The following are previews with betting tips for Round 2 of the 2021 NBL season.
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Wednesday, January 20
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Adelaide 36ers vs South East Melbourne PhoenixAdelaide Entertainment Centre 7:30pm AEDT |
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Previous match- DOUBLE OVERTIME! That was what happened when these two sides played not that long ago and against each other. Eventually the 36ers pulled through with a MASSIVE performance to see it out in the CLUTCH! Playing at the Adelaide Entertainment Centre, OH BOY OH BOY, wasn’t a GAME put on for the home-fans! Q4 saw Adelaide win 19-15, which pushed the game into OT. Then the 1st period of OT ended at 10 points each. Then in OT2, it was all Adelaide, as they killed it, 17-9.
For the winners, Johnson was huge, even though he eventually fouled out of the game. He ended it with 33PTS, 4REB, 2AS and 1BL! Giddey also showed what he can do and similar to that of LaMelo Ball, he showed why he’s the next big PG to come out of the NBL. He ended the match with 16PTS, 11REB, 7AS, 1ST and 1BL. Dech went 5/5 from the FT line, as he scored 14PTS. He also got 5REB and 1AS. Crocker shot 50% en route to 12PTS. He had as well as that, 5REB and 1AS. Humphries scored 14PTS of the bench, McVeigh 10 and Teys 8. Former Indiana Pacer Sloan also scored 7.
For the unlucky losers, Creek balled out with 30PTS, while Wetzell had 24, Skyes 18, Gliddon 14 and Adnam 14 as well. Creek made 11 of his 21 shots, as he also had 8REB, 6AS, 1ST and 1BL. Wetzell shot 61.8% from the floor, as he also got 10REB, 2AST, 3ST and 1BL. Skyes had 5REB and a humungous 11AS. Gliddon had 5REB and 2ST. And Moore also pulled in 7 boards coming of the bench.
Who wins it and why- You’d expect it to be South East Melbourne and here’s why. They now know to better guard Giddey when he has the ball in his hands, because he was so crucial for Adelaide in both OT periods. And if they’re shutting down one Guard, who’ll pick up the slack for Adelaide in that department? Teys was great in the extra periods for the 36ers, but it’s highly unlikely he’ll play that well in back-to-back games and Sloan has been poor throughout Adelaide’s opening two games this season and there’s nothing to suggest that’ll change anytime soon. Giddey seems to be the key piece to this fascinating puzzle for the 36ers, but just like any puzzle piece, if you take it out, no matter what you may use as a substitute to replace it, or leaving the puzzle without one piece, it just simply does not work.
Betting tip- Pick the Phoenix to win this clash at $2.05 (Bet365).
Also pick H2 to be the highest scoring one at $2.00 (Bet365).
Thursday, January 21
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Brisbane Bullets vs Illawarra HawksNissan Arena 7:30pm AEDT |
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Previous match- These two sides last match was against one another and it resulted in a closely contested and closely fought 6-point, 90-84 win to Illawarra at Nissan Arena. Q’s 1 and 3 both ended in draws, 23-all and 21-all respectively. And it was in the other two q’s where the Hawks took the advantage by 3-points each time, winning 18-15 in Q2 and 28-25 in Q4.
For the Hawks, they had a lot of strong contributors in their unexpected victory. Of the starters, Froling scored 19PTS and Harvey 16. While of the bench, Naar had 17PTS and Simon 13. Froling also had 4REB, 1AS, 1ST and 1BL. Harvey also got 3REB, 2AS and 1ST. And Naar hit 3 from deep, as he also ended up with 5REB and 5AS. Bairstow also pulled in 8REB, as did Simon.
As for the Bullets, Sobey scored 19PTS, Law 17, Cadee 12 and Froling 10. Whilst of the pine, Drmic had 14PTS. Sobey had a pair from beyond the arc, as he got 2REB, 3AS and 1ST. Law was quite impressive as he also had 10REB, 1AS and 1BL. Drmic’s other stats included, 5REB, 1AS and 1ST. Froling also had 12REB and Harrison 6, of the pine.
Who wins it and why- Brisbane will have learnt their lessons from their last outing against the Hawks, and as such, they should be much better prepared to face them this time around. One of those lessons will have been shooting the 3-ball more efficiently. They took just 32 shots from deep against Illawarra and made only 8 of them! And only 1 came from the bench! Legitimately tragic numbers! Cadee was 4/11, Froling 0/2, Law 1/5, Sobey 2/9, Drmic 1/4 and Krebs 0/1. You just wouldn’t expect that to happen twice in a row. Especially so when you factor in the quality of players such as Sobey, Law and Johnson. They should be completely rejuvenated from deep this time around, at home in front of their loyal and passionate fan base. And in what should be another close game, it should show. It’s a Brisbane victory right here.
Betting tip- pick Brisbane to be victorious at $2.14 (Sportsbet).
Also pick H2 to be the highest scoring halve.
