The following are previews with betting tips for Round 15 of the 2019/20 NBL season.
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Thursday, January 9
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Cairns Taipans v New Zealand BreakersCairns Convention Centre 7:30pm AEDT |
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Last RD- Cairns are currently equal 3rd and are in 4th spot. From 20 games played, they have 11 wins and 9 losses. Cairns are the underdogs that are battling away against the bigger names in the NBL and all the more credit to them because of it. They held on last game, despite a dumb Machado unsportsmanlike foul, in their 91-89 victory over Brisbane. They nearly lost the game because of it, but thankfully a Sobey missed 3 saw them claim the tightly contested win. They won every Q bar the 4th, 23-19, 25-24 and 29-16. In the 4th they imploded, they lost that one 30-14 and nearly the entire game. Newbill posted 28PTS, Oliver 21PTS, Machado 16PTS and Jawai 12PTS. Newbill also had 2REB, 3AST, 1STL and 1BL. Oliver had 12PTS, 1AST and 2BL, as he shot 66.7% from beyond the arc. Machado also had 3REB, 6AST and 1STL. Jawai of the bench, also had 1REB, as he shot a neat 5/7 from the court.
The Breakers currently reside in 6th spot and are only two wins of 4th. On the season they have 9 wins and 10 losses from 19 games played. They continue to try to fight and fight and fight for that 3rd or 4th seed. Their last game was a closely contested 97-92 win over South East Melbourne. They lost Q2, 31-29. But every other one they won, 27-24, 25-24 and 16-13. Hampton had 11PTS of the bench, in his return from injury. Abercrombie had 24PTS, Hopson 19PTS and Delany 18PTS. Hampton also had 1REB, 1AST and 1STL in his return game. Abercrombie made four 3’s as he also had 4REB, 3AST and 1STL. Hopson had 3REB, 6AST and 1BL. Delany got 6REB and 2AST. Ashley of the bench, also had some neat stats of 8PTS, 6REB, 2AST and 3BL.
Key Player- Cairns; Deng, 12.1PPG, 3.8RPG and just under a block per game.
New Zealand; Ashley, 11.6PPG, 7.3RPG and 1.1BPG.
Betting tip: Pick the Breakers to win at $3.20 (Bet365, UniBet)
Friday, January 10
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Illawarra Hawks v Perth WildcatsWin Entertainment Centre 7:30pm AEDT |
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Last RD- The Hawks have won just 5 games and lost a massive 15 this campaign, as they currently reside in 9th and last spot on the ladder. However, in a bright side for Hawks fans, LaMelo Ball is expected to return from injury soon. And while they haven’t won a whole heap of games this season, they’ve played well together as a team recently and have been more then pushing other teams to their limits. A prime example of that was their latest efforts, a closely contested 102-96 loss to Adelaide. Q1 was a 32-32 draw, Q2 they won, 29-27, Q3 they lost 28-22 and Q4 they went down, 15-13. Blanchfield had a massive 35PTS. Dech ably backed him up with 16PTS, Boone had 14PTS and Coenraad 12PTS. Blanchfield made an insane 7 3’s, as he also got 4REB and 3AST in his HUGEEE performance. Dech had 2REB, 4AST, 1STL and 1BL. Boone had 7REB, 1AST, 1STL and 1BL. And Coenraad ended up with 2REB, 2AST and 1STL as he shot 5/10, 50% from the court. Hobson also had 7PTS.
For the Wildcats, they are currently in possession of a 13 wins and 8 losses record. However, all of Melbourne, Cairns and Adelaide are three or less wins of them. If Perth don’t rebound soon, they could be a lot, lot lower on the ladder. Their last match produced one of the shocks of the season, as they went down 97-85 to Brisbane. They lost Q1, 28-20. They won Q2, 27-24. Q3 was a 21-21 draw. Q4 they lost, 24-17. This was not a good performance from Perth, by any stretch of the imagination. Cotton scored 28PTS, Kay scored 18PTS, White scored 10PTS and Hunt of the pine scored 12PTS. Norton also scored 7PTS. Cotton hit 8/15 2’s, as he also had 6REB and just 1AST. Kay hit 60% of his shots, as he also got 5REB, 4AST and 2STL. White went just 2/9, as he had 4REB, 3AST and 3STL. Hunt had 5REB, 3AST and 1BL.
Key Player- Illawarra; Hobson, 6.9PPG, 5.0APG and 1.4SPG.
Perth; Cotton, 22.0PPG, 3.5APG and 1.6SPG.
