The following are previews with betting tips for Round 5 of the 2018/19 NBL season.
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Thursday, November 8
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Illawarra Hawks v Melbourne United7:30pm AEDT |
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Pre-Game Lead-Up: The Hawks went down by seven to Sydney in a game that they pulled back in the end. To highlight the difference between the two halves of Basketball, Illawarra lost Q1 27-12, yet won Q4 21-14. Todd Blanchfield was the star for the Hawks against his former side as he led the way with 16 points, three rebounds, three assists, three steals and a block. Jett also had a solid outing with 14 points, three boards, three dimes and two steals. Conklin also scored 12 and Coenraad was strong coming of the bench with 16 points. He also had six rebounds, one assist and two steals.
For Melbourne they just beat the Kings 77-70 in their last outing. Q1 was a very defining period for them as they kept the Kings to only 11 points and headed into Q2 with a healthy six point lead. Kennedy was great with 24 points, 10 rebounds, two assists and a block. Helping him get the W, McCarron was also very good putting up 14 points, nine boards, two dimes and a steal. Casper Ware again had a what the hell game as he shot only 3/13 from the court. He is starting to look like a wasted import spot which is a great shame for United. And coming of the pine, Moller scored eight.
What Should Happen: A quality, quality, quality game of Basketball. Despite both teams respective struggles this season (at least in some regards), these two always put up thrillers when they meet. It wasn’t all that long ago that United were victorious in a 123-122 4OT match. Both sides have the necessary attacking threats in the likes of Kennedy, Jett and Blanchfield to make that a reality. Expect from this game nothing less then that of what was just said.
Betting tip: Pick Melbourne to win at $1.62 (Ladbrokes)
Friday, November 9
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New Zealand Breakers v Cairns Taipans5:30pm AEDT |
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Pre-Game Lead-Up: The Breakers went down by 14 to Perth. And heading into the final quarter they were well in it, only down by a point. However they stiffed up and proceeded to get smashed as the opposition won a massive 20-7. That is exactly where NZ lost the match! Tai Wesley led the way for the losing side with 22 points, four rebounds, six assists and two steals and blocks each, Webster also balled out hitting five three-pointers en route to 19 points and two boards for him. Long had a double-double with 10 points and 12 rebounds, plus he had an assist. While coming of the bench, Weeks was able to do a little bit of everything as he ended up with eight points, five boards, two dimes and a block.
The Taipans in their last game went down 98 to 85 vs Melbourne. A strong period for them was the third where they put up 21 points and kept United to only 15. Melo was massive as he hit four threes on his way to 34 points, five rebounds, eight assists and one block. DJ Newbill also showed out with 18 points, nine boards, one dime and two steals. Big man Nate Jawai also did alright with seven points and four rebounds next to his name. While coming of the bench, both Walker and Kernich-Drew scored six points each, while Loe had five. a
What Should Happen: Wesley vs Melo. Wesley is hitting on 49.0% of his basket attempts this campaign. While he’s good for 19.2ppg. He’s a beast inside. While Melo is on 26.6ppg. And he’s shooting a scorching Curry esque 47.0% from three-point range. Given how these men are the predominant attacking threats of both these sides, an off-shooting night from one will likely hand the W to the opposition side. Expect both to get at least 16 points as they chase the victory.
Betting tip: Pick the Taipans to win at $3.00 (Ladbrokes)
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Perth Wildcats v Brisbane Bullets9:30pm AEDT |
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Pre-Game Lead-Up: Perth won their last game with relative ease against NZ, 92-78. The game was in the balance heading into the fourth quarter and that’s where the Wildcats absolutely killed it, winning that one 20-7. Bryce Cotton was again a star as he hit 10/18 shots for 23 points, that to go along with his nine rebounds, one assist and two steals. Kay also backed him up ably as he had 12 points, six boards, four dimes and a steal. And the Wildcats bench proved a real asset for them as Steindl scored 17, that was to go along with his three rebounds and one assist. In addition to him, Wagstaff was also a real threat coming of the bench as he had 11 points as well as three boards.
CAMERON GLIDDON!!! A crazy sequence of passes resulted in him calmly nail the game-winning three. And it was the fourth quarter that was the difference in a tight end-to-end affair as Brisbane won that one 20-17. Gliddon led the way with a massive 30 points as well as four rebounds, one assist and one block. Hodgson was a defensive beast with three blocks, plus he also scored 15, had eight rebounds and one assist. Te Rangi had a nice 13 while Jason Cadee again proved inconsistent shooting only 3/9 from the court. Both Gibson and Vukona scored six of the bench.
What Should Happen: A monumental upset. Brisbane won 2/2 against Adelaide this round and should no doubt be confident in knocking another scalp of the top in the form of Perth. Patterson getting more game-time for Brisbane means the more likely the former NBA man can help the Bullets to a W. Plus Cam Gliddon is on absolute fire at the moment and is absolutely propelling Brisbane’s attack. Expect a heavier influence from Patterson and another banger from Cam to help result in the Brisbane victory.
