There are seven games set to be played in Round 15 of the NBL and plenty of opportunities for all eight teams.
Things could not be tighter at the top of the table and any of four teams; Melbourne United, the Perth Wildcats, New Zealand Breakers and Adelaide 36ers could be leading the league at the conclusion of this round.
We’ve previewed all seven games below and you can take advantage of the best odds across the board here at Neds!
Round 15 will get underway across the ditch on Thursday evening, in what is set to be an exciting game between the Breakers and Melbourne United.
The Breakers lacked spark during their game and eventual loss to the Hawks last weekend and they will need to improve noticeably if they are to account for a better team in the form of Melbourne, even at home.
Melbourne lead the league into Round 15 and they really do look like a team that could go all the way this season. They will also play the Brisbane Bullets away from home this weekend and this looms as a great opportunity to post the first of two valuable wins.
The Illawarra Hawks have found a strong run of form recently, but they are in need of another win when they travel to Adelaide on Friday night.
The Hawks have won four of their five most-recent games in style and look like a team that is competing well in this season’s finals, but their away record has been shaky at best and it is games like this, against a top-four team that are key to their chances.
Adelaide have been terrific recently and will enter this game fourth overall, but within clear striking distance of top spot. The 36ers chalked-up a fifth-consecutive win when they accounted for the lowly Sydney Kings last weekend and they will take plenty of confidence into Round 15.
If Adelaide can muster another strong performance than they should prove too good for the Hawks in this game.
The biggest blowout in Round 15 could take place when the Wildcats host the Kings in the nation’s west on Friday night.
The Wildcats remain second overall leading into Round 15, but that position is actually quite flattering when considering their recent performance. Having trailed the Bullets by 15 points at the main break on Sunday, the Wildcats were lucky to sneak away with a single-point win, but that was probably more as a result of Brisbane giving up, rather than Perth recovering well.
The Kings slumped to another loss last weekend and they now harbour a forgettable record of five wins and sixteen losses from 21 games. They simply have not been able to compete this season, not produce anything of a consistent run of positive results or performances.
Perth will win this game and probably win well, but the line is currently huge and given their recent performances, the Kings can cover the spread.
The table-topping Melbourne United will travel to Brisbane on Saturday night and will be confident of notching another valuable win on the road.
Melbourne will be on a quick back-up following Thursday night’s game with the Breakers and while the result of that game could have some bearing on this, the league-leaders will still start as clear favourites.
The Bullets have produced a few competitively performances of late, but they were extremely disappointing last weekend when they blew a massive half-time lead over the Wildcats to lose by a point.
Incredibly, the Bullets have won on every occasion that they have face Melbourne since re-entering the league last season, but it really does look like a big task in continuing that run on Saturday night.
Melbourne can consolidate their position atop the NBL ladder for another week with a win over the Bullets.
The Cairns Taipans and New Zealand Breakers are in action on Saturday evening and we are set for a typically exciting game.
The Taipans have fallen off the pace since the beginning of December and are winless in their two most-recent games. They were easily accounted for by the Breakers in New Zealand a fortnight ago, while they failed to keep up with Adelaide last week and finished in a ten-point deficit.
The Breakers have almost been as potent away from home as they have in front of their own crowd this season and that is an excellent thing leading into the back half of the competition. While they lost to the Hawks in Illawarra last week, they’ve won more than half of their games away from home since the beginning of December.
It’s always a terrific contest when the Taipans and Breakers play, but New Zealand can take a valuable away win from this game.
A reverse leg of the fixture two days prior will see the Kings host the Wildcats in Sydney on Sunday afternoon.
It’s tough seeing the Kings make anything of an impact in Perth and while they are a slightly better prospect at home, the Wildcats will still start this game clear favourites.
The Kings are simply impossible to trust from a betting perspective and this looms as a good opportunity to cover a smaller point spread, currently set at 5.5.
The final game in Round 15 of the NBL is also a reverse leg of Friday’s 36ers vs Hawks fixture.
The Hawks have found a competitive run of form of late, particularly at home and they remain a live chance of a finals berth if they win games like this one, against similarly-positioned opponents.
I am expecting Adelaide to win at home on Friday, but the Hawks can reverse their fortunes and that result at home in Illawarra on Sunday.