United by depth: Five takeaways from NBL Blitz day 3

• Josh shows he maybe worth the SuperCoach NBL dosh
• Hunter is 'Phoenix' rising of SuperCoach NBL cap savers
• NBL27 Roster Tracker: Every Club's Confirmed Squad

Everything is headed in the right direction for Melbourne United to bounce back from a horror second-half of last season to be championship contenders once again as they move into NBL27 with, what I believe, the deepest roster in the league.

Jacob Chance's talented roster as well as the Perth Wildcats' continued struggles to fill the import point guard position headline our five takeaways from day three of the NBL Blitz at Bendigo's Red Energy Arena.

Day four starts with the South East Melbourne Phoenix taking on the Brisbane Bullets before Adelaide play Cairns.

See our five takeaways from day three below.

UNITED BY DEPTH

I believe Melbourne United will enter the NBL27 season as the deepest team in the league.

Not bad for rookie head coach Jacob Chance to deal with.

While United, just like every other team, have had people ruled out of the NBL Blitz in Bendigo - whether you believe the injuries or not - they still suited up a quality line-up in their opening game of the tournament against the Perth Wildcats.

Melbourne won the game 97-82 through a dominant fourth quarter and tipped-off the contest with a starting five of Shea Ili, Chris Goulding, Sam Waardenburg, Luke Travers and Josh Oduro. Pretty sure that's a five a lot of teams in the league would dream to have as their starting group.

Then you bring veteran Fabian Krslovic off the bench, workhorse Kyle Bowen, Tom Wilson, Malith Machar and then development players Christian D'Angelo and Jensen Bradtke. There's no shortage of talent at United this season.

Oh, and then you add two NBA veterans in Joe Ingles and star point guard Cole Anthony to the roster, Melbourne are easily back in the title race after a horror second half of the season in NBL26.

Let's see of Ingles suits up when United take on Illawarra on Sunday afternoon.

TIME IS PRECIOUS FOR THE 'CATS

I wouldn't be panicking if I was the Wildcats after two losses during the Blitz, they're extremely undermanned and have still shown some great signs.

Elijah Pepper looks great, Anthony Dell'Orso seems like a contender for pickup of the offseason and JLA and Kristian Doolittle didn't get out of cruise mode.

The real reason I'd be panicking a little bit if I was a member of the Red Army, and it's obviously been a hot topic around the NBL, is the timing of when the Wildcats will bring in an import point guard.

Yes, we're hearing there'll definitely be a point guard ready to go by round one, but is that a disaster waiting to happen? We saw it last season with Mason Jones, who was a late recruit to Perth.

Fans and supposed experts around the league were sure he'd be a success in the league, but bringing him in late didn't allow coaches and officials enough time to see he wouldn't work for them in the preseason. And the same thing is happening again.

Wherever the Wildcats go with their last signing, it's cutting it fine as far as you'll need to give the player a certain amount of games for them to prove themselves and see if they fit in. Then if they don't, you'll have to look for a replacement mid-season, bring someone in and the process starts all over again.

Regardless of the talent Perth have around them, that makes it almost impossible to chase another trophy.

'GUS IS GOOD

How good is it to have big man Angus Brandt back in the NBL for the first time since 2019.

Brandt, who won two championships with Trevor Gleeson's Wildcats in 2017 and 2019 and was also the NBL Rookie of the Year with the Sydney Kings in 2015, spent most of the past seven years playing in Japan but will provide a valuable back-up to JLA.

The other thing the 6'10" 36-year-old will bring to the Wildcats is more experience in the locker room and on the court, something which probably only skipper Jesse Wagstaff provides at the moment.

Brandt looks happy to be back and still looks like he can make a major impact but can this please be the start of bringing back some of our Aussies from Japan.

Open the cheque books for Nick Kay and Brock Motum, who is now in Taiwan, to come home.

GLEESON OR GOORJIAN?

Who wins the old-school coach fashion battle?

Two of the NBL's greatest mentors have had some interesting attire choices on the sidelines for the Bendigo Blitz.

First of all, Brian Goorjian still goes with his trademark bumbag during the Kings games, while Gleeson chose the shorts in almost freezing country Victoria weather.

The pair always providing some entertainment both on the court and on the sidelines.

CARR THE RIGHT BIG TO DRIVE KINGS FORWARD?

As always, I'll start all of these observations with the fact it's preseason, so take it with a grain of salt.

But is American Andrew Carr the right recruit for the Sydney Kings at the starting centre position?

It might not seem like a big deal with all the talent the Kings have but that spot has been so valuable for their championship runs in the past. Think Tim Soares (twice) as well as Jordi Hunter. Both played integral roles in three championship rings for the Kings.

After two games, it's hard to see if the former University of Kentucky talent will provide the same impact.