Friday, January 22
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Adelaide 36ers vs New Zealand BreakersAdelaide Entertainment Centre 7:30pm AEDT |
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Previous match- The Adelaide Entertainment Centre played host to one of the most exciting NBL games in recent history, as in double OT, Adelaide came away with an extremely hard-fought 116-108 victory. The 1st period of OT ended at 10 points apiece. So as such, the game moved onto a 2nd period of OT. There, players such as Giddey and Teys were huge for the 36ers, as they won that period a BIG 17 points to 9. They closed out this match in absolutely dominating fashion! Giddey went 8/10 from the FT line, as he had 16PTS. And Teys shot 4/5 overall as he had 8PTS. And linking back up with Giddey, the extremely talented 18-year-old-kid also got 11REB, 7AS, 1ST and 1BL. And that was of the bench! Whilst former Sydney big-man Humphries was another cool performer of the pine for Adelaide. His stats included 14PTS, 12REB, 2AS, 3ST and 4 massive swats!
For the Breakers the big question for this clash is how will Lamar Patterson fit into the side? Will he become their go to guy, or will he take a step back from his previous role within the Bullets franchise and become a 2nd or 3rd guy at the Breakers? The Pennsylvania-born SF killed it for Brisbane last season in the NBL, is a previous Atlanta Hawk and is a 2X All-NBL First Team Member. He’s also a Chinese NBL Scoring Champion and he averaged 21.4PPG last campaign. If he can perform big for the Breakers this season, then there’s no reason as to why they can’t return to the playoffs once again. And if he can perform big in this game, then he’ll hand his side a great shot at beating the weary 36ers.
Who wins it and why- This will be Adelaide’s 4th game in 8 days. Good for a game every two days (although it doesn’t exactly factor to be like that). They’ll be tired and perhaps a bit mentally fatigued. This after having such a big number of games so shortly after the off-season stopped and the new season started. And with the Breakers having waited idly by for their chance to play Basketball once again, you know they’ll be as motivated and as ready as they’ll ever be to smash this game right out of the park. Patterson and Wesley, two lethal, dynamic scorers for New Zealand should be taking advantage of that tiredness by going to the rack consistently and constantly. Those two factors should help contribute to what you’d expect to be a big New Zealand win.
Betting tip- pick the Breakers to win at $2.00 (Unibet).
Also pick H1 to be the highest scoring one.
Saturday, January 23
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Cairns Taipans vs Sydney KingsCairns Pop Up Arena 8:00pm AEDT |
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Previous match- These two sides previous game was when they fought hard in a back-and-forth 87-86 Taipans victory. Casper Ware coulda and shoulda won it for Sydney right at the end, but at the Cairns Pop Up Arena, he didn’t have what it took, as he missed the game winning 3-point attempt, much to the delight of the home crowd and Cairns (the team) themselves. Q1 saw Sydney win, 30-24. Q2 saw Cairns win, 26-21. Q3 saw Sydney win, 19-14. And Q4 saw the Taipans come up with a decisive and match-clinching 23-16 victory.
For the home-side, very amazingly, all 5 of their starters scored in double-figures. Machado led the way with 17PTS, while Djeric had 15, Deng 13 and Oliver and Koi 12 each. And King scored 7 of the bench. Machado made 3 from deep, as he also came incredibly close to a triple-double, with 8REB and 8AS. Djeric went all Curry from deep, hitting 4 of his 7 attempts, as he also got 4REB and 2AS. And Oliver went absolutely mental out on the court, with 11REB and 5BL! That while Deng also had 6 boards.
It was a crappy (to say the least) shooting performance from Sydney. Bruce was 1/6 from the court, Didi 2/10, Moller 2/6, Ware 6/21 and Vasiljevic 1/5 from 3-point range. Newley shot a very good 6/9 for 14PTS. He also got 6REB, 2AS and 1ST. Former Memphis Grizzlie Martin was also very good as he scored 11PTS, to go along with his 8REB. He shot 55.6% from the floor. And Hunter was looking quite nice out there as the starting C for the Kings. He shot 4/7 for 9PTS, along with 7REB, 1AS and 3BL.
Who wins it and why- If Casper Ware can rediscover some of his old form, then Sydney should win it, however, if he decides to lay a brick house again, then Cairns should win it, and probably more easily then they did the first time at that. Last match for Sydney, he hit just 41.7% of his two-point attempts and only 11.1% of his 3-point attempts. Honestly embarrassing stuff from a PG of his calibre and pay-cheque. So as per a lot of the supporter’s requests, he needs to stop jacking up stupid 3’s and go to the hole more. He’s a great inside scorer, he needs to do that more often! If he can do that and draw some more fouls, then the Kings are every chance of getting one back over the Taipans. He shot just 5 FT’s last game, albeit at a 100% accuracy rate. He should find some old form in this one and help lead Sydney to the W.
Betting tip- pick Sydney to win at $2.40 (bet365, BlueBet).
And also pick them to be first to both 10 and 20 points.