Betting tip: Pick Perth to be victorious at $1.46 (SportsBet)
Saturday, January 11
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Sydney Kings v Cairns TaipansQudos Bank Arena 5:30pm AEDT |
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Last RD- The Kings currently sit in 1st position, where they’ve been all season long. They’ve posted 14 wins and 6 losses. They’re also a win ahead of 2nd with a game in hand. With Perth’s increasing inconsistencies and no other real challengers, it’s looking increasingly likely that the Kings will end the regular season in 1st position. Their last game was an easy 91-77 win over Adelaide. They lost Q4, 22-18. But Sydney won every other one, 25-23, 22-19 and 26-13. Both Newley and Tate had 20PTS each. Bogut had 13PTS and Ware 12. Coming of the pine, Kickert had 8PTS and Bruce 7PTS. Newley had 6REB, 2AST, 1STL and 1BL, as he made three 3’s. Tate got 7REB, 3AST, 2STL and 3BL. He converted an impressive nine of his attempted 12 shots. Bogut got 10REB, 3AST and 1BL. Ware also had 2REB and 6AST. He shot a disappointing 4/16 from the court.
Cairns only game last round was their previously touched on 91-89 victory over Brisbane. The tight and tense two-point win was their 11th of the season. However, they need to keep on winning to hang onto that all elusive 4th spot, as all of Adelaide, New Zealand, Brisbane and South East Melbourne are anywhere from just 1-3 wins behind them, Crucial times ahead for the Taipans indeed! They nearly lost the game, as they went down in the 4th, 30-14, after they had previously won all the other three quarters. A late Sobey missed three was all the difference between them losing and winning the game. However, if Machado hadn’t committed an unsportsmanlike foul then that wouldn’t have been the case anyway. Newbill led the way with 28PTS. Oliver posted 21PTS. Machado scored 16PTS. And Jawai had an impactful 12PTS of the bench.
Key Player- Sydney; Newley, 11.7PPG, 4.4RPG and 1.4APG.
Cairns; Oliver, 16.8PPG, 9.1RPG and 1.1APG.
Betting tip: Pick Sydney to be victorious at $1.71 (SportsBet)
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Adelaide 36ers v Melbourne UnitedAdelaide Entertainment Centre 8pm AEDT |
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Last RD- The 36ers are currently in a logjam of teams competing for 3rd and 4th spot. They themselves are currently 5th and are just one win of 3rd and 4th spot. They have 10 wins and 11 losses on the season. Their latest game went right down to the wire, but they prevailed in the end with a 102-96 victory over the Hawks. Q1 ended as a 32-all draw. Q2 went 29-27 in Illawarra’s favor. Q3 was all the 36ers, as they won 28-22. And Q4 also ended in Adelaide’s favor, as they won 15-13. Drmic had 24PTS, 5REB and 1STL. He hit a strong 7/11 2-point attempts. Johnson had 22PTS, 7REB and 2AST. He shot 70% from the court. Randle had 19PTS, 2REB, 2AST and 1STL. He made 4/7 2’s. Teys was impressive with 13PTS, 5REB and 5AST. And coming of the pine, Griffin was BIG, BIG, BIG as his 15PTS was six more then every other Adelaide bench player combined. He also got 9REB, 1AST, 1STL and 1BL. He shot 5/9 from the court, good for 55.6%.
United are 3rd. They’ve won 11 games and lost 9 this season. They are just two wins of the 2nd placed Wildcats. They are also just one of dropping out of the finals altogether. That is how close the NBL is this season. And Melbourne are at the top of that. There’s barely any breathing room. That was evident in their battling 104-91 win over the Hawks last round. MEL won Q1, 28-26. They also won Q2, 27-24. Q3 they lost, 24-17. And Q4, they finally pulled away with it, 32-17. Kidd had a big 21PTS of the bench for them. Acuil also posted 10PTS of the bench. Goulding scored 21PTS. Long had 17PTS and McCarron 16PTS. Trimble also had 8PTS. Kidd also had 5REB and 1STL. Goudling got 2REB, 1AST and 2STL next to his name. Acuil had 2REB. Long had 7REB, 1AST, 2STL and 2BL. McCarron had 6REB and 1AST. Melo shot a poor 4/15 and was 0/3 from beyond the arc.
Key Player- Adelaide; Drmic, 11.4PPG, 1.2RPG and just under an assist per game.
Melbourne; Long, 19.6PPG, 9.6RPG and 1.5BPG.
