Is the NBL Cup Melbourne United’s to lose?

Jock Landale’s bold prediction that Melbourne United could go undefeated this season may come back to bite them when the NBL Cup gets underway on Saturday.

Jock Landale of United celebrates a basket during the round three NBL match between Melbourne United and the South East Melbourne Phoenix Source: Getty Images

WATCH the NBL Cup LIVE, FREE and in HD via SBS On Demand, with select games also live on SBS VICELAND.

United have been a powerhouse this season and lead the league with six wins from their opening six games.

Before their opening match, Landale told SBS Sport that he didn’t believe any team could beat his Melbourne United team and that this season was theirs to lose.

He then doubled down in a radio interview with SEN a few days later.

"It's a monster of a line-up and I have monstrous expectations for this team," Landale said.

"Having seen how good we can be when we're on, I think we have the potential to go undefeated.

"It will be so hard for teams to beat us... there's really no weak spots.

The star big man has so far been on the money, with the Dean Vickerman-coached side living up to their pre-season billing as competition favourites.

Chris Goulding and Landale have been in incredible form over the opening rounds, but it has been contributions from Mitch McCarron, Yudai Baba, Jack White and Jo Lual-Acuil which have helped Melbourne cruise to victory in each of their opening six matches.

What would be alarming for rival teams is that Melbourne have achieved this while star import Scotty Hopson has struggled to make an impact for his new side.

However, the NBL Cup is a first for the competition and the pressure will be on United as the entire league moves onto their court at John Cain Arena for the next 18 days.

Don’t expect many of Melbourne’s rivals to have forgotten Landale’s comments coming into the tournament, as they will likely have extra motivation to end United’s perfect record.

United open their NBL Cup campaign against reigning NBL champions, the Perth Wildcats, this Saturday in what is set to be a blockbuster clash between two of the competition’s heavyweights.

Perth let a first-half lead slip against Melbourne during their round four clash as United fought back for a 75-71 win in Bendigo.

Reigning league MVP Bryce Cotton will surely have something to say in front of the United faithful.

While winning the NBL Cup doesn’t guarantee championship success, Melbourne will be looking at the tournament as another opportunity to prove they are out and above the rest of the competition.

And if current form is anything to go by, they just might be already.