)
Derwent Entertainment Centre
1-1 :
Pre-Season: 1–1 (Home: 0–1; Road: 1–0)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
7
25 September
Perth Wildcats
L 90-92
Melo Trimble (17)
Long, Pledger, Trimble (5)
Melo Trimble (7)
Geelong Arena
4-3
8
27 September
@ Adelaide 36ers
W 91-100
Melo Trimble (19)
Jo Lual-Acuil, Mitch McCarron (8)
Mitch McCarron (8)
Adelaide Entertainment Centre
5-3 :
NBLxNBA: 0–2 (Home: 0–0; Road: 0–2)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
1
13 October
@ Los Angeles Clippers
L 110-118
Melo Trimble (22)
Shawn Long (9)
Melo Trimble (6)
STAPLES Center
5-4
2
16 October
@ Sacramento Kings
L 110-124
Chris Goulding (25)
Shawn Long (15)
Melo Trimble (6)
Golden 1 Center
5-5 :

### Ladder

| Pos | 2019–20 NBL season vte | 2019–20 NBL season vte | 2019–20 NBL season vte | 2019–20 NBL season vte | 2019–20 NBL season vte | 2019–20 NBL season vte | 2019–20 NBL season vte | 2019–20 NBL season vte | 2019–20 NBL season vte | 2019–20 NBL season vte | 2019–20 NBL season vte | 2019–20 NBL season vte |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | PCT | Last 5 | Streak | Home | Away | PF | PA | PP |
| 1 | Sydney Kings | 28 | 20 | 8 | 71.43% | 4–1 | W2 | 12–2 | 8–6 | 2642 | 2472 | 106.88% |
| 2 | Perth Wildcats | 28 | 19 | 9 | 67.86% | 4–1 | W3 | 11–3 | 8–6 | 2529 | 2409 | 104.98% |
| 3 | Cairns Taipans | 28 | 16 | 12 | 57.14% | 3–2 | L2 | 11–3 | 5–9 | 2587 | 2547 | 101.57% |
| 4 | Melbourne United | 28 | 15 | 13 | 53.57% | 4–1 | W3 | 9–5 | 6–8 | 2638 | 2560 | 103.05% |
| 5 | Brisbane Bullets | 28 | 15 | 13 | 53.57% | 3–2 | W1 | 10–4 | 5–9 | 2607 | 2557 | 101.96% |
| 6 | New Zealand Breakers | 28 | 15 | 13 | 53.57% | 4–1 | W4 | 9–5 | 6–8 | 2514 | 2468 | 101.86% |
| 7 | Adelaide 36ers | 28 | 12 | 16 | 42.86% | 1–4 | L2 | 8–6 | 4–10 | 2654 | 2768 | 95.88% |
| 8 | S.E. Melbourne Phoenix | 28 | 9 | 19 | 32.14% | 0–5 | L8 | 6–8 | 3–11 | 2671 | 2761 | 96.74% |
| 9 | Illawarra Hawks | 28 | 5 | 23 | 17.86% | 0–5 | L10 | 3–11 | 2–12 | 2354 | 2654 | 88.70% |
Updated to match(es) played on 16 February 2020. Source: NBL.com.au

### Ladder progression

* Numbers highlighted in green indicate that the team finished the round inside the top four.
* Numbers highlighted in blue indicates the team finished first on the ladder in that round.
* Numbers highlighted in red indicates the team finished last place on the ladder in that round.
2019–20 NBL season vte :
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 |
| Adelaide 36ers | – | 8 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 |
| Brisbane Bullets | 2 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 5 |
| Cairns Taipans | 7 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 4 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| Illawarra Hawks | 6 | 5 | 7 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 |
| Melbourne United | 5 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 4 |
| New Zealand Breakers | – | – | 9 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 8 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 6 |
| Perth Wildcats | 4 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| S.E. Melbourne Phoenix | 3 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 |
| Sydney Kings | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |

