The following are selected previews with betting tips for Round 18 of the 2021 NBL season.
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Tuesday, May 11
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Illawarra Hawks vs Adelaide 36ersWIN Entertainment Centre 7:30pm AEDT |
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The Hawks didn’t feature at all during the latest round, however prior to that their latest outing was a hard-fought 75-67 victory over the Breakers at the Silverdome. Winning Q4 17-10 was absolutely huge in the context of their victory and potentially their entire campaign. They currently reside in 5th spot on the ladder yet are just a sole win behind the 3rd placed Kings.
Harvey led the way with a MASSIVE 29PTS, as he shot 10/21 from the floor. Whilst Simon had 12PTS as he made four of his five FT attempts and Froling posted 11PTS, as he made 5/7. Harvey also got 3REB, 2AS and an absolutely insane 7ST. Simon had 6REB, 2AS and 1BL. And Froling got 4REB, 4AS and 2BL. Jessup also came up with 8PTS.
For the 36ers they were down by 11 at HT, but they ended up wining by nine which helped culminate in their 97-88 OT win over the Kings in Sydney. And boy oh boy weren’t Adelaide electric in the 2nd half? This as they won Q3 24-11 and the OT period 16-7! They might be in 7th, but they are also only a win behind 3rd spot now.
Off the bench Crocker was crucial with 12PTS, whilst Pinder posted 11PTS. And of the starters Johnson had 20PTS, Paul-19PTS, Giddey-11PTS and former King Humphries-11PTS as well. Johnson hit 3/6 from deep including a couple of late crucial ones, as he also got 8REB and 2AS. Paul shot 4/8 from deep as his other stats included 6REB, 1AS, 1ST and 1BL. Giddey had yet another triple-double getting 10REB and 12AS, in addition to his points. And Humphries dished out 6BL!
Daniel Johnson had 20PTS and 8REB vs the Kings. Before that it was 15 and 10 vs CNS. Prior to that it was 26 and 8 vs BRI. He had 20PTS vs NZL prior to that. The 2X NBL Rebounding Leader is a veteran of Basketball and has been on an absolute roll all season long. And given the Hawks inability to make many shots from deep, they tend to drive it inside a fair bit, so Johnson the 36ers C will have the huge task this game of stopping them close to the rim/pulling in the boards. Not only that, he’s also one of Adelaide’s major attacking threats. If he can get it done on both ends of the floor, then the 36ers will be in with a great chance here.
Betting tips: Pick Adelaide to win at $1.85 (BlueBet)
Also pick them to win Q1 at $1.89 (UniBet)
And pick them to have a handicap of -1.0 at $1.85 (UniBet)
Wednesday, May 12
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South East Melbourne Phoenix vs New Zealand BreakersJohn Cain Arena 7:30pm AEDT |
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At the John Cain Arena last round some more pressure was heaped onto the Phoenix as they went down 93-82 to arch-rivals Melbourne United. Losing Q’s 2 and 3 were bad for them, as they went down 28-16 and 27-12 respectively. Now their season is on the line in 4th spot on the ladder. The Hawks and 36ers are just one win behind them, and the middle-placed Bullets two. This game represents a must-win for them in order to try and separate themselves a little bit from the rest of the hungry pack.
Off the bench Adnam was commanding with 14PTS, while Moore had 11PTS. And of the starters Le afa led the way with 19PTS and Te Rangi had 17PTS. Wetzell also posted 9PTS and 9REB, while Skyes had 8PTS. Adnam also had 3REB, 2AS and 1ST. And Moore had 8REB to his name as he shot 50% from the court. That was while Le afa shot 6/10 and also had 2REB, 2AS and 3ST. And Te Rangi shot 7/12 as he also had a rebound and a steal. Skyes also dished out five dimes amongst his other stats.
At the RAC Arena the Breakers fought hard but to no avail as they left Perth with a 14-point 98-84 loss to the Wildcats. Prior to that and both at the Silverdome they had gone down 75-67 to Illawarra and beaten Perth 86-84. Their close game run continued on as they now posses a 9-18 record on the campaign. And they’ve done it all on the road! A fair effort that definitely not every team would be able to match or better.
