Starting 5: The key talking points from Round 15

Round 15 saw some of the competition's top teams collide in multiple thrilling battles, while some team's Finals chances impacted by results across the weekend.

Pete Hooley looks at some key talking points from the round just gone.

1 – Sydney loses a King

The Sydney Kings entered the round as arguably the championship favourites, with another big matchup against Adelaide looming.

However, not only did the Kings drop both games this weekend, they lost arguably their most important piece in Bul Kuol to a knee injury.

Yes, Kendric Davis might be their franchise leader and playmaker but it’s Kuol’s defensive identity that had sparked their form and now they must figure out how to cover for his loss, and quickly.

2- Wildcats tick two boxes

The Wildcats had a huge opportunity to take care of business in this round and get two road wins under their belt and they did just that.

While it wasn’t pretty at times, their job was to simply tick those boxes and continue to build momentum towards the back end of the season.

With Jo Lual-Acuil Jr being made a focal point on offence and Jaron Rillie splitting point guard duties with Kristian Doolittle, it looked as if the Wildcats had found a solution to their point guard dilemma until they make their next move.

3- Sobey leading a championship charge

The South East Melbourne Phoenix have their best chance to win their elusive first championship since they entered the competition and it’s being led by superstar veteran Nathan Sobey.

He might be 35 years old, but Sobey is playing at a career best and thriving under Josh King to be both efficient and damaging across the board.

They’ve shown time and time again that they can be the best defensive team in the league and when their offence is clicking like it was against Sydney, they almost look unbeatable.

4 -United losing touch

Since the regular season resumed after the FIBA break, the once undefeated Melbourne United have won just two of eight games and are losing touch on the top two.

At one point it looked as if the championship went through Melbourne, but now Dean Vickerman’s men are in a fight to find their form and hold onto a play-in spot.

United have scored over 90 points just twice in that stretch and their defensive intensity has dropped off, allowing teams to score with ease against them.

5- Champs not done yet

While it will be all eyes on the next game for Justin Tatum and the Hawks, it’s hard not to be impressed by their response after their Christmas Day game against the Kings.

Sam Froling’s return has been one of the stories of the season and with some rotational changes, we have begun to see some of their competitive identity from last season that helped them go all the way.

Their ultimate test right now is on Thursday against a Phoenix team who always set the tone on defence and won’t back down from any challenge.