NBL Round 5 Tips & Preview

The New Zealand Breakers will look to record their second win of the season when they return home on Thursday evening.

The Breakers completely controlled their Round 4 tie with the Hawks from the get-go, cruising to an easy win. They showed plenty of fight, albeit in an unsuccessful tilt against United in Melbourne, but they are clearly going to relish a return home and a match with what is arguably an easier opponent.

Cairns recorded their second surprise win of the season on Monday night, but they have proven that they find it extremely difficult to string together anything of a consistent run of form, and I’m therefore happy to be with the home side.

The Bullets return home on Friday night and will need to improve if they are any hope of beating the ever-dangerous Perth Wildcats.

The Bullets were in action only once in Round 4 and as anticipated, they did not have the answers for the red-hot Sydney Kings. They are now winless in their last two and really need to start winning if they aren’t to fall away from the four.

Perth atoned for their shock week 3 loss to the Cairns Taipans by beating the Phoenix and Hawks respectively last weekend. They are seeking four in a row and ultimately, should prove too strong for the inconsistent Bullets.

South East Melbourne are offered another terrific opportunity to take bragging rights away from ‘big brother’ when they host United on Saturday night.

The first meeting between these two sides returned a seemingly ‘shock’ win to the league’s new boys, but that result has since been franked by the performances of both sides.

United suffered a heavy defeat to the lowly Cairns Taipans on Monday, and it’s tough imagining them turning around their performance enough to win this.

The action continues in Adelaide on Saturday night and there is little doubt that the 36ers face an enormous task in delivering the Kings the first loss of their campaign.

It was another fair effort from the 36ers in Round 4; winning one and losing one, but their percentage did receive a nice boost and they enter this one fourth in overall standings.

The Kings have quite clearly been the league’s benchmark and rolled the Bullets at their only Round 4 appearance. This shouldn’t prove a whole lot harder and I am happy to continue riding their winning streak until proven otherwise.

The game of the round looks like materialising across the ditch on Sunday afternoon and there is a case to be made for both the New Zealand Breakers and the Perth Wildcats.

The Breakers are only one and three leading into Round 5, but they produced an enormous four-quarter performance to flog the Illawarra Hawks last week, and I think they’ll enjoy a massive confidence boost from that effort.

The Wildcats are a massive threat every time that they step out and of course, they do deserve favouritism ahead of this tie.

The Breakers can make a real statement by winning and I am happy to back them at their current odds.

Focus returns to south of Sydney on Sunday afternoon when the Illawarra Hawks attempt to get their season back on track with a win over the Brisbane Bullets.

The Illawarra Hawks have played more games than any other franchise this season but already, they are anchored to the bottom of the ladder with an extremely disappointing 1-6 record. To add insult to injury, star recruit Aaron Brooks has been ruled out of the rest of the campaign after suffering a torn Achilles.

This will be the second time that the Bullets step out in Round 5 and we’ll obviously get a far better gauge on what to expect after they meet the Wildcats on Friday night.

Monday night’s meeting between Melbourne United and the Sydney Kings is sure to be an absolute blockbuster.

Both clubs are in action earlier in the round but regardless of those results, this is always an outstanding fixture. The Kings have enjoyed a faultless start to the season, and I am happy to be with them again.