The following is the preview with betting tips for the Grand Final series G1 of the 2019/20 NBL season.
So here you have it, only the best two teams from NBL Season 2019/20 remain as they battle to be crowned the best of the best in what should be a highly competitive and tense five games match-up. Only the most talented and hustling side will come out on top and the other left to rue what might have been. Casper Ware (former 76er), Kevin Lisch (multiple time NBL MVP winner) and Andrew Bougt (formner NBA Champion) will do battle for the Kings. They face stiff competition from equally talented athletes, such as Bryce Cotton (former Jazz player), Nick Kay (Boomer) and Miles Plumlee (former Hawk man). This is going to be one helluva series. Bring it on!
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Sunday, March 8
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Sydney Kings v Perth Wildcats5:00pm AEDT Qudos Bank Arena |
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Game Three Recaps: Sydney played quite possibly the worst NBL Finals match ever before their last game, as Melbourne pummeled them into submission via a 45-point winning margin. Well on Thursday at Qudos Bank Arena, the Kings overcame whatever scars were left from that ugly match-up, as they marched into the Grand Final Series with a closely fought 87-85 victory. Q1 saw them slightly edge out Melbourne, 24-22. Q2 saw United get the better of them, 28-21. Q3 was a 23-18 Kings victory. And in Q4 Sydney came up clutch where they needed to the most, as they won 21-19. This was a back-and-forth affair, but Will Weaver’s men were simply to clinical and simply to clutch at the end of the day for the opposition to handle. For the opposition, Goulding scored 19PTS, McCarron 18, Long 17 and Trimble 17.
For the almighty Kings, of the starters, Tate scored a huge 20PTS, Ware 15, Bogut 10 and both Lisch and Newley, 6 each. Of the bench, Cooks was hugely influential with 14PTS, Louzada had 10 and Bruce 5. Tate shot 53.8% from the court as he also got, 6REB, 3AST and 1STL. Ware hit 4 from deep, as his other stats included 4REB and 1AST. Bogut shot a perfect 4/4 from the court, as he also had 8REB, 3AST and 1STL. Both Lisch and Newley made 2 triples a piece among their other stats. Cooks shot a really accurate 5/8, as he also got 9REB, 1AST, 1STL and 1BL. Louzada made both his FT attempts, as his other stats included 3REB and 1AST. And Bruce got his points, despite only playing just under 10.5 minutes throughout the match.
For Perth, their 93-82 victory over the Taipans at the RAC Arena, means that for the 8th time in 11 seasons, they’ll be advancing to the Big Dance. Simply crazy stuff! In the end they were just to strong for Cairns to handle and their experience shone through. They edged out Q1, as they won 25-24. Q2 saw them again win, this time by a 27 points to 20 score-line. Q3 was again their time, this time they were victorious 24-22. And Q4, they were just a lil bit better then the opposition, winning 17-16. Winning all 4 quarters in a finals game was deadly stuff from Perth. The opposition leaders were Oliver who scored 20PTS. He was backed up by Machado with 19PTS and Djeric with 12. The Wildcats made some big plays towards the end of this feisty encounter. And that was just one of the many reasons that they were to good for Cairns on the day.
White and Kay combined for 50PTS! (26 And 24 respectively). Norton scored 10PTS, Plumlee 6 and Cotton 5. Then of the pine, Steindl led the way with 11PTS. Wagstaff also had 9PTS. White went 4/4 from beyond the arc, as he also had 4REB, 2AST, 1STL and 1BL. Kay shot 9/14 from the court, as he also got 12REB, 4AST and 2STL next to his name. Norton shot 66.7%, as he had 6REB and 1AST. Plumlee pulled in 6 boards, as he went 3/3. Cotton on the other hand played an ugly game, as he shot 2/16 in total. He did however at least partially make up for it, by dishing out 8 dimes throughout the match. Steindl went 3/4 from deep, as he also had 2AST to his name. And for Wagstaff, he was 50% from the floor as he got 4REB and 1AST as well.
Key Players: Casper Ware. He was nothing short of awful in his first two match-ups against Melbourne. But then at Qudos Bank Arena in G3, he lit the fuse against his former-side as he exploded for 14 points. Crucial to that were the 4 three’s he hit and at a 50% clip mind you. When he’s rolling, the Kings are playing well. And when he’s off, the Kings have their wheels falling of. When you consider that a lot of Perth’s Guard scoring will come through Cotton, it becomes even more critical that Ware is able to match-up well against his opposition PG in terms of offensive output on the game. On the campaign, Ware has an average of 19.7PPG. For Cotton those stats are 22.5PPG. So Ware isn’t far of Cotton in that regard. And Ware’s is arguably better given that Cotton has been with Perth for a lot longer then Ware has been with Sydney for. In his last match against the Wildcats, he scored 16 points, had one board and dished out 2 dimes. He knows how to handle the Wildcats quite well. + In that match, he made 5/9 shots attempted inside the arc, as well as 3 of 4 FT’s as well. He is the major, major, major difference between that of the Kings of this season, compared to last season. Simply put he has to put up points in this one for the Kings, given how difficult it will be for them against Perth.
