The following are previews with betting tips for selected fixtures in Round 4 of the 2022/23 NBL season.
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Melbourne United vs Cairns TaipansThursday Oct 20, 7:30pm |
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Melbourne head into their home clash against Cairns as a team who seemingly just don’t know where their heads are currently at. However if I were to take an educated guess, I’d probably say still at the RAC Arena in Perth after their shock three-point victory there on Friday night versus the Wildcats. As just two days later at the John Cain Arena they were embarrassed in what was a 10-point defeat at the hands of the resurgent JackJumpers. One moment star Shooting Guard Chris Goulding is getting three threes en route to 16PTS, 3REB, 5AST and 2STL on the road and the next he’s putting up just 5PTS and going 1/6 from deep! Whilst the club themselves have possessed incredibly shaky form as of late, winning just four out of their last 12 matches overall.
Meanwhile for the Taipans they currently sit 3rd with a very impressive 3-1 record so far on the season. With the last time they stepped foot out onto the floor resulting in a surprising, yet incredibly well-deserved 83-78 win over the Kings in Homebush. Right from the getgo Adam Forde’s troops were impressive, as Keanu Pinder led the way with 16PTS, 11REB, 3AST and 2BLK, including have shot 53.8% from the floor. It was a well-rounded team effort as Shannon Scott, a former Greek League steals Leader, also came down hard with 16PTS, 6REB, 5AST and 4STL. That’s not to mention the likes of DJ Hogg – 15PTS and Sam Waardenburg – 13PTS, who also contributed heavily to the victory. Ben Ayre is also a name to look out for in this exciting affair, with the ‘Aussie’ prone to exploding heavily against one of the Taipans rivals. Last time out he produced 20PTS against them and prior to that he dished out 4AST (for context his average this season is 0.7AST). Alongside the Taipans other stars he’ll be looking to contribute heavily in this matchup too.
The Taipans are a poisonous breed this season, they’re jumping out at and clamping down on most of the things that are coming their way … or should I say players. Prior to the win versus Sydney, Cairns went down by 29PTS to Perth, a match in which Bryce Cotton torched them for 24PTS and 3AST. Following that in the previously mentioned game against the Kings, they forced them to go a junky-like 8/28 from deep. Whilst in particular Vasiljevic was limited to 3/9 from that area. And Kouat Not had only 5PTS against his old club, below his season average. Now they can come in and clamp down on two of the already out of form focal points for Melbourne in the form of Goulding and Isaac Humphries who had just 8PTS and 0OREB in his over 21-minutes of playing time versus Tasmania. It will be far from an easy task, but all things considered they can get it done. The Taipans have both the winning mentality and the gritty spirit to in order to do so.
Betting tips: Look for a sneaky Taipans win at $2.50 (Bet365)
Also back them to score 78+PTS at $1.38 and Melbourne at $1.22 (Bet365)
Don’t be afraid to also back Cairns to reach 20PTS first at $2.30 (Bet365)
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Sydney Kings vs Adelaide 36ersFriday Oct 21, 7:30pm |
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It was never going to be the perfect campaign for the reigning champions in the form of the Sydney Kings, however even they wouldn’t have expected a roadblock as early as they did during the season, in the form of a damaging 83-78 defeat at the hands of the Taipans last Friday evening at home. A match in which despite NBL veteran Shaun Bruce celebrating his 100th game for the club, he played under 14-minutes and came up with 2TOV and 2PF. However he wasn’t the only King to get too complacent, as Derrick Walton Jr. came up with 5TOV and Xavier Cooks, 4TOV. Yet come this past Sunday afternoon they turned it all around at the Nissan Arena, as they conjured up a 17-point walloping of the struggling Bullets. Justin Simon was electric with 23PTS, 8REB, 2AST, 1STL and 2BLK to his name. Whilst Dejan Vasiljevic went 4/8 from beyond the arc, as he ended the game with 16PTS and 5REB. Both Tim Soares and Walton Jr. also chipped in with 13PTS a piece. And Cooks got creative with 9REB and 9AST being his key stats for the match! Sydney once again proving to be an extremely potent side.
Meanwhile for Adelaide they clipped Illawarra’s wings in what was their first victory of the season and a strong one at that, winning 90-80 at the Adelaide Entertainment Centre. They began Q1 strong, winning 25-17 and they ended the encounter as lethal as ever too, triumphing their 32-20. Leading the way was NBA-candidate Craig Randall II, who scored 17PTS in the fourth quarter. He also had 28PTS on the match overall, to go along with six three-pointers. Whilst he also had 3REB, 4AST and 1STL. Outside of him there was also both Antonius Cleveland who had 16PTS, as did Robert Franks. With some of Franks other stats including 9REB, 2AST, 2STL and 1BLK. Daniel Johnson as well lit things up with 10PTS on 5/7 shooting + 5REB, 8AST and 1BLK. And in a fun NBL fact, the last time these two teams went at it, the 36ers prevailed away from home 90-82. While Johnson had 16PTS and 11REB (insert staring eyes emoji here).
Despite going down to the 36ers the last time they played them, that still didn’t stop Cooks from accumulating 21PTS and 13REB! And Cooks’s side have still won nine of their last 13 games against the visitors as an added bonus too. However, arguably the more exciting aspect of this all-in clash will be the home Point Guard Walton Jr. up against his competitor in the form of Randall II. For Walton Jr. he is a definitive disher of the ball who has previously called all of the Detroit Pistons, Los Angeles Clippers and Miami Heat home. And for Randall II, the former Long Island Net once lit up the G-League to the tune of a 40-point performance versus the Greensboro Storm. He’s much more of a natural scorer then he is a passer, although he’s still bagged 4AST and 3AST over his sides two opening games of the campaign. Star players have the refined ability to define games for their squads and that’s exactly what these two phenomenal players should be doing right here. Either one, or both of them, have the strong potential to impact this clash in a way that others simply can not.
Betting tips: Look for a Sydney win at $1.45 (TexBet)
Also look for them to take out the title of having the highest scoring quarter at $1.72 (Bet365)