NBL Round 7 – Selected Fixtures and Betting Tips

The following are previews with betting tips for Round 7 of the 2021 NBL season.

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Thursday, February 25

Sydney Kings vs New Zealand Breakers John Cain Arena 5:00pm AEDT

Playing at John Cain Arena, the Kings showed the rest of the NBL what’s up as they came away with a commanding 94-77 victory. This, despite all their injury woes, has moved them to an impressive 4-4 record on the season. That being good for 4^th spot. Q3 was absolutely mental for them, as they won the period 23-8! Ware led the way with 23PTS, while Vasiljevic had 22. Kickert also scored 11PTS, Louzada 9, Vodanovich 9 and Newley 8. Ware hit 3 from deep, as he also got 3REB, 2AS and 1ST. Vasiljevic also hit 3 from deep, as his other stats included 2REB and 2AS. Kickert shot 57.1% from the floor, as he also had a board and a dime. Newley had 6REB, while Hunter scored 6PTS. Hunter additionally had 9REB, 4ST and 2BL.

NZ at John Cain were just woeful last time out, this as they got beat 102-88 by the red-hot Hawks. This was an embarrassing effort from the Breakers! Make no doubt about it! This was their 5^th loss of the season from 6 games and leaves them 2 wins away from the next lowest placed side. Q2 saw the Hawks win 33-19, which really pulled the game away from their grasp. Before that Q occurred, the scores were locked at 21-21. Of the bench, C. Webster lit it up for 22PTS. That while T. Webster had 20PTS. Both Iverson and Patterson also had 13 each, Delany 11 and Abercrombie 7. C. Webster shot 8/12, as he also got 5REB, 1AS and 1ST. T. Webster hit a pair from beyond the arc as his other stats included 9REB, 7AS and 1ST. Iverson also pulled in a massive 17 boards and had a swat on his stat-sheet as well.

When these two teams met earlier this season at Qudos Bank Arena, Ware lit up the floor for 22PTS. This game from him was seen as kind of a breakthrough performance and a sign that he was over his ‘finals woes’. Since this awesome effort from the former Philly player, he’s had 21PT and 23PT performances. Both times he’s hit 3 from deep and shot 53.3% and then more recently vs ADL, 72.7% from the court. Coming up against a simply woeful NZ side, I think it’s safe to say that if Casper’s on the money this clash, he’s going to have one hell of a performance! That much is clear. Expect him to be as influential as ever in this one.

Betting tips: pick a Kings victory at $1.64 (Sportsbet) and to be first to 10 points when they’re available.

 

Adelaide 36ers vs Melbourne United John Cain Arena 7:30pm AEDT

At the John Cain Arena, it was very ugly for the 36ers. This as they got thrashed by the Kings, 94-77. And scoring only 8 points in a Q will do that to you. This as they got absolutely humbled in Q3, 23 points to 8!!! This has left them with a 5-5 record on the season and sitting in 6^th spot. They may only be a win of 2^nd place, but who can honestly say they see them leapfrogging two of the Hawks, S.E.M, Kings and Wildcats to claim a finals spot? Not many I’m guessing.

Crocker scored 15PTS, Humphries 14, Dech 13 and Giddey 10. While both McVeigh and Pinder had 6PTS each of the bench. Crocker also had 3REB, 2AS and 1ST. Humphries had 6 boards, a dime, 3 steals and a swat. Dech had 3REB and 5AS. While for Giddey, who shot 71.4% from 2-point range, also got 7REB, 7AS, 2ST and 2BL.

Playing at home in Victoria, it wasn’t always easy for Melbourne, but their 88-81 win over Cairns helped them maintain a one-win gap at the top of the NBL ladder. And it has left them with a very impressive 7-1 record on the campaign so far! They were down heading into Q4, but they pulled back the result in emphatic fashion, winning 30-19. Landale had 18PTS, while both McCarron and Baba had 17 each. White also scored 9, Hopson 8 and McDaniel 7. Landale shot a very impressive 7/12, as he also got 11REB, 3AS and 2BL. McCarron hit 3 from beyond the arc, as his other stats included 3REB, 8AS, 5AST and 1BL. Whilst Baba shot 6/8 from the court, as he also had 4REB, 3AS and 1ST. White also pulled in 8 boards.

For former Maverick and Cavalier Scotty Hopson, playing against a defensively struggling Adelaide team should be the perfect antidote for him to play his way back into form. He’s been bad this season, that is pretty obvious though. Against Cairns he scored just 8, before that 10, two before that 9, then two before that 0, then 9, then 4! He shot 4/12 against the Taipans and 5/16 vs Perth. And also, vs the Wildcats, he was 0/6 from deep! And all season long he’s been to the line just 8 times. He needs to drive more to the bucket. He’s a lethal shooter and that will keep the defence guessing instead of him just pulling up for bad fadeaway shots, like what seems to be the norm for him this season. If he was ever going to play well, he may as well do it against a seemingly inept side.

Betting tips: pick a Melbourne victory at $1.52 (Unibet) and to be first to 10 points when they’re available.

 

Friday, February 26

Brisbane Bullets vs Illawarra Hawks John Cain Arena 5:00pm AEDT

In Melbourne the Bullets did it all wrong, as they went down 99-83 against the Phoenix. This has left them in 7^th spot currently, with a 3-5 record on the season. No doubt they’ll be looking to redeem themselves again quickly against the Hawks! Q4 was where a lot of the damage happened, as they lost 31-17. Off the bench, Hodgson shot an amazing 9/10, en route to 20PTS. He also had 9REB, 2AS, 1ST and 1BL. While Drmic shot 6/9 off the pine, good for 16PTS. He got 4REB, 1AS and 1ST. Froling also posted 7PTS. Sobey shot 5/5 from the FT line, which helped contribute to his 16PTS. He also had 6REB and 4AS. Outside of that, both Law and Krebs scored 9 points apiece.

The Hawks made it rain last time out at John Cain Arena, as they tore NZ to bits, winning 102-88. This result has left them in 2^nd spot, with an incredibly good 6 and 3 record on the campaign. While they are also just a win behind 1^st place as well. Winning Q2 33-19 really helped them pull away the match from NZ’s grasp. After Adel shot 0/15 earlier against Cairns, the worst shooting performance in NBL history mind you, it’s safe to say that he redeemed himself in this one strongly. He shot 4/6, good for 10PTS. He also had 1REB and 2AS. Harvey also scored 22PTS, Jessup 20, Bairstow 17, Froling 8 and Deng 8. Harvey hit 4 from deep, as he also got 2REB, 4AS and 3ST. Jessup also hit 4 from beyond the arc, as some of his other stats included 2REB, 1AS and 3ST.

Looking back at the Bullets latest 16-point defeat to S.E.M, both Law and Krebs had only 9PTS each. Law shot 3/10 from the floor and Krebs 3/8, that’s simply not good enough and they both have to do a lot better than that. Law’s previous match saw him pour in 27PTS, while Krebs just has to be more efficient with his shot selection. Harvey and Jessup will burn the Bullets in so many ways in this one and Sobey can’t/isn’t capable of carrying the team on his back to a W. So these two need to do a hell of lot better to give Brisbane a fighters chance in this one.

Betting tips: pick a Brisbane victory at $2.35 (bet365) and for Illawarra to be first to 10 points when they’re available.