The following are previews with betting tips for Round 17 of the 2018/19 NBL season.
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Thursday, February 7
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New Zealand Breakers v Adelaide 36ers5:20pm AEDT |
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The Breakers finals hopes were all but ended in last rounds OT defeat against Melbourne. They lost 15-6 in the extra-time period in what could very well be named as the single quarter of Basketball that cost them their season. However, they did well just to get their given they pushed the game into the extra-period by winning the 4th quarter 28-16. And it was a Corey Webster three that sent the game into an extra-period of play late in the game. Long scored 28 points and Ili 18. Webster put up 16 points and Wesley 15. While of the bench, Delany had 11. Long also had an impressive 15 boards, six dimes, one steal and one swat. Ili hit 3/5 from deep to go along with his two rebounds, five assists, one steal and one block. And the clutch man Webster put up stats of one board, three dimes, two steals and a swat.
For the 36ers, their last game was a tight but deserved nine point win over the Taipans. Crucially in this match Adelaide won both the 1st and 3rd quarters. Those dominant periods of play are arguably what got them the closer then anticipated victory against the NBL’s rock-bottom side. Q1 Adelaide won 31-19 and Q3 they also won 31-21. Johnson scored 24 points and Sobey 14. Wiley had 10. While both Conger and McVeigh had 10 each. As a result of their victory, the 36ers currently occupy the last finals position. Johnson shot 69.2% from two-point range as he also had eight boards, five dimes and a steal. Sobey made 5/7 shots on a very nice shooting performance as his other statistics were four rebounds, five assists and two steals. Bruce also scored nine points of the bench for Adelaide.
Betting tip: Pick Adelaide to win at $2.30 (Ladbrokes, Bet365)
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Brisbane Bullets v Illawarra Hawks7:50pm AEDT |
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16 Points was the margin as Brisbane were thrashed by Sydney and in the place lost their finals spot to Adelaide. This was not a pretty performance from Brisbane as Q1 alone saw them down by 16 points. Q’s 2 and 4 were a bit better for them as they won both of those, 27-23 and 30-28 respectively. But their opponents crazy-good 1st quarter meant that the bulk of the damage had already been done and the Bullets could never really quite catch up as a result. Patterson led the way for Brisbane with an insane 27 points. Right behind him was Bairstow with 16. And of the pine, Kendle had a nice 14. Patterson hit 10 of his 17 shots as he also had seven boards, two dimes and a steal. Bairstow converted 6/9 two-point attempts as he got seven rebounds and one assist. In order to remain in the hunt for a finals spot Brisbane must win this game.
The Hawks last game was a good, but not good enough performance as they went down by 14 points to Perth. Illawarra won Q2 and Q3, however, unfortunately for them those were only by a point each. And whatever chance they had to salvage something in the 4th they utterly blew as they put up only 15 points. Just like Brisbane, this game is a must win if they want to be playing Finals Basketball this season. Conklin had a big game with 20 points. While both Andersen and Jackson scored 11. And of the bench Jett had a big 19 to help pace the Hawks. Blanchfield also scored nine. Conklin hit more than half of his attempted shots as he also had eight boards and three dimes. Jett also pulled in two rebounds as he hit three from beyond the arc. And Jackson got three rebounds and five assists as he did a lil bit of everything.
Betting tip: Pick Brisbane to win at $1.55 (PalmerBet, BlueBet, UniBet, Neds)
Friday, February 8
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Sydney Kings v Melbourne United7:50pm AEDT |
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The Kings absolutely tore the Bullets to shreds 107-91 at home and in the process secured only their second finals berth since their re-admission into the NBL. Happy days indeed for Sydney. They were firing from the get go and Brisbane had absolutely no way to stop them as they won the first quarter 34-18 and kept on going from their onwards. And they topped it all of in the 4th quarter as they put up 28 points (albeit to Brisbane’s 30). Randle lit up the court for 26 points. While his back-court partner and also former MVP Lisch had 21. That was while Newley scored 14 and Bogut 11. Kickert also had 11 coming of the pine. Randle went a perfect 2/2 from deep as he also had three boards, two dimes and two steals. Lisch was equally as impressive as he had one rebound, three assists and five steals. Bogut also had a double-double as he pulled in 13 boards and had two dimes. Although he was pretty poor shooting wise as he went 6/17.
Melbourne had to do it the tough way but they did it eventually as they prevailed over the Breakers in OT. They won the extra-time period 15-6 in a commanding quarter from them. However, it wasn’t all easy goings for them as they started the game of on the back-foot as they lost Q1 29-21. McCarron led the way for United with 25 points while Kennedy closely followed him with 23. Ware had 16 and Barlow 13. Of the bench, Pledger scored 10. United are currently 1st with a game less played then both Perth and Sydney. McCarron shot 9/13 as he had eight boards, six dimes and two steals. Kennedy also had nine rebounds, six assists and a steal. This match could potentially have a very big influence on who comes first and/or which team ends up higher then the other.
Betting tip: Pick Sydney to win at $2.08 (PalmerBet)
Saturday, February 9
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Cairns Taipans v Brisbane Bullets2:50pm AEDT |
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The Taipans couldn’t quite get it done as they lost 100-91 to Adelaide last time out. Cairns to their credit though fought hard and won the 2nd and 4th quarters, they were by score-lines of 27-17 and 24-21 respectively. Fair play to them for still giving it despite their season being well and truly over. Melo had 21 and DJ had 13. Then of the bench both Krslovic AND Kenny scored 11 each. Melo could only go 2/7 from deep and 7/20 overall but that’s alright, even superstars have of days now and again. He did also have five boards, four dimes and two steals to try and make up for it. Newbill also had three rebounds and one assist. Kenny had two boards, two dimes and a steal. And as for Krslovic he ended up with seven rebounds as he shot a very, very good 71.4%, 5/7 from the court.
