The following are previews with betting tips for selected fixtures in Round 5 of the 2023/24 NBL season.
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New Zealand Breakers vs Adelaide 36ers
Thursday October 26, 5:30pm |
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As New Zealand prepare to host Adelaide in what will be just their fourth game of the season, they can at least rest partially easy knowing that they’ve KO’d the visitors in eight of their last 10 meetings against them. And the last team they faced off was clearly indicative of the Breakers dominance, as they smashed them 101-75 at the Gold Coast Convention Centre during the NBL Blitz. As ‘blitzing’ the opposition was 2022 Bundesliga MVP turned lead NZ Point Guard Parker Jackson Cartwright, as he ended the ‘smashing’ affair with 17PTS, 3REB, 8AST and 4STL to his name in only 24:59 minutes of playing time. Meanwhile for the campaign the ex-LNB Pro B MVP (2021) is on 21PPG, 6APG and 4SPG , whilst shooting an extremely respectable 54.3% from the floor. New Zealand hold all the cards headed into this matchup and despite Adelaide being in desperate need of a win, via their 2-5 record on the season, will Cartwright prove too much for C.J. Bruton’s troops?
The Breakers aided by the hot play of Parker Jackson Cartwright will have a vendetta to fulfil as despite being reigning Grand Finalists, they still went down by nine-points to Championship favourites United at the John Cain Arena last round. Meanwhile for Adelaide at the Adelaide Entertainment Centre, they were much better than that of their counterparts Perth, as they came out on top by 11-points. Despite New Zealand winning Q2 30-19, it ultimately wasn’t enough as they’re perhaps still a tad tired from their recent two-match NBA road trip. As for the 36ers they were all over it, scoring 28PTS in Q3 and limiting the Wildcats to just 13PTS in Q4.
Zylan Cheatham however is the ‘cheat’ code for Mody Maor’s Men in this affair, as he fashioned 30PTS, 5REB, 4AST, 1STL and 1BLK versus Melbourne. As the former Jazz and Pelican Power Forward exploded off the mark, shooting 3/3 from deep and 9/10 from the FT line. He has shades of current Pelicans superstar Zion Williamson within his game. And his matchup against that of opposing Adelaide big man Isaac Humphries will certainly be interesting to say the least! Against Perth the ex-Magic bulldozer produced 26PTS, 8REB, 1AST and 3STL. As he also shot 12/17 out on the court overall. If these two are left to hash it out 1v1 then it should have a substantial impact on the game. Especially so if they decide to try and bully each other close to the rim!
Adelaide ain’t gonna let this one slip away easy. But no matter how hard they try, the defensive tenacity of New Zealand should mean that they have this dub locked down and heavily secured.
Betting tips: Pick New Zealand to triumph at $1.31 and for them to also win Q1 at $1.50 (BlueBet)
Also back the total points scored to be 176PTS or under at $1.85 (BlueBet)
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Illawarra Hawks vs Cairns Taipans
Thursday October 26, 7:30pm |
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With the Hawks sitting in 10th and last on the ladder, currently with a 1-4 record, they have well and truly had their wings clipped for most of the campaign, bar a high-scoring win/anomaly over the Phoenix. This was on display for all to see in their most recent clash, a home defeat to Melbourne United as they went down 101-91. Despite Illawarra putting on a real show in Q4, winning 28-24, they also lost the opening three stanzas, meaning their final quarter effort was mute. And with just three of the teams 11 players who participated in that showdown reaching double-figures, that jarring point of view is only further heightened. For the record they were Tyler Harvey – 19PTS & 6/16 shooting, Gary Clark – 17PTS & 6/10 shooting and Hyunjung Lee – 11PTS & 3/6 shooting. This is in stark, stark contrast to Cairns who have triumphed in three out of their last four games against Illawarra. Can Illawarra turn things around in this encounter, or will the venomous bite of the Taipans wreak havoc in Wollongong?
The only player from Illawarra who attempted at least two + three-point attempts versus Melbourne and shot over 34% from beyond the arc was Hyunjung Lee. To Lee’s credit the SG/SF and former 76er Summer Leaguer went 3/5 and as mentioned before scored 11PTS. He also pulled in four-boards in 14:26 minutes of playing time. Outside of Tyler Harvey & Justin Robinson, The South Korea sharpshooter is arguably the best playmaker on the Hawks roster. And given that Harvey has gone 6/16, 6/17, 2/8 and 6/14 over four of the first five games of the campaign, Lee may have a real chance to do something against Cairns who similar to New Zealand, may still be jet lagged and fatigued from their recent USA excursion. Because Lee sure as hell has the pace and the ability to make it rain against opposing defences, especially versus those that may be weary in one way, or multiple ways.
As for Cairns their most recent NBL encounter was the infamous ‘Sunshine Stoush’ against the Bullets up in Brisbane, a testy encounter which they just edged out to the tune of a 89-86 scoreline. The Taipans certainly weren’t afraid to flex their muscles throughout different stages of the game at Nissan Arena, as they conjured up 26PTS in the opening quarter and then 27PTS in Q3. Leading the way was Patrick Miller with 19PTS, whilst Bobi Klintman closely trailed him with 19PTS to his name. Miller also added 3REB and 5AST to the stat sheet. That whilst Klintman procured 6REB, 1STL and 1BLK. 2021 FIBA Europe Cup victor Miller definitely looks like he is the Point Guard that the Taipans have been longing for throughout the years and for Klintman, the Swedish Power Forward is just like one of his country’s main exports, machinery, because the bloke is an absolute machine with the ball in his hands. They will pose a humungous threat to the Hawks star trio.
Tyler Harvey, an All-NBL First Team member in 2021, the star player in the greater Wollongong area is simply put CRAP at the moment … He needs to pick it up otherwise this is a Cairns victory and even if he chooses to pick it up, it may be just out of Illawarra’s reach anyway.
Betting tips: Back a Cairns win at $2.05 and for Patrick Miller to score 15+ PTS at $1.18 (Bet365)
That whilst you can also pick Tyler Harvey to score 15+ PTS at $1.31 and for the Hawks themselves to fashion 74+ PTS at $1.05 (Bet365)