The following are previews with betting tips for selected fixtures in Round 10 of the 2022/23 NBL season.
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New Zealand Breakers vs Sydney KingsThursday Dec 08, 5:30pm |
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The Kings are in 1st place, then the Breakers, back to Sydney, then over to New Zealand again! In what has been the case for the majority of the season to date, the battle for 1st spot on the NBL ladder has largely been a back-and-forth battle between the underdog New Zealand Breakers featuring electric Guard Barry Brown Jr. and the reigning champions Sydney Kings with destructive Forward Xavier Cooks. Currently the Kings are top dogs with a 9-3 record on the campaign, whilst the Breakers trail them closely in 2nd with the numbers 11 & 4 next to their name in the win-loss column. And with seven of their last eight brilliant clashes against one another having been decided by eight-points or less, this top-of-the-table affair is guaranteed to produce another classic that you’ll no doubt want to tune into!
Did you know? The Breakers have really ‘broken’ some spirits lately, prevailing in three out of their last four matches contested at home and twice during that span they’ve produced 110+PTS.
New Zealand’s latest affair saw them edged out by Perth at Spark Arena, going down 92-84 in what was an exciting match of Basketball. Barry Brown Jr was phenomenal as he went 6/6 from the FT line, en route to 27PTS + 2REB and 1AST. Whilst Derek Pardon was very effective from the floor shooting 5/6 for 13PTS, as well as 14REB, 2AST, 1STL and 1BLK. And Tom Abercrombie also chipped in with a solid 10PTS as well. As for Sydney they well and truly flexed their muscles at Qudos Bank Arena, as they smashed Adelaide 97-78. Derrick Walton Jr was brilliant with 16PTS, 2REB and 11AST. While Tim Soares did his thing with 18PTS, 2REB, 1AST and 3STL. And each of Dejan Vasiljevic and Xavier Cooks were also strong with a 15-piece meal each, as Sydney really shared the load around throughout the match.
OH BOY, OH BOY, OH BOY, haven’t we got ourselves a game and a half right here? Once again for the second time in just a few weeks, these two teams will test themselves against one another to see who can be considered the outright Championship winning favourites. When they last went to work, Sydney had to work extremely hard to collect an extremely close 81-77 win over in New Zealand. However, the Breakers will have no doubt learned the adjustments that they need to make from that game for this one. But not only that, also what they did right and should hopefully lean into even more during this encounter, to give themselves the best possible shot of winning. One major example being how they shut down Derrick Walton Jr and Dejan Vasiljevic hard, as the backcourt duo combined to shoot just 3/19 from the field! More tough defence will make it tough for the Kings in this one.
Betting tips: Back the Kings to edge out what should be an extremely close and thrilling affair at $2.00 (Bet365)
Also look for Sydney to edge out H1 with an overall collective win at $1.95 (Bet365)
You can also back New Zealand to score 75+PTS at $1.18 and Sydney, 80+PTS at $1.45 (Bet365)
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South East Melbourne Phoenix vs Illawarra HawksThursday Dec 08, 7:30pm |
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South East Melbourne have been flying just like the majestic Phoenix bird as of late, having been triumphant in seven out of their last 10 matches. The most recent of those being a six-point Derby dub over Melbourne United, which saw all five of their starters bag double-digit points, led by Alan Williams with a MONSTER 18PTS & 12REB next to his name! As for the Hawks, they too embodied their namesake last time they stepped foot out onto the court in Wollongong, as they posted a hard-fought and well-deserved 14-point win, coming over Melbourne also. Sam Froling was a magnificent beast, posting 29PTS on 11/17 (64.7%) shooting from the floor, to go along with his 9REB, 1AST and 1BLK. That being Illawarra’s first victory from their last 10 matches. In the battle of the bigs, either Williams or Froling will go a long way to deciding the outcome of this exciting clash.
Did you know? South East Melbourne have won their last five matchups on the trot in Victoria. And early last month the brightest of those came against their opposition for this game, as they pummelled the Hawks into submission with what was a dominant 34-point win. A game in which they also won each and every quarter.
During the Phoenix’s 78-72 win over United, 10 of Alan Williams 18PTS came from the FT line, as he wasn’t afraid to drive it close to the basket + he also had 12REB, 3AST and 2STL to his name. Gary Browne was also lethal too with a commanding 17PTS, 8REB, 7AST and 2STL. While Mitch Creek hung around with a tough 16PTS, 6REB, 2AST and 3STL. Meanwhile Trey Kell III chipped in with a nice 14PTS and Ryan Broekhoff bagged 10PTS. As for the Hawks in their 93-79 victory, also over Melbourne funnily enough, Sam Froling was just too good with 29PTS, as he went 2/3 from deep + 9REB and 1AST. Backing him up strongly was also Michael Frazier II with 16PTS, 7REB, 5AST and 1STL. Tyler Harvey closely followed him with 15PTS, 1REB and 2AST. And Deng Deng claimed 11PTS, alongside Will Hickey who scored 10PTS.
South East Melbourne as things currently stand are aiming up hard to play Finals Basketball. Currently in 4th place with an 8-6 record on the season (57%), they are primed to do so. Mitch Creek the ex-Timberwolve and Net is doing wonderful things, averaging 21.9PPG, alongside 6.1RPG. Whilst Ryan Broekhoff, the Man who was with the Mavericks for three-years is on 10.1PPG + 4.1RPG. Gary Browne, leading the point and a former BSN MVP is doing scintillatingly awesome things when he has the ball in his hands, whilst Alan Williams at this point in time is just a monster down low. Illawarra have lots of class and lots of fight within them, but the Phoenix have just that little bit more + just a little bit more to play for. And when the legs start to tire, South East Melbourne can up Illawarra in that category by just a little bit, which at the end of the day has the strong potential to make all the difference in the world.
Betting tips: Look for South East Melbourne to triumph at $1.35 (TexBet)
Also look for them to win H1 overall, collectively, at $1.50 (BoomBet)
And finally look for 173+PTS to be scored throughout the match at $1.81 (BoomBet)