Analyzing Dash Daniels and Karim Lopez in a NBL Blitz Game

September 25th, 2025

By Alan Lu

Today, I took the time to watch an NBL Blitz game that took place between Melbourne United and the New Zealand Breakers, with thanks to YouTube via National Basketball League.  This game featured two high-level, lottery prospects in New Zealand’s Karim Lopez against Melbourne United’s Dash Daniels, who is also the younger brother of Atlanta Hawks’ guard, Dyson Daniels.  Both players played very well in this match.  Here are my thoughts on how they fared, as well as how their games may translate to the NBA.

Dash Daniels played very well to help lead his team to a double-digit win over New Zealand.  He is a very athletic, skilled guard that turned in a strong all-around performance, and he excelled at making plays on both ends of the floor.

Daniels did a very good job of scoring on quick, strong drives to the hoop.  He showed a knack for scoring in traffic, and he thrived at driving in there to score effortlessly amidst traffic.  He also managed to score on a turnaround jumper another time.  He also showed some range, as he was also able to make an open, spot-up three off the catch.

He also displayed adequate playmaking skills.  Daniels is an unselfish player that showed that he can make the extra pass, and he also can make passes off the dribble and find teammates on the move.  However, sometimes he can be careless with the basketball, which led to a couple of turnovers.  He collided into a defender and lost the ball once, and he also threw an up for grabs pass that got intercepted another time.

He also did a good job of rebounding the basketball.  He was active at crashing the glass to get multiple boards on both ends of the floor.  He also played adequate defense.  Daniels would run in to jump passes and swipe balls away to get steals.  He also has good recovery speed to rotate and stay with opposing ball handlers, which would allow him to force misses.  However, he would tend to shade too far one way when defending opposing drives, which would lead him to get beat off the dribble.  Another time, he rotated and made a bad gamble by committing a reach-in foul that led to a score and an extra free throw.

Overall, Dash Daniels played very well in his team’s double-digit win in the NBL Blitz against New Zealand.  He’s a talented, promising young prospect that showcased a lot of skills in this game, and he could end up being a lottery pick in the 2026 draft.

Karim Lopez had a very solid showing in his team’s tough loss to Melbourne United. He excelled at making plays on both ends of the floor, especially in the second half, and he had a solid all-around game.

Lopez did a good job of shooting the basketball.  He excelled at making open, spot-up threes off the catch.  Plus, he also excelled at scoring on the move, as he was able to score on a tip-in, and he also threw down a powerful dunk off of a roll to the rim.  He also showed that he can comfortably score in one-on-one situations.  He was able to score down low in the post.  He also used a smooth crossover move to score on a strong jam off of an aggressive drive to the hoop.

He also showcased decent playmaking skills.  He can make passes off the dribble, and he was able to make one nifty, no-look pass to find a shooter once.  He didn’t seem to handle the ball very often, but he showed functional ball-handling skills as well as a very solid crossover move on one drive to the basket, and he did not commit a single turnover in this game.

Plus, he also showed a solid ability to rebound the basketball.  Lopez played decent defense in this game.  He is a big forward that has good length, and he would use his verticality to contest outside shots to force misses.  He also was able to rotate to the post to block a shot to a teammate.  On the downside, he would sometimes take bad gambles, which would lead him to be out of position, and cause him to commit fouls and allow scores.  He also occasionally struggled to defend quicker players, as he got beat on a spin move to allow a score once.

Overall, Karim Lopez played well in his team’s loss to Melbourne United.  He is a skilled, versatile forward that can make plays on both ends of the floor.  He is a solid prospect that can do a little bit of everything, and he is a talented player that also could end up being a lottery pick in the 2026 draft.

All in all, those are my thoughts on how Daniels and Lopez fared in this game.  Thanks for reading.