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Illawarra Hawks vs New Zealand BreakersThursday November 28, 7:30pm |
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It’s a battle of 3rd vs 2nd on the ladder as Illawarra prepare to face the might of New Zealand at the ‘Snake Pit’. With just a single game separating them on the ladder, combined with how tastily close each franchise is to 1st place, a triumph here would set either side up for continued success down the track. For the Hawks they’re heading into this one off the back of an incredibly convincing home seven-point win over the Kings. They limited their arch-rivals to just 13PTS in Q2, while Trey Kell and Hyun-Jung Lee were an unstoppable force with a 19-piece meal and a 16-piece meal. Whilst for the Breakers they were a tad classier than the Taipans away from home in their eight-point victory. They were incredibly decisive in Q4 winning the period 14PTS to 10. And for them it was Matt Mooney who led the way with 15PTS & 2REB amongst his key stats. Both sides ought to rightfully be extremely confident of taking this clash out, but the big question is who it will be. Much like a roller-coaster this affair should have everything and has the potential to be one of the games of the season.
Illawarra’s latest home game and top performers – W vs Sydney, 86-79 @WIN Entertainment Centre. Trey Kell with 19PTS & 5AST, Hyun Jung-Lee with 16PTS & 4REB and Sam Froling with 14PTS & 6REB.
New Zealand’s latest away game and top performers – W vs Cairns, 77-69 @Cairns Convention Centre. Matt Mooney with 15PTS & 3AST, Sam Mennenga with 12PTS & 3REB and Pierre Jackson-Cartwright with 11PTS & 7REB.
Freddie Gillespie is gone and in his place is Tacko Fall. The 2.29ms Senegalese Center has signed with New Zealand for the remainder of this season and the next one as the ex-Cleveland and Boston Man attempts to help fuel the Breakers title charge. He’s brought a lot of positive publicity to the club, but his presence close to the rim isn’t to be understated either. He led the CBA in blocks last year and the G-League the campaign before. Defensively New Zealand are already a top-tier NBL team so it’s extremely scary to think that the Breakers have another couple of levels they can hit with him manning the paint. And his battle against fellow Hawks Big Man Sam Froling could be somewhat influential in deciding the result of the game. Depending on what minutes Petteri Koponen gifts him, Fall might have a quicker then expected impact vs Illawarra.
The Hawks just haven’t been all that lately and as a result you can back the Breakers to claim a tightly contested triumph right here.
Betting tips: Back a Breakers dub at $1.55 (PointsBet)
Also back Q1 to be theirs at $2.25 (BetRight)
Additionally look for Illawarra to score 78+ PTS at $1.10 and for NZ to produce 82+ PTS at $1.43 (Bet365)
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Cairns Taipans vs Sydney KingsFriday November 29, 7:30pm |
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Cairns head into their home match against Sydney having lost their last eight games on the trot. Undoubtedly Adam Forde will be incredibly eager to dump that streak on it’s head against his former employers, a side whom he managed for two seasons all up. Although thankfully for them the Kings have lost four of their last five games away from Olympic Park so it’s a real toss up as to who will collect the dub here. The ever-athletic Rob Edwards conjured up 33PTS in his sides most recent eight-point defeat to New Zealand in Cairns and figures to once again be a key player for the hosts. As for the Kings they were outdone thoroughly by seven-points to the Hawks in Wollongong, as despite their best efforts at bringing the game back to life, they were stifled at every turn. For them it was Jaylen Adams, the former MVP Point Guard leading the way with 23PTS & 6AST to his name. Both Guards will need to turn it on at the Cairns Convention Centre it what has the potential to be a pretty low-scoring matchup.
Cairns’s latest home game and top performers – L vs New Zealand, 69-77 @Cairns Convention Centre. Rob Edwards with 33PTS & 5REB, Akoldah Gak with 11PTS & 8REB and Jonah Antonio with 9PTS & 4REB.
Sydney’s latest away game and top performers – L vs Illawarra, 79-86 @WIN Entertainment Centre. Jaylen Adams with 23PTS & 6AST, Cameron Oliver with 16PTS & 7REB and Kouat Noi with 15PTS.
Losing eight games in a row is pretty difficult to overcome. Morale would be down and despite how good Adam Forde is as a coach, even he must be scratching his head at what the seemingly ‘venomless’ Taipans next move is. As mentioned before if they are going to get anything from the Kings then ex-Oklahoma City Thunder SG Rob Edwards has to be a focal point of his teams offence. He was pivotal with his 33PTS last round and it nearly resulted in what would have been a monumental upset victory over the Breakers. Tall Black’s Forward Sam Waardenburg will also need to be at the top of his game because Edwards can’t go it alone. Averaging 15.1PPG + 3.8APG + 6.8RPG on 43.1% shooting from deep this season, he has comfortably emerged as the Taipans second go to guy and has formed a tantalisingly tasty combination with Edwards. If these two are on fire then anything can happen, but if not Cairns will find the going tough against a seething Sydney Kings side.
Cairns will have a lot of fight and a lot of hustle in them but ultimately I’ll back the Kings to get the job done in what should be a no doubt entertaining encounter.
Betting tips: Look for Cairns to have scored 43+ PTS and Sydney 46+ PTS in H1 at $1.85 and $1.90 (Bet365)
Also look for the Kings to win Q1 at $1.72 (BetRight, TopSport)
And back Sydney to reach 20PTS first at $1.62 (Bet365)