NBL Round 11 – Selected Fixtures and Betting Tips

The following are previews with betting tips for Round 11 of the 2021 NBL season.

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Thursday, March 25

Melbourne United vs New Zealand Breakers Bendigo Basketball Stadium 7:30pm AEDT

This battle sees the 8^th placed Breakers play host to 2^nd placed Melbourne United. There are two distinct possibilities in which the match could play out, New Zealand could keep it close, or Melbourne could blow it out. My guess is it’ll be a tight one. Taking a jump back to the Melbourne Cup, United beat them by the skin of their teeth 87-84, in what was an extremely close and competitive clash. During that eventful contest, Landale led the victors with 23PTS, while Hopson posted 16 off the bench. While for the opposition, T. Webster posted a huge 32PTS and off the pine Weeks had 7. Are we gonna see a repeat? Or does this clash have United written all over it!?

The Breakers latest result saw them go down to the Bullets in Brisbane by 21PTS (88-67). While for United they won in Victoria beating the Hawks by 10PTS (75-65). An absolutely costly Q for NZ was the 3^rd where they lost 20-9. While for Melbourne, the Q that helped them win the game was the 2^nd. As they won there 20-16.

Webster scored 19PTS for NZ, while Delany had 12, Iverson 9, Bach 7 and off the pine, Trist and Kendle produced 7 each. Webster also went 2/4 from deep as he got 4REB, 5AS and 1ST. Delany shot 66.7% from inside the arc as his other stats included 9REB and 2AS. And don’t discount the impact of Iverson either, as he shot 4/5 from the floor and had 4REB, 1AS and 1ST.

For Melbourne, Landale scored 19PTS and Goulding 16. While McCarron had 7 and both Baba and McDaniel had the same number each off the bench. Landale shot 7/10 as he also got 8REB and 2AS. Goulding went 3/5 from deep as he had 3REB, 5AS and 1ST. McCarron also pulled in 11 boards among his other stats.

Betting tips- Pick Melbourne to win at $1.29 (Sportsbet)

Also pick them to have a handicap of -7.5 at $1.90 (Sportsbet)

 

Friday, March 26

Perth Wildcats vs Illawarra Hawks RAC Arena 9:30pm AEDT

This hotly contested clash sees the 1^st placed Wildcats going head-to-head against the 4^th placed Hawks, with just two wins separating these to sides as well (11-9). Will the Wildcats pounce and kill the Hawks? Or will the Hawks soar far, far above their opposition?

Bryce Cotton’s the name and he’s got game! In his sides 10-point (92-82) win over Adelaide at the RAC Arena last night he produced a massive 36PTS. And he somehow managed to do that despite going only 3/11 from deep. While he went to the line 12 times and made 11 of them. He is relentless and the former NBA Guard simply does not give up and throws himself around like a ragdoll out on the court. Look out for fast and agile players such as Harvey, Jessup and Adel to all take turns guarding him and making him work for tough shots from deep, as opposed to letting him have it all his way at the basket.

Perth’s key Q from their dub was the 2^nd where they won 27-21 and really pulled the game away from the 36ers. For Illawarra, their latest clash was a 75-65 loss to United at the John Cain Arena. Q3 was massive for them, as had they won it would’ve pegged back the score a bit and brought them back into the affair, but instead they fell even further behind losing 16-13. Regardless of prior results heading into this one, these two sides always put on a show when matched up against each other.

Some of the Wildcats other key performers from their win includes Mooney who had 11PTS and Wagstaff who posted 8 off the bench. Mooney also had 14 boards, 3 dimes and 2 steals to his name. While Wagstaff also pulled in 6 rebounds.

For Illawarra, Jessup scored 13PTS, Harvey 11 and Froling 11. And off the bench Naar had 7, while a shoutout to Ogilvy who had 8REB. Jessup shot 50% from 2-point range, as he also got 3REB, 1AS, 4ST and 1BL. Harvey had 6REB, 2AS and 2ST. And Froling’s other stats included 11REB, 1AS and 1BL.

Betting tips- Pick Illawarra to win at $2.60 (Sportsbet)

Also pick them to have a handicap of +4.5 at $1.90 (Sportsbet)

 

Sunday, March 28

Cairns Taipans vs Adelaide 36ers Cairns Pop Up Arena 5:00pm AEDT

The Taipans have only 4 wins from 18 games. For Adelaide it’s 7 from just 19. The two struggling sides are in last and 3^rd last respectively and neither seems to be showing much signs of a reprieve. In the Taipans latest clash, they went down by 2 to the Kings in Sydney. Before that, it was by 18 to the Wildcats in Perth. Prior to that, it was by 4 to the Phoenix at the John Cain Arena. Overall, they’ve won just 1 of their last 9 games overall, with some pretty damaging margins in there.

For the 36ers, their latest defeat came at the hands of Perth whom they went down to 92-82 at the RAC Arena. Before that it was by 7 to S.E.M at the John Cain Arena. Prior to that clash, it was by 9 to Perth at the same venue. Overall, they’ve been victorious in just 2 of their last 11 games. Neither side is making the finals, but a win for Cairns would be a first great step in attempting to avoid the Wooden Spoon. While for the 36ers, a dub would put a tiny bit of respect back onto the jersey.

The key and unfortunate Q for Cairns in their game was the 4^th, that’s where the game was pulled away from them as they lost 20-16. For Adelaide it was the 2^nd, as they went down 27-21. Machado stood out for Cairns with 21PTS as did Krslovic with 13. Machado also had 4REB, 7AS and 3ST. While Krslovic got 5REB and 1BL as well. For the 36ers, some of their standout performers included Johnson with 19PTS and Crocker with 13. Johnson also had 8REB and 2AS. While Crocker produced 2REB, 1AS and 2BL.

Brandon Paul deserves a shoutout for Adelaide here. Their new import signing from America has so far featured in 3 games for the side. In his debut, he got 25PTS and 3REB. In his 2^nd match he got 20PTS and 3AS. And most recently against the Wildcats, he had 8PTS, but that was off of his 3/5 shooting, to go along with his 5 dimes. How he didn’t start against the Wildcats is beyond me, as it is for a lot of 36ers fans as well. The 29-year-old Guard could well be the difference here and that’s regardless of whether he’s starting or coming off of the bench.

Betting tips- Pick Cairns to win at $1.72 (Sportsbet)

Also pick them to have a handicap of -2.5 at $1.90 (Sportsbet)