Betting tip: Pick Brisbane to win at $3.60 (Bet365)
Saturday, November 10
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Adelaide 36ers v Sydney Kings2:30pm AEDT |
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Pre-Game Lead-Up: If Brisbane hadn’t had hit a crazy three-pointer then who knows? Maybe they would have come away with the W instead in their 93-90 loss. Q1 was the only one the 36ers won and that was by a score-line of 31-24. Johnson led the way for Adelaide with 19 points, eight rebounds, five assists and a block. Sobey was also very strong with 18 points, six boards and six dimes. Drmic had 13, six and two plus a steal. While making themselves felt of the bench Teys scored nine, Froling eight and Deng six.
For Sydney they suffered a tight yet entertaining seven point loss to Melbourne away from Qudos. The first quarter is where the game really cost them as they allowed Melbourne to cost to a six point lead as the Kings were only able to put up 11 points during the period. Randle & Lisch both put up 15 points, while Kickert had 13 coming of the pine. Andrew Bogut was his normal self with eight points, 15 boards, two dimes and three blocks. There were some disappointing shooting nights from some of the Kings as Newley went 3/10, Randle 7/18, Wear 2/6, Adnam 2/9 and Bowen 1/3.
What Should Happen: Andrew Bogut is what should happen. The former NBA champion has been an absolute beast for Sydney this campaign, there’s no two ways about it. He’s averaging 12.0ppg, 12.3rpg, 4.0apg, 0.5spg and 3.2bpg. And very recently against the Hawks he got 21 points and 15 boards. He’s not to be messed with and will be an anchor against an Adelaide offense probably a bit down on themselves after back to back losses to Brisbane. Expect him to again heavily influence in a Sydney win.
Betting tip: Pick Sydney to win at $1.94 (Sportsbet, UniBet)
Sunday, November 11
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Melbourne United v Cairns Taipans2:30pm AEDT |
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Pre-Game Lead-Up: In Melbourne’s other match from this past round they beat Cairns, their opponent for this match, 98-85. They really let the attack fire on all cylinders as they scored 29 in Q1 and 32 in Q4. Ware scored 32 along with a board and two dimes. Barlow was also very good with 18 points, eight boards, three dimes and a steal and a block each. Kennedy had 17, five and four as well as a steal. However for Mitch McCarron it was a bit of an off shooting night for him as he went only 2/9 from the court. Moller also scored a solid 10 points coming of the bench. While Hooley put up six doing the same thing.
For Cairns in their 13 point loss to United, the fourth quarter had a heavy influence on the game. Melbourne outscored them by eight during that period, 32-24. Melo and DJ had a combined 52 points, more then half of what they put up in the game. And as talented as these two individuals are, it points to the major problem of the Taipans attack not being able to rely on anyone consistently enough after these two high-profile scorers. After those two with 34 and 18 respectively the next highest points-scorer was Jawai with seven! Cairns will not be making the playoffs anytime soon if a legitimate third option can’t emerge.
What Should Happen: Casper Ware is what should happen. The ex-NBA player has been highly criticized by some parts of the media, many fans and myself as well. However he didn’t play for Philly as a joke, nor was his contribution to a Melbourne championship anything of a joke either. Expect him to rise above it all and put in a monster performance. Goulding’s been struggling as of late so it’s just further incentive for him to turn it up. Look at the game he’ll have!
Betting tip: Pick Melbourne to win at $1.33 (PalmerBet)
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Illawarra Hawks v Perth Wildcats5:00pm AEDT |
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Pre-Game Lead-Up: For the Hawks, they suffered a close 86-79 defeat to Sydney in what ended up being a pretty close game. The Hawks started of badly and that’s what lost them the game in the end. Q1 is an excellent example of that where the Hawks went down during that period 27-12. Coenraad was the star for Illawarra as he put up 16 points of the bench. Blanchfield also had 16 against his former employers. Jett scored 14 and Conklin 12. This game as good as it was to watch was also very historical as the game featured four former NBL MVP’s in it. For the Hawks it being Conklin & Jackson. And for the opposition Randle and former-Hawk Lisch.
For the Wildcats in their 92-78 win over the Breakers there were the usual standout performers such as Cotton with 23 points and Kay with 12 points. However Clint Steindl absolutely balled out with 17 points on 6/8 shooting from the court. While Wagstaff also had double-digit points (11). Brandt was solid with seven points, four rebounds and three assists. As was Mitch Norton who had eight points, five boards, six dimes and a steal.
What Should Happen: A Wildcats victory. You have your regulars in the likes of Cotton & Kay, already more then enough for the Hawks to defend. And then when they rest blokes like Steindl and Wagstaff take their place. It’s like the GSW facing the Kings or Magic, it just isn’t fair, PERIOD! At the end of the day Perth simply have too much talent and too much skill for Illawarra to contend with. That should result in Perth claiming the W.
Betting tip: Pick Perth to win at $1.75 (Ladbrokes)
Best Bet of the Round
Melbourne to win at $1.62 (Ladbrokes) vs the Hawks is my favourite/best best of the round as talent wise it should be hard for the Hawks to compete with them for the full 40!