### Regular season

2019–20 game log :
October: 1–4 (Home: 1–2; Road: 0–2)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
1
3 October
S.E. Melbourne
L 88–91
Chris Goulding (27)
Shawn Long (13)
Melo Trimble (6)
Melbourne Arena
0–1
2
5 October
@ Perth
L 94–93
Melo Trimble (25)
Melo Trimble (8)
Melo Trimble (5)
RAC Arena
0–2
3
20 October
Perth
L 93–95
Melo Trimble (21)
Shawn Long 12
Melo Trimble 5
Melbourne Arena
0–3
4
26 October
New Zealand
W 104–98
Shawn Long (27)
Shawn Long (11)
Mitch McCarron (7)
Melbourne Arena
1–3
5
28 October
@ Cairns
L 90–85
Shawn Long, Melo Trimble (21)
Shawn Long (17)
Chris Goulding (5)
Cairns Convention Centre
1–4 :
November: 6–1 (Home: 4–0; Road: 2–1)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
6
2 November
@ S.E. Melbourne
W 98–110
Shawn Long (31)
Shawn Long (11)
Mitch McCarron (4)
Melbourne Arena
2–4
7
4 November
Sydney
W 107–104
Melo Trimble (27)
Shawn Long (14)
Melo Trimble (5)
Melbourne Arena
3–4
8
7 November
@ New Zealand
W 101–104
Chris Goulding (24)
Shawn Long (8)
Melo Trimble (5)
Spark Arena
4–4
9
10 November
Adelaide
W 109–90
Melo Trimble (32)
David Barlow (7)
Mitch McCarron (5)
Melbourne Arena
5–4
10
16 November
S.E. Melbourne
W 96–95
Melo Trimble (22)
Shawn Long, Mitch McCarron (8)
Shea Ili (4)
Melbourne Arena
6–4
11
24 November
Brisbane
W 108–94
Melo Trimble (25)
Jo Lual-Acuil (13)
Mitch McCarron (7)
Melbourne Arena
7–4
12
29 November
@ Cairns
L 93–86
Chris Goulding (19)
Shawn Long (14)
Chris Goulding, Melo Trimble (4)
Cairns Convention Centre
7–5 :
December: 3–4 (Home: 1–3; Road: 2–1)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
13
1 December
@ Sydney
L 111–101
Melo Trimble (32)
Mitch McCarron (6)
Melo Trimble (4)
Qudos Bank Arena
7–6
14
7 December
Adelaide
W 112–90
Shawn Long (34)
Shawn Long (15)
Chris Goulding, Mitch McCarron (4)
Melbourne Arena
8–6
15
14 December
Sydney
L 81–104
Melo Trimble (19)
Jo Lual-Acuil (6)
Melo Trimble (5)
Melbourne Arena
8–7
16
16 December
@ Illawarra
W 73–94
Melo Trimble (22)
Shawn Long (14)
Melo Trimble (6)
WIN Entertainment Centre
9–7
17
21 December
@ Perth
W 74–87
Shawn Long, Melo Trimble (23)
Shawn Long (13)
Melo Trimble (6)
RAC Arena
10–7
18
26 December
Cairns
L 75–77
Melo Trimble (16)
Shawn Long (12)
Goulding, Ili, McCarron (2)
Melbourne Arena
10–8
19
29 December
Brisbane
L 96–102
Shawn Long (25)
Stanton Kidd, Shawn Long (8)
Melo Trimble (7)
Melbourne Arena
10–9 :
January: 2–3 (Home: 1–0; Road: 1–3)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
20
4 January
@ Illawarra
W 91–104
Chris Goulding, Stanton Kidd (21)
Shawn Long (7)
Melo Trimble (5)
WIN Entertainment Centre
11–9
21
11 January
@ Adelaide
L 100–86
Chris Goulding (26)
Shawn Long (15)
Mitch McCarron, Melo Trimble (5)
Adelaide Entertainment Centre
11–10
22
19 January
@ New Zealand
L 90–68
Shawn Long (18)
Kidd, Long, Lual-Acuil, Trimble (4)
Melo Trimble 5
Spark Arena
11–11
23
26 January
@ Sydney
L 106–88
Melo Trimble (26)
Stanton Kidd (7)
Melo Trimble (2)
Qudos Bank Arena
11–12
24
29 January
Perth
W 77–67
Chris Goulding (17)
Jo Lual-Acuil (10)
Ili, McCarron, Trimble (3)
Melbourne Arena
12–12 :
February: 3–1 (Home: 2–0; Road: 1–1)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
25
1 February
@ Brisbane
L 87–83
Melo Trimble (36)
Shawn Long (9)
Melo Trimble (6)
Nissan Arena
12–13
26
8 February
Illawarra
W 95–72
Chris Goulding (20)
Stanton Kidd (10)
Melo Trimble (9)
Melbourne Arena
13–13
27
13 February
Cairns
W 99–83
Chris Goulding (23)
Shawn Long (10)
Mitch McCarron (8)
Melbourne Arena
14–13
28
16 February
@ S.E. Melbourne
W 90–109
Chris Goulding (28)
Shawn Long (11)
Mitch McCarron (7)
Melbourne Arena
15–13 :

### Postseason

2020 finals game log :
Semifinals: 1–2 (Home: 1–0; Road: 0–2)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
1
29 February
@ Sydney
L 86–80
Melo Trimble (34)
Shawn Long (11)
Melo Trimble (5)
Qudos Bank Arena
0–1
2
2 March
Sydney
W 125–80
Shawn Long (26)
Shawn Long (11)
Mitch McCarron (5)
Melbourne Arena
1–1
3
5 March
@ Sydney
L 89–87
Chris Goulding (11)
Shawn Long (9)
Shea Ili (5)
Qudos Bank Arena
1–2 :

## Transactions
### Re-signed

| Player | Signed |
| David Barlow | 29 April |
| Alex Pledger | 30 April |
| Tohi Smith-Milner | 7 May |

### Additions

| Player | Signed | Former team |
| Melo Trimble | 26 April | Cairns Taipans |
| Shawn Long | 30 May | New Zealand Breakers |
| Shea Ili | 20 June | New Zealand Breakers |
| Casey Prather | 17 July | Promitheas Patras |
| Jack Purchase | 9 August | Melbourne Tigers (NBL1) |
| Jo Lual-Acuil | 20 August | Hapoel Galil Elyon |
| Dillon Stith | 15 December | Belfast Star |
| Stanton Kidd | 20 December | Utah Jazz |

### Subtractions

| Player | Reason left | New team |
| Dan Trist | Released | South East Melbourne Phoenix |
| Casper Ware | Free agent | Sydney Kings |
| Craig Moller | Free agent | Sydney Kings |
| Josh Boone | Free agent | Illawarra Hawks |
| Casey Prather | Released | Hapoel Eilat |

## Awards
### Player of the Week

* Round 4, Shawn Long
* Round 20, Chris Goulding

### Melbourne United Awards

* Most Valuable Player: Shawn Long
* Best Defensive Player: Shea Ili
* Coaches Award: Shea Ili & Mitch McCarron