The following are previews with betting tips for selected fixtures in Round 11 of the 2022/23 NBL season.
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Melbourne United vs South East Melbourne PhoenixThursday Dec 15, 7:30pm |
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Melbourne hosts arch-rivals South East Melbourne in this Thursday night throw down jam, in what promises to be a damming spectacle of Basketball. For the visiting Phoenix (although the two teams co-share John Cain Arena), currently sit on 10 wins and are just two games off of the 1st placed Kings, as their tilt at a Championship is well and truly alive this season. Whilst for United their woes are pretty jarring, having triumphed in just four of their last 14 games overall. One team is striving for glory currently, while the other is playing for pride and it’s pretty obvious who is who!
For South East Melbourne their last game was a walk in the park, as they blew past Adelaide 102-84 at home. Mitch Creek was hugely influential as always, shooting 3/6 from deep, en route to 24PTS + 9REB, 4AST and 2STL. While Trey Kell III heavily backed him up with 20PTS, 3REB and 2AST on 50% shooting. Alan Williams was also commanding with 18PTS, 4REB, 1AST and 2STL. And Zhou Qi also did his thing, collecting 11PTS, 10REB and 1BLK.
As for Melbourne they were left well and truly dejected after a dying Corey Webster three-pointer in Perth relegated them to a tough-to-swallow 90-89 defeat. In a small bright side however Xavier Rathan-Mayes lit up the floor with 22PTS, while Chris Goulding produced 20PTS. Meanwhile both Shea Ili and Isaac Humphries had a 12-piece meal each. Rathan-Mayes also had 4REB, 3AST and 1STL to his name and Goulding was lethal from inside the arc, shooting 5/6 close to the basket. And Humphries wasn’t to be forgotten either conjuring up 8REB, 1AST, 2STL and 3BLK, all on an impressive 5/6 shooting from the floor.
All the pressure is on United right here! As they currently have just six victories from 17 attempts this campaign, a win is much needed to help keep them in contention. Because truth be told, a loss may be the final nail in their coffin of the season that has been, or perhaps hasn’t been, depending on how you view things. The Phoenix in fairness have had a blistering start to the season and considering they’ve won their last two on the trot against Melbourne, there’s no reason that their roll shouldn’t be stopped right here. A Phoenix thrashing is on the way and not even an infinite amount of points from Rathan-Mayes and/or Goulding can stop it.
Betting tips: Back a South East Melbourne Victory at $1.50 (TexBet)
Also look for them to triumph in Q1 at $1.71 (UniBet)
Whilst you can also safely back Xavier Rathan-Mayes to score 16+PTS at $1.80 and Mitch Creek 23+PTS at $1.87 (Bet365)
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Illawarra Hawks vs Sydney KingsFriday Dec 16, 7:30pm |
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As the Kings head down to the ‘Gong’ for their Friday night clash against the Hawks, they do so having won 19 of their last 21 games overall. And contesting an Illawarra side that’s won just one out of their last five matches is unlikely to change that. Although some credit must be awarded to Jacob Jackomas’s troops as they’ve fought hard all season long despite their lowly ladder position. And despite the obvious lack of talent available on the playing roster, they still pushed Sydney all the way the last time they met, going down by just nine-points in what was an incredibly spirited performance at home. So it’s safe to expect more of the same in this one!
At Qudos Bank Arena against the JackJumpers in their latest match, the Kings held a 12-point lead headed into Q4. Tasmania won the final period 26-6 and Sydney ended up losing 84-76 in an embarrassing capitulation. That was despite Derrick Walton Jr scoring 21PTS, Dejan Vasiljevic – 17PTS and Xavier Cooks – 12PTS. Walton Jr to his credit shot 8/16, as he also locked down 5REB and 4AST to his name. Whilst Vasiljevic also created 6REB and 3AST. And Cooks was ‘cooking’, shooting 6/10 overall, alongside his 8REB, 5AST and 1BLK.
Meanwhile in stark comparison to that of their arch-rivals, the Hawks were brilliant last time out in Cairns, as they pushed the Taipans all the way, before going down in heartbreaking fashion 102-101. Michael Frazier II was brilliant for his side, shooting an electric 6/10 from deep, contributing heavily to his 26PTS. While he also had 8REB, 3AST and 2STL. Sam Froling was also an absolute ‘son of a gun’ with 22PTS, 6REB, 3AST, 1STL and 1BLK. Tyler Harvey meanwhile wasn’t far behind him, shooting a nice 5/11 from deep, producing 21PTS + 2REB, 3AST and 4STL. Peyton Siva also got on the board with 13PTS and Deng Deng – 11PTS, 13REB, 6AST, 2STL and 1BLK. This being an awesome all-round team effort.
The Hawks unfortunately DO NOT have anything left to contest for this season other than pride and their small, but passionate fanbase that continually turns up for them, round-in, round-out. However, with the Tasmania loss being only the Kings fourth of the season to date, you’d expect them to turn around in this Derby encounter with vengeance on their minds and the Hawks however unfortunate will be the victims of that. Chase Buford will have fixed what went wrong last time out and better shooting, as well as efforts defensively mean that Illawarra don’t stand a chance here.
Betting tips: Look for Sydney to win at $1.35 (UniBet)
Also look for them to oust the Hawks in Q1 at $1.62 (TexBet)
And don’t be afraid to back the visitors to score 90+PTS at $1.87 and for Illawarra to have 65+PTS at $1.03 (Bet365)