NBL Round 8 – Selected Fixtures and Betting Tips

The following are previews with betting tips for Round 8 of the 2021 NBL season.

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Wednesday, March 03

New Zealand Breakers vs Brisbane Bullets State Basketball Centre 5:00pm AEDT

After going down by 18 points to the Kings, NZ responded strongly and in style as they thrashed Adelaide to the tune of a 106-62 score-line! Their joint biggest win in franchise history! This might’ve been only their 2^nd win of the season, but it helped them get off the bottom of the ladder. They also won every Q, including the 1^st, 32-6! The Webster brothers scored 29PTS each. Tai shot 8/14 and Corey 11/19. Tai also hit 3 3’s and Corey an insane 5. Tai also had 2 boards, 11 dimes and a steal. While Corey got 5 boards, 3 dimes and 2 steals. Iverson also shot 4/4 as he had 8PTS, 4REB, 2ST and 1BL. While Delany scored 9PTS and Galloway and Bach 8 each.

The Bullets posted their biggest W of the year last Sunday as they killed the Taipans 115-95. They now have a 5-5 record and sit in 5^th spot. They’re just a win away from a finals berth. For them, winning Q2 35-23 really helped them pull away heading into the 2^nd half. Sobey lit up the court for 30PTS, while Drmic had 20, Froling 15, Law 14, Cadee 11 and Krebs 8. Sobey hit 10/16, along with 4 3’s, as he also got 3REB and 3AS. Drmic went 5/5 from beyond the arc, as he also got 7REB, 3AS and 2ST. Law had 3 boards, 2 dimes and a swat. Froling also had 11REB and Cadee went 6/6 from the FT line in what was a simply awesome team performance.

Brisbane need to be able to properly counteract what NZ throw at them in this one. Because while they may not have Lamar Patterson, they seemingly play better without him anyways (NZ do). And after the Webster Bros combined for a MASSIVE 58PTS last game, Brisbane need to be well, well aware! Look for Tai and Corey to steal the show here, that despite Brisbane’s rich vein of form.

Betting tips: Pick Brisbane to win at $1.72 (Sportsbet)

 

Perth Wildcats vs South East Melbourne Phoenix State Basketball Centre 7:30pm AEDT

The Wildcats did what they did last round as they won 89-69 against Cairns. This was a W that helped them move into 2^nd spot on the ladder. They now have an impressive 5 and 3 record on the campaign. Winning Q3 18-9 was massive in the overall outcome of the clash. Cotton led the way with 23PTS. While Mooney had 17, Blanchfield 15, White 8 and Wagstaff also 8. Cotton went 11/13 from the FT line, as he also had 1REB, 8AS and 1ST. Mooney shot 50% as he had 12REB, 2ST and 2BL. Blanchfield also shot 50% from the floor as he had an assist and a steal. White shot 3/5 and Wagstaff hit a pair from deep.

Through 11 games so far, S.E.M have won 6 and lost 5. They currently occupy 3^rd position on the ladder. No Skyes, no worries last game, as they turned it on to beat the Hawks 93-76. Their key Q was 1, as they won 25-13. Creek shot 58.8% from the floor and 66.7% from beyond the arc as he scored 25PTS. He also had 6REB, 4AS and 1ST. Moore also produced a big 22PTS off the pine, as he shot 5/8. He had 5REB and 1AS. Gliddon scored 19PTS and some of his other stats included 5REB, 3AS, 1ST and 1BL. Both Adnam and Wetzell also had 9PTS each. Adnam got as well 5REB, 11AS and 4ST. And back to the bench, Le afa had 7PTS.

It’s the battle of the big men, Creek up against Mooney. Creek had 25PTS and 6REB last game. For Mooney he produced 17 and 12. Prior to that Creek had 23 and 12 and 29 and 9. For Mooney those numbers are 30 and 16 and 13 and 9. They are two of the best going around in Australia at what they do. And with S.E.M on 6 wins for the season and Perth 5, this individual battle should have a rather heavy impact on the eventual result.

Betting tips: Pick S.E.M to win at $1.90 (Sportsbet)

 

Thursday, March 04

Cairns Taipans vs Sydney Kings State Basketball Centre 5:00pm AEDT

The Taipans are now dead last after their latest defeat and NZ’s huge win, with a sorry 3 and 9 record on the season. They went down 115-95 against Brisbane in a game that they really should’ve done a lot better in. What happened to last seasons Taipans? They’ve straight up disappeared on us all. Losing Q4 29-22 put the nail in the coffin for them. Machado had 26PTS and Oliver 21. Machado also went 11/14 from the FT line, as he also had 1REB, 6AS and 1ST. Oliver shot 72.7% from the floor, as he had 6REB, 2AS and 1ST. Koi also scored 11PTS. He shot 4/8, as he also pulled in 3 boards. And Jawai produced 9PTS, as he shot 60% from the court. He also had 5 boards, a steal and a swat to his name.

For the Kings, they were incredibly unlucky against Melbourne as some poor calls went against them in what was an 83-80 loss. This has left them with a 5-6 record and currently in 7^th place. Losing Q4 25-20 was absolutely massive in the overall result of the match. Vasiljevic hit 4 3’s, as he had 22PTS. Ware also scored 21, as he had 4 boards and 5 dimes. Bruce lit up for 17, as he shot 50% from the floor. He also got 3REB and 3AS. And Newley scored 10 of the bench, as he also pulled in 8 boards. As well as them, both Vodanovich and Hunter had 5REB each.

Cairns look very, very shoddy at the moment. As for Sydney, they’ve lost their last two games to the two top teams by an average of 5 points each. Look at what happened when they played a poor side last. They poured in 96 points against NZ and won by 18. Expect a similar result here. While for 23-year-old Vasiljevic, Cairns will have a tough time stopping him. He’s hit 4 3’s each time over his last 2 games. And then going back, he’s hit 3 3’s from deep every match of the season bar 1. He’ll have a field day against Cairns, that much is guaranteed.

Betting tips: Pick Sydney to win at $1.63 (Sportsbet)

 

Cup Bet: Also pick Melbourne United to win the Melbourne Cup at $2.35 (UniBet)