NBL Round Three: Games and Betting Previews

The following are previews with betting tips for Round 3 of the 2019/20 NBL season.

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Friday, October 18

Sydney Kings v New Zealand Breakers 7:30pm AEDT View a detailed form guide for Sydney v New Zealand

The Kings destroyed the 36ers in their first game of the season at Qudos last time out. Sydney were victorious by 22 points, 102-80. The Kings won Q1 by a convincing 16-point margin, 30-14. Q2 was more tight as they won 29-28. Q3 they were again to strong for the 36ers as they won 25 points to 21. And Q4 saw them round of the game with a one point, 18-17 win. Randle on his return to Sydney played well with 16 points and five assists. But his former team mates got the better of him as Newley lit up the court for 18 points and Tate scored 16. Newley also had six boards and three dimes. Tate’s other stats included seven rebounds, four assists and a steal. Of the bench both Kickert and Moller were strong as they scored 16 and 12 points respectively. Kickert hit four threes as he also had two boards and two dimes. Moller had a block and four rebounds next to his name. Ware had a bad night as he scored just 10 points in just under 29 minutes of play. He shot a poor 25% as he went 3/12 from the floor.

Of a concern to Kings coach Will Weaver will be the form of marquee player Casper Ware. Through his collective first two matches, he has shot a poor 9/30 from the court. Thus, making just under a third of his shots. He has also accumulated just six assists. For an offence featuring high-power scoring threats such as Lisch, Newley, Tate, Bogut and of the pine, Kickert, they have been able to mitigate the minimal impact he’s had on games so far. But that won’t last forever and they’re not paying him to be a bench player. Nor are they paying the likes of Kuany or Bruce to start. The Breakers look to have a weakened squad this season with the exception of RJ Hampton. Expect Ware to break out of his slump and really put in a good shift in this one.

Betting tip: Pick Sydney to be victorious at $1.32 (Unibet)

Also pick them to be -7.5 at $1.91 (Bet365)

 

Perth Wildcats v Cairns Taipans 9:30pm AEDT View a detailed form guide for Perth v Cairns

Perth killed the Hawks in their last game as they won 103 points to 76. They won Q1, 28-22. They then proceeded to win Q2 by seven points, 27-20. Q3 was a bit of a massacre as the Wildcats ran away with it 29-14. The 4^th was the only quarter that Illawarra won and that was just by a point, 20-19. 15 Points wasn’t enough to LaMelo as Cotton outduelled him, scoring 28. He had a massive five threes as he also had seven assists and three steals. White scored 19 and Hunt 16. As a starter, Kay also had nine. White had six rebounds, three assists and a steal. Hunt got 10 boards as he claimed a double-double. Kay also pulled in six rebounds and had three steals next to his name. Norton scored 10 points of the bench and Majok had eight. Majok also had eight boards as he shot a neat 4/6. Norton to his credit also had five dimes.

The Taipans latest effort was a damaging 90-74, 16-point defeat to Brisbane in the QLD Derby. The Taipans actually won the first quarter, 24-21. They also came out on top winning the second, 25-24. The third is where they lost the game losing 31-14. The fourth also saw them get outscored by three points, 14-11. Machado led the way for Cairns with 16 points as did Oliver who had the same. Machado had a nice game as he also had two boards, 10 dimes and a steal. Oliver got seven rebounds, an assist and a steal. Both Deng and Djeric scored 14 points apiece. And Jawai had 10. Deng had five boards, two dimes, two steals and a block. Djeric had one rebound, four assists and a steal as he hit three from beyond the arc. Perth can hit them from deep, in a large quantity and quickly. Cairns in comparison, in their loss to Brisbane, had just three players convert on two or more three-pointers. Whether Cairns can fix the issue in time for this game or not, will go a long way into deciding the result of the game.

Betting tip: Pick Perth to be victorious at $1.10 (Bet365)
Also pick them to be -12.5 at $1.91 (Bet365)

 

Saturday, October 19

Adelaide 36ers v Brisbane Bullets 5:30pm AEDT View a detailed form guide for Adelaide v Brisbane

Adelaide were hammered by Sydney in Round Two. They went down to the Kings in Sydney by 22 big points, 102-80. Adelaide lost Q1, 30-14. They fought a lot harder in Q2 as they lost by just a single point, 29-28. In Q3 they again fought the Kings hard, losing 25-21. The 4th also saw them valiantly fight losing 18 points to 17. Bar the 1st quarter, they actually gave it to the Kings and perhaps, perhaps, the lopsided score wasn’t all it seemed to be. Jerome ‘Handle’ Randle had an amazing return to Sydney as he finished the night with 16 points, three boards and five dimes. He also kept his counterpart PG Casper Ware to just 10 points and three assists. Individually, Randle was dope. Johnson scored 26 and had six rebounds. Both Moore and Drmic scored 10 points each. And Froling had eight of the pine. Moore finished also with three rebounds and two assists. Drmic had four boards and three steals next to his name.