Betting tip: Pick Adelaide to win at $2.20 (Bet365)
Sunday, January 12
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New Zealand Breakers v Brisbane BulletsSpark Arena 3pm AEDT |
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Last RD- The Breakers only game last round was their already talked about five-point win, 92-92 victory over the Phoenix. It’s a win which has left them in 6th spot and only two wins of 3rd and 4th position. It continues their late surge up the NBL ladder as they seek to claim an unexpected finals spot. They have won six of their past seven match’s. From newest to oldest, consisting of the streak, they’ve beaten, vs SEM 97-92. Vs ADL 96-87. Vs BRI 99-96. Vs ILL 91-89. Vs SEM 90-84. Vs BRI 96-85. And a lot of it they’ve done without Webster and Hamtpon and other injuries too. All the more credit to them because of it. In their most recent W over SEM, the defining Q was the 4th, they edged that one out 16-13. Roberson led the way for the opposition with six three’s and 31PTS. But Abercrombie with 24PTS of his own challenged that. As did Hopson with 19PTS, Delany 18PTS and Hampton 11PTS. Abercombie also had 4REB, 3AST and 1STL. As the MOM shot 8/16 and hit four triples. It’s nothing but onwards and upwards for New Zealand’s only NBL franchise.
Brisbane are currently 7th as they have 9 wins and 11 losses on the season. They are just a loss of 2nd last place. But only two wins of 2nd. And they showed that they’re legit about contending for a finals spot after their appearance in them last season, as they showed up and put the pedal to the mettle as they crushed the Wildcats, 97-85. They performed for their home fans as they won Q1- 28-20. They lost Q2, 27-24. Q3 was a 21-21 draw. Q4 they pulled away to win 24-17. Patterson posted a massive 35PTS. He also had 7REB and 4AST. He made 14/20 shots. WOW!!! Both Sobey and Hodgson had 17PTS each. Sobey also got 3REB and 4AST. Hodgson also got 5REB, 2STL and 1BL. Cadee hit four from beyond the arc, as he also had 3REB and 2AST. + Magnay had 7PTS, 9REB, 1AST, 1STL and 2BL.
Key Player- New Zealand; Hopson, 18.8PPG, 6.0RPG and 1.2SPG.
Brisbane; Sobey, 16.3PPG, 4.2RPG and 3.4APG.
Betting tip: Pick New Zealand to win at $1.63 (SportsBet)
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Illawarra Hawks v S.E. Melbourne PhoenixWin Entertainment Centre |
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Last RD- The Hawks suck this season, there’s no other way to put it. For them, the rest of this season is about building towards next season and the further development of their younger players. And when LaMelo eventually returns, giving him the best possible chance to go NO.1 in the upcoming NBA draft. On the campaign, they’ve got just 5 wins and 15 defeats. They have 3X as many defeats as they do wins. OUCH! OUCH! OUCH! They fought hard though in their opening game of last round though. But, they eventually went down to United, 104-91. They lost Q1, 28-26, They also lost Q2, 27-24. They won Q3, 24-17. But in the 4th, Melbourne pulled away with it, as the Hawks lost 32-17. Coenraad had 18PTS, Blanchfield 14PTS, both Boone and Hobson had 12PTS each and Naar had 10PTS. Dech scored 9PTS, while both Glover and Grida had 7PTS each. Coenraad also had 2AST and 1STL as he shot 7/10. Blanchfield had 3REB. Boone had a BIG 13REB and 2AST. Hobson had 3REB and an impressive 9 dimes. Naar also got 4REB, 3AST and 1STL, as he shot 66.7% from the floor.
South East Melbourne are currently 8th and only three wins ahead of last place. Yet they’re also only three wins out of a finals spot. That’s just an indication of how interesting and entertaining NBL 19/20 is. They’ve won 8 games and lost 11 on the season. Their latest efforts were thwarted when they went down to New Zealand last round, 97-92. They lost Q1, 27-24. They won Q2, 31-29. They lost Q3, 25-24. And they lost Q4, 16-13. Roberson scored 31PTS. Pineau scored 17PTS. Wesley had 14PTS. And both Creek and Gibson scored 11PTS each. Roberson also had 6AST and 1STL, as he hit 6 3’s. Pineau had a HUMONGOUS 19REB!!! As well as 1AST and 1BL. Wesley had 11REB, 6AST, 2STL and 1BL. Madgen also posted 8PTS. S.E.M need a W and they need it badly indeed!
Key Player- Illawarra; Grida, 3.8PPG, 1.8RPG and half an assist per game.
South East Melbourne; Adnam, 8.4PPG, just under a rebound per game and 2.0APG.
Betting tip: Pick the Hawks to win at $2.20 (Bet365)
Best Bet of the Round
Pick Perth to be victorious at $1.46 (SportsBet) vs Illawarra