Brisbane went 0/2 vs Sydney last round and it may have potentially cost them a finals berth with them no longer holding down 4th position on the ladder. Their first game against the Kings saw them lose 95-93 in a match they could have and potentially should have won. They lost Q1 27-26. However, they bounced back in the 2nd to win 25-17. They won the 3rd 31-24. However, the 4th was a draw at 19-all. Leading the charge for Brisbane was Bairstow who scored 22 points. In addition to that he also had four rebounds, a steal and a block. Backing him up strongly was Gliddon who scored 17 points on 5/8 shooting. Gliddon also had five boards and two dimes. Patterson also scored 12 and Te Rangi 11 points. Patterson had a double-double as he also pulled in 10 boards, that was as well as his six assists.
Betting tip: Pick Brisbane to win at $1.74 (Ladbrokes)
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Illawarra Hawks v New Zealand Breakers7:50pm AEDT |
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The Hawks have to keep on winning and winning and winning if they want to feature in this campaigns finals series. But they only really showed glimpses of it in their 104-90 loss to Perth. Q1 they lost 36-27. Q2 they won 25-24. Q3 they also won 23-22. And Q4 they lost 22-15. You just can’t be putting up 15 if you want to be in the finals, you just can’t!!! That massively cost them and they may very well look back on it all and see that as the single quarter that unfortunately defined their season. Conklin scored 20 and Jett 19. Both Andersen and Jackson scored 11. Blanchfield had nine and Ogilvy seven. Jett also pulled in two boards as he shot 8/13. Andersen also had two rebounds as he went 4/6. While as well as Ogilvy’s seven points, he also had five boards, three dimes and a swat. He did a lil bit of everything in this game.
New Zealand’s faint finals hopes were made done and dusted by Melbourne this past round as the Breakers went 0/2 against them. And in the first match it was simply embarrassing as they went down by 20 points. The 2nd quarter is what cost them the game as they lost by 16 points, 29-13. They did win the 3rd and 4th quarters but it wasn’t nearly by enough points to stop their utter humiliation against United. Long scored 15 and Webster 10 points. While there were a few strong performers of the bench as Moore had 17, Weeks 13 and Delany 10. Long also had five boards, two dimes and two steals next to his name. Webster also had five rebounds and three assists. And Moore shot 7/13 as he also got two boards, one dime and a steal. The Breakers are currently in 2nd last position.
Betting tip: Pick Illawarra to win at $1.65 (UniBet)
Sunday, February 10
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Perth Wildcats v Sydney Kings3:00pm AEDT |
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The Kings went 2/2 against Brisbane this season. And in the process of all of that they secured only their second finals appearance in close to 10 years. Celebrations for the Kings! And they did it tough in the first match-up as they prevailed by only two points in the 95-93 victory. That match saw Lisch pace the Kings with 15 points, while both Randle and Newley scored 14 points each. And Bowen was a force of the bench with 13 points. Lisch re-discovered his waning touch from deep as he hit three from beyond the arc. He also had one board and two dimes. Randle was on point as he had one rebound and seven assists. And ‘Tugger’ to his credit shot 4/6 as he also had two rebounds. Turner was also impressive of the bench as he had nine points, four rebounds and one block. Wear also scored eight as he had six boards among his other statistics.
For Perth their only game of the round was their well-deserved 14 point victory over the Hawks. They won the game strongly as well as both Q1 and Q4 strongly. The scores in those quarters were 36-27 and 22-15 respectively. Cotton had 27, White had 26, Kay had 17 and Steindl had 17 points. Cotton made three threes as he also had five rebounds, seven assists and one steal. White got an even better four threes as he had three boards, two dimes and two steals next to his name. Kay also got a double-double as he pulled in 12 boards and also had five dimes and a steal. Perth are once again headed back to the finals and are looking like a real force to claim another Championship.
Betting tip: Pick Sydney to win at $2.30 (Ladbrokes, Bet365)
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Adelaide 36ers v Melbourne United5:20pm AEDT |
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Adelaide did it, but it wasn’t always easy as they beat the Taipans 100-91. As a result Adelaide and not Brisbane are on track to be the fourth and final team to feature in this seasons NBL finals. They won two quarters, Q1 and Q3 and they were by big margins, thus helping massively contribute to their crucial W. They won those ones 31-19 and 31-21 respectively. Johnson scored 24 points, Sobey had 14, Wiley had 11 and McVeigh had 10 as did Conger. Conger also had three boards and three dimes as the big man rares up to be an integral part of a hopeful Adelaide finals campaign. Wiley shot a nice 4/6 as he also had two rebounds and two steals. Sobey also had four boards, five dimes and two steals. If Adelaide do make the finals, they are gearing up for them very nicely indeed.
Melbourne went 2/2 against the Breakers last round. And the first game was a lot easier then the second one as they won by 20 points. It wasn’t even close as United dominated the proceedings. Goulding scored 24 points, Barlow had 23, Boone 14, Kennedy 13 and Ware 10. They were just too good in this game and it was a massive reason they are currently 1st and competing for back to back Championships. Goulding made four threes as he also had three boards, five dimes, two steals and a swat. And the equally as good Barlow hit 7/9 shots as he also managed to get five rebounds, two assists, two steals and two blocks. And Boone got a double-double with 11 rebounds also among his other stats.
Betting tip: Pick Melbourne to beat Adelaide at $1.80 (Bet365, Ladbrokes)
Best Bet of the Round
My favourite/best bet of the round is for Melbourne to beat Adelaide at $1.80 (Bet365, Ladbrokes), they’re 1st and on a roll!