Brisbane looked shabby in their 113-93, heavy 20 point defeat to SEM. Roberson put 30 on them in the loss. Q1 they actually won, 25-23. Q2, they proceeded to lose by seven, 32-25. Q3 and Q4 were also both hard to swallow for the Bullets and their supporters. They put up 24 and 19 points respectively. And in the process they conceded 31 and 27 apiece. Patterson had a big 30 for Brisbane, while Sobey contributed with 15 points. Of the bench, Magnay had 13 and Singler 10. Patterson hit 13/16 two-point attempts as he also had four rebounds and three assists. Sobey had six rebounds and seven assists. Magnay pulled in five boards and had a nice block as well. Singler had five rebounds, two assists and a steal. The key to this game is Randle & Johnson getting adequate, shooting support from their team mates this game. If they do, the game will be close, if they don’t, expect another Sydney-esque like  massacre.

Betting tip: Pick Brisbane to come out on top at $1.78 (Bet365, Bluebet, Unibet)

Also pick them to be -1.0 at $1.84 (Unibet)

 

S.E. Melbourne Phoenix v Illawarra Hawks 8pm AEDT View a detailed form guide for Phoenix v Illawarra

SEM were dominant, dominant, dominant in their last game as they crushed the Bullets by 20 points, and they themselves (SEM), put up 113 big ones in the process. Roberson scored 30 and Creek had 25! Stephens had 17 and Madgen had 13. It was a great all-round effort from the NBL’s newest lads. Quarter wise, SEM lost the 1st, 25-23. However, they proceeded to win the next three by 7, 7 and 8 points. It was 32-25, 31-24 and 27-19. Roberson went all Harden from beyond the arc as he hit a massive nine threes. He also had two rebounds as six assists. Former Brooklyn Net Creek managed to get seven rebounds, seven assists and three steals as well. Stephens had three assists, two steals and a block. Magden got two from deep as he had eight rebounds and four assists.

27 Points was the difference between the Hawks and the Wildcats in their embarrassing loss. They lost every single quarter bar the 4th. The 1st saw them go down by six, 28-22. The 2nd saw them go down by seven, 27-20. The 3rd was, well it was the 3rd, 29-14. They won the 4th by a point, 20-19, but the damage had already quite clearly been done over the previous three quarters. Ball with 15, Andersen with 14 and Boone with 10 were the only Hawks to score in double-figures. Ball also had two rebounds, eight assists and two steals. Andersen shot 6./11 as he had four rebounds, an assist, a steal and a block. Boone pulled in a hefty 12 boards to go along with his one dime and two steals. Outside of Boone, nobody for Illawarra got more then four rebounds against the Wildcats. And they had just three players score 10+ points against them. SEM are stacked throughout their side with depth, all the way down. Illawarra, simply put, need more contributors this game, or they will be thrashed!

Betting tip: Pick SEM to be victorious and to continue their hot start at $1.36 (Bluebet, Unibet)

Also pick SEM to be -7.0 at $1.98 (Unibet)

 

Sunday, October 20

New Zealand Breakers v Sydney Kings 3pm AEDT View a detailed form guide for New Zealand v Sydney

This will be the 2nd time that these two sides face of this round. With this edition seeing the Kings fly over to New Zealand to face them on their home-court. Key for the Kings this game will be the back-court combination of Casper Ware and Kevin Lisch. One has played in the NBA and the other is arguably one of the greatest NBL players ever, or at the very least, in the modern era. Ware is under-performing to say the least. And for Lisch, he’s doing okay, but he could be doing a lot better. In his last effort against the 36ers, he scored just nine points. And he had just the six shots through his 25+ minutes of game play. He’ll need to fire quicker against the Breakers here, as he still looks quite hesitant to shoot the ball whenever he has it. One key moment from the game against Adelaide was when he hit a deep, deep three. That would’ve been great for him confidence wise. And against a Breakers defence that is expected to be crap, Casper should find his shot rather easily. Get these two doing what they do best against New Zealand and the points will come. Oh yes they will.