Unfortunately for them vs the Wildcats Q3 was the killer as they lost 20-13. However, it wasn’t all bad as Delany posted 21PTS and T. Webster had 20PTS. While Abercrombie also had 12PTS, along with Bach getting 11PTS off the bench. Delany shot 58.3% from the floor as he also got 3REB, 3AS and 1ST. T. Webster had 7REB, 2AS and 1BL. And Abercrombie had a board and a dime, as he also hit a pair of triples. McDowell-White also had 6PTS, 6REB and 7AS among his other stats and the same applies to Iverson with 6PTS and 6REB.
Wetzell’s last three matches have been pretty poor for S.E.M. However, his two efforts prior to his recent dry run were 12PTS, 6REB and 2BL vs Sydney (among his other stats) and 13PTS, 5REB and 2AS vs Adelaide. He needs to score at the very least in double digits for his side, while his job as a F is to box out hard and grab the rebound to ensure that the opposition don’t get many second bites at the basket. And whilst every NBL side is difficult in one way or another, you’re more likely to win against the Breakers then not. This matchup against NZ presents him with the perfect chance to not only help lead his team to a much-needed W, but also to help him play his way back into form a little bit before the finals start.
Betting tips: Pick the Phoenix to be victorious at $1.50 (Sportsbet)
Also pick them to have a handicap of -4.5 at $1.90 (Sportsbet)
Thursday, May 13
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Brisbane Bullets vs Sydney KingsNissan Arena 7:30pm AEDT |
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With an 11-14 record headed into their road game against the Taipans, many could’ve forgiven the Bullets had they decided to pack it in especially so given the recent news that they’ve allowed Will Magnay to head to Perth instead of playing back with Brisbane. However, after their 9-point 96-87 win which made it NO.12 against the Taipans the fighting Bullets now sit just two games back off of a playoffs spot. They produced a 30-25 Q1 win and also scored 27PTS in Q2. They were simply electric in this encounter!
Sobey led the way for Brisbane as per usual with 25PTS, while Drmic had 14, Patterson 12, Hodgson 9, and Cadee had 21 coming off the pine. Sobey shot 66.7% from inside the arc as he also produced 9REB and 5AS. Cadee shot 7/10 as he also had 1REB and 2AS. Drmic had 3REB, 1AS and 1ST. While Patterson also had 2REB and 4AS. Hodgson had eight boards and off the bench some of Harrison’s stats included 6PTS, 9 REB, 2AS and 3BL.
The Kings may still be in 3rd position on the ladder, but they are clearly weary, and all banged up due to injuries. Last Sunday afternoon/evening they capitulated hard in what was their 14th loss of the season through 28 games, going down 97-88 to Adelaide in an OT thriller at Qudos Bank Arena. Losing Q3 24-11 and the OT period 16-7 were absolute death blows to Adam Forde’s men.
Still Martin and Ware were big with 25PTS and 17PTS respectively. That while Hunter had 13, Bruce 12 and Vodanovich 13 off the pine. Martin also went 2/4 from beyond the arc, as he had 7REB and 1AS. For Ware he also hit a pair of triples as his other stats included 4REB, 8AS and 1ST. Bruce made four from deep as he also had 3REB, 4AS, 1ST and 1BL. And Vodanovich shot 5/9 as he garnered 5REB and 1AS.
Imagine the shot clock is down to it’s last couple of seconds and either big man in the form of Hodgson or Martin has the ball inside and are primed to hit the match-winner for their side. That is an incredibly realistic scenario for either side and in particular player to find themselves in. For Hodgson the NBL experienced Bullet is more then capable of turning up and turning it on in the big moments. While for Martin he was good enough to rep Memphis in the NBA and has very capably filled Bogut’s shoes since his departure from the club at the end of last season. Suffice to say both big men will each have their own destructively commanding say on the outcome of this should-be hotly contested clash.
Betting tips: Pick the Kings to be victorious at $1.85 (bet365, BlueBet)
Also pick the Kings +1.5 at $1.82 (bet365, BlueBet)