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Adelaide 36ers vs Brisbane BulletsFriday January 31, 7:30pm |
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About halfway through the season it appeared as though the 36ers were no hope of making the finals, whilst the Bullets on the other hand were a surprise, albeit a sure lock to qualify for the post-season. What has unfolded since though is nothing short of remarkable as Adelaide have been flying lately to sit in 6th spot with a 13-13 record. Whilst Brisbane on the other hand have toppled off completely in 8th position at 11-16. If the Bullets want in for the finals this is a must win, because if they lose they can no longer mathematically qualify for it. Whilst a 36ers dub would pretty much sew up their spot at the end of the regular season. The hosts to their credit have won six of their last eight matchups, including a last start 16-point dismantling of the Breakers at the Adelaide Entertainment Centre. An fiery encounter which witnessed Montrezl Harrell put up 26PTS, 8REB, 4STL and 2BLK. Whilst Kendric Davis was his usual lethal self with 23PTS, 5REB, 13AST and 2STL. As for the Bullets last round they suffered a heavy loss at the hands of United at the Brisbane Entertainment Centre, going down by 27PTS. A lone shining light being Josh Adams who conjured up 23PTS. Unless recent form can drastically reverse itself, it won’t, then the 36ers have this game in the bag and with it their ticket to the playoffs.
Dejan “DJ” Vasiljevic! The electric SG won back-to-back Championships with the Sydney Kings and now at Adelaide is an absolutey massive part of their exciting run to the finals this season. During his sides most recent home win over New Zealand, he contributed with a bit of everything including 11PTS, 6REB, 4AST and 1STL. And before that in his sides nine-point win over his ex-employers at Qudos Bank Arena he ended the night with 12PTS, 6REB, 1AST and 1STL, including a pair of triples, as he was a massive influence late on in the encounter. Now he has to face off against ex-‘Jackies’ superstar, turned exciting Brisbane SG, Josh Adams. The Slovenian Cup and League winner has been putting up some superb stats lately despite his sides dip in form. Most recently versus United he ended up with 23PTS, 7REB, 4AST and 3STL, as he shot 61.5% from the floor. And just two games prior against Illawarra he locked down 12PTS, 3REB, 2AST and 1STL, despite featuring off the bench. These two superstars when they are on it have the range of Steph Curry from deep. And despite their tendencies to be a little hot and cold sometimes, this is the type of game where you can guarantee both Men will step up to the plate and deliver. Grab your popcorn and get comfy because this is going to be fun.
Betting tips: Look for the exciting 36ers to claim the dub at $1.24 (BetRight)
Also look for a big 48 + PTS to collectively be scored in Q4 at $1.85 (Unibet)
And you can also back the 36ers to produce the highest scoring quarter at $1.57 (Bet365)
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Perth Wildcats vs South East Melbourne PhoenixFriday January 31, 9:30pm |
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It’s 5th versus 4th as the Wildcats prepare to host the Phoenix. I cannot possibly understate how big this matchup is given that both teams still have an extremely good chance of finishing 2nd and in the process automatically avoiding the play-in tournament. For the Wildcats Bryce Cotton figures to be a big part of the game as he currently leads the race for the MVP award. Whilst Keanu Pinder is finally hitting his stride, as the Big Man collected a double-double of 29PTS & 11REB last round against Cairns. Whilst for South East Melbourne their latest dub came courtesy of a 36-point beatdown of Tasmania last Saturday. As Josh King’s Men poured in a franchise record 116 points, Matt Hurt busted his way to 29PTS on a simply fantastic 11/17 shooting from the floor. And Joe Wisekamp was up their too with a 20-piece meal on 8/14 shooting + 9REB amongst his other stats. Suffice to say the star power on display here is nothing short of phenomenal. For Perth they want to do better then last season where they bowed out in the semi-finals. Meanwhile the Phoenix finished last and very much so could go from Wooden Spooners to Champions within the space of one campaign. Wherever you watch the beautiful NBL from around the world tune in because this is going to be massive.
Nine out of the most recent nine head-to-heads between Perth and South East Melbourne have witnessed the victors put up 97+ points, an exciting stat because we know the sort of scintillating Basketball that both these teams like to play. Most recently in Western Australia we saw the Wildcats prevail 97-84 after a massive 40-point effort in Q2. Whilst before that it was the Phoenix who got up in Victoria, 100-76. That after an impressive opening period which saw them win Q1 35-23. Most recently Bryce Cotton put up 33PTS against S.E.M. Whilst prior to that it was Nathan Sobey, Angus Glover and Matt Hurt who combined for a massive 54PTS against PER. For the Wildcats they’ll need to rely less on Cotton here, because as we’ve seen teams do this season, they let Cotton put his stats up whilst mitigating the impact of his teammates. That means Cotton needs to be smarter with the ball before he finds himself isolated or being double, or potentially even triple teamed depending on the circumstances. Meanwhile for the visitors it’s no coincidence that they’ve won 10 of their last 13 matches because largely Nathan Sobey has been taking smarter shots and generally speaking has been less selfish with the ball. Cotton versus Sobey is the matchup we’ve all been waiting for and will undoubtedly be talking about long after this game is over.
Betting tips: Pick the Phoenix to prevail in an entertaining affair of Basketball at $2.56 (BetFair)
Also pick them to win Q1 as well at $2.25 (BetRight)
And back the total points scored to be 51 + in Q4 at $1.90 (Unibet)