Sunday, January 24
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Perth Wildcats vs South East Melbourne PhoenixRAC Arena 5:00pm AEDT |
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Previous match- South East Melbourne couldn’t quite close it out in their most recent clash at the Adelaide Entertainment Centre. There in front of a crazy, raucous home-crowd, they went down 116-108 in double OT, in what was a simply thrilling game to watch. They crucially allowed Adelaide back into the game in Q4, as they lost that one 19-15. The game then headed into OT where it ended at 10-10. Then in double OT they lost 17-9. And just like that the game was gone from their hands and into the 36ers hands. Of the starters, Creek scored 30PTS, Wetzell 24, Skyes 18 and Gliddon 14. That while Adnam had 14 of the bench. And had their shooting been a lil bit better throughout the duration of the game, they may have been able to have won it. Gliddon went just 4/14, Te Rangi was 0/4 from deep, Adnam was 1/3 from beyond the arc, Gibson went 0/3 and Moore 1/5. This really was one of those what if games for the Phoenix.
The Wildcats have yet to feature in a match this season, so as a result, their last match was their pre-season 82-74 defeat to the Hawks, at the Bendat Basketball Centre. They won the opening quarter, but lost all three after that. The scores of those were, 25-21, 16-21, 16-22 and 17-18. Mooney led Perth in both the scoring and rebounding department, with 19 and 13 respectively. And Norton also dished out 5 dimes for the Wildcats. The big question for this clash is how will Cotton deal with the losses of Kay, White and Plumlee? All three were hugely important to their controversial Championship victory last season and it remains to be seen whether Cotton can be the superstar that he has been previously without that strong star support around him anymore.
Who wins it and why- Perth. Perth. And a little bit more Perth. And here’s why, the one player on the Phoenix that may have been capable of bringing Bryce Cotton to a grinding halt would’ve been Dane Pineau, but he is currently out due to injury. So, whoever else tries to guard him, will have a hard time doing so. And when Cotton gets going, he creates a lot of space and brings in 2 or 3 defenders on him, which’ll leave a fair few of his team-mates open. If his team can capitalise on that space, then it’s game over for the Phoenix. Creek will rival against him as the super star of South East Melbourne, but we’ve all seen how Cotton has torched the Phoenix in the past and there’s no apparent reason why history shouldn’t realistically repeat itself in this encounter.
Betting tip- pick Perth to win at $1.63 (Sportsbet).
Also pick them to be the first to 20 points within the match.
Monday, January 25
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Cairns Taipans vs Melbourne UnitedCairns Pop Up Arena 7:30pm AEDT |
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Previous match- Playing at the Cairns Pop Up Arena, the whole Taipans team turned up HUGEEE! As they came away with the thoroughly exciting and thoroughly nail-biting 87-86, 1-point win over the Kings. The key quarter for Cairns was the 4th, there they won 23-16, and ultimately it gave them the narrowest of victories. And in the dying seconds of the game, Casper Ware ultimately gave the Kings their fate, as he bricked what would’ve been the match winning 3-pointer. Machado led the way for the Taipans with 17PTS, Djeric had 15, Deng 13 and Oliver and Koi, 12 each. King also had 7 of the pine and Krslovic 4. Machado didn’t shoot that great (33.3% overall), but he more then made up for it with his 8REB and 8AS. Oliver didn’t shoot too great either, as he was an even worse 3/10 from the floor. But just like the former NBA-man did, he also atoned for his mistakes. He had 11 boards and a MASSIVE 5 swats! And King also had 3REB, 1AS and 1ST.
Playing at the Adelaide Entertainment Centre on opening night, Melbourne absolutely killed it! They came away with an absolute thrashing, winning 89-65 vs Adelaide! Key to this game was the 3rd and 4th quarters. Melbourne limited the 36ers to just 13PTS in each of those periods. Whilst for United themselves, they scored a huge 26PTS in each of those periods. Goulding came up with 16PTS, as did Lual-Acuil. Ili had 13PTS and Landale 10. And white scored 7PTS. Goulding hit a berserk 5 from deep, as he also had 3REB, 3AS and 3ST. Lual-Acuil also got 12REB and 2ST. Ili hit a very smooth 5 of his 8 shots, as he had 4REB and a ST. While White’s other stats included 7REB and 3BL.
Who wins it and why- The Taipans are one of the few teams in the NBL who at least currently, know how to send an electric shock or two through Melbourne’s camp. Melo Trimble played for the Taipans before he went to Melbourne and every Cairns fan will strongly remember that less then acrimonious departure. And then there were rumours swirling in the off-season that they wanted Scott Machado as well, but he stayed loyal to the Orange Army. And good on the former Laker for that! So, there’s always a bit of tension in this clash. And it’s always tension that helps Cairns. Because they want it badly. And in the same way that Machado did against Sydney, expect him to help lead Cairns to a tight and tense W in what should be one hell of an affair!
Betting tip- pick Cairns to pull an upset and win at $2.14 (Sportsbet).
Also pick them to be the first to 10 points.
Best Bets of the Round
When the odds are updated, pick H2 to be the highest scoring one between Sydney and Cairns.
Pick South East Melbourne to be the first to 10 points against Perth.
And pick Melbourne to be the first to 20 points against the Taipans.