The following are previews with betting tips for selected fixtures in Round 13 of the 2022/23 NBL season.
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Sydney Kings vs Tasmania JackJumpersFriday Dec 30, 7:30pm |
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The Kings head into their home clash against the JackJumpers having triumphed in four of their last five matches contested in Homebush, while additionally a win here would push them two above the closely trailing Breakers. However that one defeat was against none other then Tasmania themselves, as just over two weeks ago Scott Roth’s fighters produced a 26-6 Q4 effort that saw them soar high and above for a 84-76 victory. The ‘Jackies’ are also being held in good stead for this tasty encounter, as they’ve won seven of their past nine matches on the road. And with Josh Magette exploding for 16PTS, 5REB, 4AST, 5STL and 1BLK in his sides most recent 11-point win over New Zealand, his side will certainly be confident in their chances of claiming back-to-back wins over Sydney.
The Kings latest match was a Christmas Day special as they roasted Melbourne at home in what was a 21-point win. And it was Xavier Cooks giving out all the presents on a 9/15 and 24-point performance, as he was scorching hot in addition to his 11REB, 7AST and 2STL. Whilst Jordan Hunter also flexed his muscles a bit, shooting 4/5 from the floor en route to 14PTS + 4REB and 1BLK. Meanwhile both Derrick Walton Jr and Tim Soares produced 10PTS a piece as Sydney’s pursuit of finishing in 1st-place continued on.
As for the JackJumppers they too were commanding in their last time out on the court, via their 93-82 win over the Breakers in Tasmania. Josh Magette bagged his 16PTS as mentioned, whilst Milton Doyle did LITERALLY EVERYTHING with 14PTS, 2REB, 4AST and 5STL. Jack McVeigh also secured 13PTS, 5REB and 1STL. And Will Magnay had 9PTS and 9REB. But perhaps most impressively off the bench were Fabijan Krislovic who fashioned 14PTS, 5REB and 1AST + Rashard Kelly who got 12PTS, 8REB and 3AST to his name.
The Kings made light work of Melbourne on Christmas Day, while Chase Buford is a Championship winning coach. The errors of their last match against Tasmania will almost certainly be atoned for in this affair and the scintillating way in which they broke Melbourne apart will also certainly be highlighted against last seasons runner-ups too. The notorious ‘Tassie’ defence of ex-New Orleans Pelican – Will Magnay, 2X NBL Grand Final victor Clint Steindl and Jack McVeigh an NBL veteran averaging 2.9DREBPG this season + just under 1STLPG amongst others will certainly make all of the above fairly difficult for the Kings to implement. But at some stage they will be able to play the game they want to play and that’s well and truly when the Kings will pick up the dub.
Betting tips: Back the Kings to win at $1.29 (UniBet)
Also look for them to triumph in Q1 at $1.57 (UniBet)
And also look for both teams to score 74+PTS each at $1.55 – Kings and $1.22 – JackJumpers (Bet365)
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Illawarra Hawks vs Perth WildcatsSaturday Dec 31, 5:30pm |
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The Wildcats have ‘pounced’ on the Hawks at every single damned turn in recent years, having won 13 of their last 17 head-to-heads against the opposition! The Wildcats to their credit have also collected nine victories this campaign, whilst Illawarra have picked up just the two. The differences between these two squads is quite large, however one Man who’ll be looking to make quite an impression will be Michael Frazier II. The ex-Perth SG was a part of the infamous WA team that missed out on the NBL’s Top Four, whilst he was also never really given a fair go out west. Playing for Perth he averaged just 7.8PPG and 1.7APG. However now that he’s repping the colours of Illawarra he’s on 19PPG and 2.5APG. He’ll make this spicy encounter even more spicy by wanting to show his former employers what they’re missing out on. Even if Perth win, he should perform valiantly.
Illawarra’s latest match was at MyState Bank Arena where they got smashed by 27PTS against Tasmania. They were simply outplayed and out enthused. However, Sam Froling with 19PTS, Mangok Mathiang with 10PTS and Deng Deng with 7PTS all played out of their skins. Froling to his credit shot 50% from the floor, alongside his 8REB, 1AST and 1BLK. While Mathiang went 4/6 + his 5REB, 4AST and 1STL. And Deng also pulled in 6-boards. However it was fairly obvious that missing the likes of Tyler Harvey and Michael Frazier II hurt them a fair bit.
Perth’s latest encounter was a match in which it was theirs for the taking, but they eventually imploded, as they went down 97-93 in OT against the Bullets at Nissan Arena. Leading the way for the visiting Wildcats was of course the ever influential Bryce Cotton with a humungous 30PTS and Corey Webster with 16PTS. While both Luke Travers and TaShawn Thomas were also commanding with a 15-piece meal each. Cotton also locked down 4REB, 6AST and 2STL, while Webster was on 5REB, 5AST and 1STL. Travers also had 10REB and Thomas, 6REB, amongst their other statistics for the evening.
Nobody and I mean absolutely picked the Bullets to prevail over the Wildcats recently! So that hypothetically gives the Hawks a fighters chance in this match, but that’s all it is, a fighters chance! Because on that same note of the now infamous Brisbane result, Perth will definitely come out shooting lights out in this matchup for fear of another ‘lowly’ opponent toppling them over. The Wildcats are fighting for everything at this current point in this season, but Illawarra are also somewhat of a dangerous proposition as they have nothing to lose. In his last game against the Wollongong-based side Bryce Cotton secured 13PTS and 4AST, while prior to that it was 25PTS and 3AST. The game leading up to that witnessed him produce 28PTS and 2AST, while before that it was 24PTS and 4AST. You get the point! He should lead his side to a resilient triumph in this affair.
Betting tips: Look for a ‘wild’ Wild Cats win at $1.39 (TexBet)
Also back them to prevail in Q4 at $1.72 (UniBet)
And look for them to reach 85+PTS at $1.38 (Bet365)