Bryce Cotton obviously springs to mind. But during 2/3 games against Cairns, the Taipans silenced him quite well. so Perth will need other options to rely upon in this series. Enter former Sun, Buck and you get the idea, Miles Plumlee. His season averages so far include 9.0PPG on 60.5% shooting, 7.0RPG. 1.1APG, 0.9SPG and 1.0BPG. If he can dominate Bogut close to the glass, make Cooks tired + Newley as well, then Plumlee will have has a great, great game. The former NBA man should have a massive role to play in this game and this series for the Wildcats. The opposing Kings C, Mr Andrew Bogut is getting older and slower as evidenced through the majority of his recent efforts against Melbourne United. Plumlee can kill him here and open up a pathway to the rim a little bit and he’ll have done his job if he’s able to do so. Additionally, if he’s double-teamed inside, he’ll be able to open up his team-mates for a flurry of open looks. If they can get hot and convert early, combined with Plumlee’s great close-to-the-basket-game, then the Wildcats will put in one hell of a performance in this one. And if he can catch Bogut with a couple of fouls early on, then all the more power to him because of it.
Special mentions to lesser thought of but still brilliant players Kevin Lisch, a former Wildcat, Shaun Bruce, a spark plug of the Kings bench and Jesse Wagstaff, the seasoned Perth veteran and somebody who was huge against the Taipans.
Past History: At Qudos Bank Arena late last year, the Kings beat the Wildcats, 104-85. That day they won or drew every single quarter as they destroyed the reigning champs. They ended as 20-20, 29-26, 30-18 and 25-21. Didi had a massive 28PTS that day, whilst Ware had 23PTS. Didi shot 10/15 and Ware 7/16. Didi also had 6REB, 2AST and 2STL. Ware’s other stats included 3AST and 1STL. For Perth, Cotton led the way with 6 three’s. That culminated in 36PTS, 5REB, 4AST and 1STL. That was their first game of this season against one another. After that at RAC Arena in December 19, Perth got their revenge, winning 96-77. They won the first two q’s. They ended as 30-27 and 40-18. The Kings tried a comeback in the 2nd half, but it was to no avail. As they won the final two q’s, 12-11 and 20-15. Cotton had a big 27PTS and White 20 that day. Cotton shot 11/25, as he got 9REB, 4AST and 1STL. For White, he hit a pair of three’s, as he also had 5REB and 2AST. After that it was a crappy effort at Qudos Bank Arena, as the Wildcats prevailed, 98-85. They won every Q, bar the 2nd, which they lost 28-20. All the others (in order) they won, 24-22, 26-15 and 28-20. Cotton shot an impressive 13/24 that day, en route to 39PTS. He additionally had 4REB, 3AST and 2STL. Ware had 33PTS for the losers, as he shot 10.22 from the court. And finally, the most recent game between these two hot sides, saw Perth win 110-100 at RAC Arena. This was the win that gave them a 3-1 series victory over Sydney in the regular season for this campaign! Perth won the first three quarters, 31-27, 29-25 and 29-21. But they lost the 4th, 27-21. That day for Perth, Cotton had 30PTS, Kay 21, Steindl 19, White 15 and Norton 11. For Sydney Tate had 23PTS, Newley 17, Ware 16, Kickert 16 and Taylor 12.
What Should Happen: 1. Ware explodes for 20+ points. He simply has no choice but to in this one, given the threat of Cotton, Perth’s opposing superstar PG.
2. Cotton goes of for 25+ points. He loves playing the Kings and was kept to just 5 points last game. Add the two together and you know what he’ll do to Sydney in Sydney.
3. And thirdly, the Kings win. With home-court advantage and looking to claim a first-up Championship since 2005, the Kings have all the motivation they need in the world to win this G1 clash. With all of that in mind, pick them for the tight victory, say by 1-10 points.
Betting Tips: Pick Sydney to win the series 3-2 at $4.25 (
When more match odds become available, also pick the Kings to be the first to 10 points and to win Q4.
Best Bet of the Round:
Pick Sydney to win at $1.62 (BlueBet).