NBL Grand Final Series Game Two: Preview and Betting Tips

The following is a preview with betting tips for game 2 of the the grand-final series between the Perth Wildcats and Melbourne United in the 2018/19 NBL season.

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Sunday, March 10

Melbourne United v Perth Wildcats 2:50pm AEDT View a detailed form guide for Melbourne v Perth

81-71 Was the score as Perth won the opening game of the Grand Final series against Melbourne by 10 points. The Wildcats kept United to only 13 points in the opening quarter, however, they themselves only put up 14. Melbourne won  Q2 20-15. Perth then bounced back very, very strongly to win the third period 31-14! And despite Melbourne winning the fourth quarter 24-21, it wasn’t enough as Perth prevailed in G1. 

For the victors White had 19 points and Brandt 14. While all of Cotton, Kay and Wagstaff had 10 points each. Martin also had eight while Norton put up seven of the bench. White also had eight boards, three dimes and two steals. Brandt’s other stats included shooting 60% and getting seven rebounds and two assists. Kay had four boards, five dimes, two steals and three blocks. And Perth May have well won the game by more had Cotton not stunk it up with his poor shooting. He shot a simply crap 4/16 and went 0/9 from three-point range! Wagstaff also had two rebounds and an assist.

For the losers, Barlow only shot 1/6 as he had a meaner three points and Boone went 2/7 in what was bad shooting performances from both players. But Ware did have 19 points and Kennedy 11. And Goulding lit it up from the bench as usual with 15 points while Pledger had nine. Ware hit three from deep as he also had five boards, four dimes and a steal. Goulding has a rebound, two assists and a steal. DJ had next to his name 5/8 shooting including two boards, two dimes and a steal.  And despite Boone’s horrible shooting, he did pull in 12 massive rebounds. 

Melbourne shut down Cotton last game as the star PG went 4/16 and they limited Kay to only 10 points and eight shots. But they still lost. If they can cover those two well defensively again then they’ll have a fair chance of evening the series up. But they’ll have to shut down White who can shoot the ball well. Of White’s 19 points last game, 10 of his points came from twos and nine of his points came from threes. They HAVE TO be aware of him from both the inside and the perimeter otherwise he’ll run havoc again in pursuit of a second Perth victory.

For Perth if they want to win G2 then just keep doing what they’re doing. But also as talked about before shutting down Goulding is the key to them. Last game he was the only real threat for United of the bench as he posted 15 points. But even then he got his points of an average shooting performance as he went just 3/9 from beyond the arc. And he also only shot 1/4 two-point attempts. Pledger then scored nine and then after that Melbourne’s highest scorer of the pine was Vois with two. Goulding can get very hot and quickly from deep so it’s imperative that he has a man guarding him all the way down the court, no matter where he’s located. Because as he’s shown before he has an outside game like Curry’s and an inside game like Westbrook’s.

Melbourne need the win here. If they don’t win having to overcome a 2-0 deficit against the Wildcats is way too tough of an ask for any team, even the defending champs. Ware & Goulding need to deliver more. And Boone needs to score in double-digits or close to it. Give more shots to DJ. Then maybe, just maybe United can snatch a win of the Wildcats, a team that really only relies on three players for scoring (Cotton, Kay and White).

Betting tip: Pick Melbourne to win at $1.53 (Sportsbet)- This is my favourite/best bet to come from this match as it represents a must win for Melbourne. Lose and they’re down 2-0. Look for them to perform in what should be a strong bounce back performance!

Also pick them to win Q1 at $1.75 (TopBetta)