There are only five games slated for Round 16 of the NBL and the action gets underway on Wednesday night when Melbourne United host Cairns.
The top four is still wide open and Round 16 results are potentially vital to the campaigns of several teams.
The league-leading Melbourne United will look to consolidate their position when they host the Cairns Taipans on Wednesday night.
Having been thoroughly defeated by the Breakers in New Zealand last Thursday, Melbourne travelled to Brisbane on Saturday and returned to winning form via an impressive fourth-quarter display which saw them walk away 105-98 victors. That was interestingly the first time that Melbourne have beaten the Bullets since their return to the NBL last season and they broke the drought in style, having comfortably covered the line.
The Taipans were only in action once last weekend, but they made it count with a convincing win over the Breakers at the Snake Pit. Captain Cameron Gliddon led the way in that game; securing 20 points and six assists.
Melbourne easily accelerated away from the Bullets in the final few minutes last weekend and their multi-dimensional attack and three-point ability should see them to another comfortable win here.
The Bullets will look to atone from a disappointing performance at home when they host the Adelaide 36ers on Saturday.
The Bullets had not been beaten by Melbourne United since their return to the NBL, but true to the story of their season, they slumped to a pretty comfortable loss last Saturday. Leading into Round 16, the Bullets have won just seven of their games and are simply out of contention.
Adelaide are one of the four franchises currently squabbling for top spot and they did their cause no harm whatsoever with two convincing wins over the Hawks last weekend. Having secured a 22-point win on Friday night and easily covering the line, the 36ers travelled to Illawarra on Sunday and picked up where they left off; walking away 19-point winners. Import Shannon Shorter was outstanding for Adelaide; notching 22 points, 9 rebounds and 6 assists in the latter.
Only a huge fall from grace will stop the 36ers from making this season’s finals and they represent value to cover the point spread against the Bullets.
Saturday night’s game between the Wildcats and Breakers in Perth looms as the highlight of Round 16 as both teams look to move back into the competition lead.
Round 15 was not a particularly memorable one for the Wildcats. They were faced with two extremely winnable games against the bottom-placed Sydney Kings, but after losing by seven points at home on Friday, were absolutely destroyed in the reverse leg, to the tune of 28 points.
Those results saw Perth drop to fourth in overall standings and despite having a clear lead over the fifth-placed Taipans, need to return to winning form if they are to challenge for a home final.
It was a mixed bag of results for the Breakers in Round 15, but a Thursday night demolition job of Melbourne United proved that they are capable against any team in the league.
The Breakers could realistically win this game, so they should comfortably account for a spread set at five points.
If the Sydney Kings continue their Round 15 form, we are set for an absolute blockbuster when they host Melbourne United on Sunday afternoon.
Not many would have given the Kings a chance in either of their games with the Perth Wildcats last weekend, but they did not give the defending champions a chance to get into either contest and won by a combined 35 points. What was perhaps most exciting for the Kings was their balanced scoring spread led by Perry Ellis, Jason Cadee and Jerome Randle.
Melbourne were easily accounted for by the Breakers, but returned to winning form with a comfortable triumph over the Bullets in Brisbane. This is the second time that they will be in action in Round 16, but they should be good enough to beat Sydney by more than 2.5.
Illawarra are only in action once in Round 16 and they will host Cairns in the final game of the week on Sunday afternoon.
Just as it looked like the Hawks were making a move towards the top four, they were absolutely thrashed by the 36ers twice in Round 15 and now sit sixth in overall standings, having been leapfrogged by their Round 16 opponents.
The Taipans are in action against Melbourne on Wednesday night and they are over the odds in this game.