New Zealand are coming back from a 110-84 loss to Oklahoma City in the NBAxNBL series. Loe scored 19 points, Hopson had 15 and Webster had 10. Ashely also had 10 and Hampton had eight. Loe also had five boards, an assist and a block. Webster got five boards and a dime. Hopson’s other stats included six rebounds, three assists and a steal. Hampton got four boards, five assists and a steal. Regardless of the fact that it was a heavy loss, this would have been a great experience for the Breakers and one that they’ll never forget. RJ Hampton is looking to be a top draft pick in next years NBA draft. Showing out against the big sides such as the Kings will be a plus in the Scouts eyes, expect him to play well for New Zealand in this encounter.

Betting tip: Pick Sydney to be victorious at $1.68 (Bet365, Unibet)

Pick them to also be -2.0 at $1.83 (Unibet)

 

Melbourne United v Perth Wildcats 5pm AEDT View a detailed form guide for Melbourne v Perth

Melbourne recently played the LA Clippers, so they did not play last round. But they were strong against last seasons NBA Playoffs team as they resiliently fought them, going down 118-100. Melo led the way with 22 points. But their last match in the NBL was a 94-93 loss to Perth. In the dying moments of the game, Terrico White hit the clutch three to win it for the reigning champs. Melbourne won the first two quarters, but lost the second two. 28-27 And 26-21 were the first two scores. The second two scores and the two scores that cost them in the end over quarters three and four were, 22-20 and 24-19. United’s bench game was strong as Acuil scored 14 and Pledger 12, both coming of the pine. Starters wise, Trimble put up 25, McCarron socred 17 and Long had 15. Melo hit three three’s as he also had eight boards and five dimes. McCarron also had five rebounds, four assists and two steals. Long had two rebounds and a steal on his stats sheet. Pledger had four rebounds and a swat. And Acquil got three boards, three dimes and two swats.

Perth took care of the Hawks by 27 points last round. But seeing as this is a re-match of the previously talked about thriller and last seasons two Grand Finalists, we’ll delve into the stats from when they most recently versed and beat United. Cotton scored 28 and White 19. Hunt had 16 and Norton 10. Kay scored nine points and Majok eight. Cotton shot 8/15 as he also had seven dimes and three steals. White had six rebounds, three assists and a steal on his stats sheet. Hunt had a double-double as he also pulled in 10 boards along with his nice 60% shooting. Norton had five rebounds, two assists and a steal. Majok got his eight points and eight boards in just over 12mins of play, not too shabby indeed. White is the major factor for this game. He probably doesn’t get enough respect as a Bryce Cotton or possibly a Melo Trimble, but he damn well deserves it. He hit the clutch three to give Perth the one point victory in their last meeting against Utd. And he scores and plays his natural game with ease. Given some of Melbourne’s current injury problems, just like a wildcat, he’ll be poised to pounce.

Betting tip: Pick Melbourne to get their revenge and finally at that with the W!!! $1.87 (Bet365)

Also pick United to be -1 at $1.95 (Bet365)

 

Monday, October 21

Illawarra Hawks v Adelaide 36ers 7:30pm AEDT View a detailed form guide for Illawarra v Adelaide

LaMelo Ball over his first two NBL games has shot 6/17 and 0/5 from three. And 4/14 and 1/6 from three. He’s getting his points and stuffing his stats, but at what cost? The Hawks have looked pretty average, if that over their two opening games of the new season. This kid is trying to push himself to be the top pick in next years NBA draft. With the way he’s going at the Hawks currently, it just won’t happen. He’s had more highlight plays more then anything else to take from his game and that’s not exactly a great thing. He needs to fix his shooting and quick. Jerome ‘Handle’ Randle, the experienced veteran won’t be afraid to show him what’s up. LaMelo needs to do something this game positive shooting wise otherwise his slump will just get worse and worse.

If Randle scores 25+ points this game, the 36ers will have their first victory on the board of the new campaign. He is Adelaide’s best and most influential player and will have a hugeee say on the result of this one! ‘Handles’ scored 16 points against his former side when the 36ers were playing shockingly. Imagine how we’ll he’ll do when they’re actually playing cohesively and as part of a team. He also scored 18 against the Clippers earlier in a pre-season exhibition game. He could explode points wise if Adelaide actually play well. Moore, Drimic & Co need to step up big-time in this one to ably back Jerome up!

Betting tip: pick the 36ers to win at $2.25 (bet365) and for them to be +3.0 at $1.91 (bet365)

Best Bet of the Round

Pick Sydney to be victorious at $1.32 Unibet)- 1st Game

Pick Sydney to be victorious at $1.68 (Bet365, Unibet)- 2nd Game