Brace yourselves for another weekend of NBL action with Friday night double-headers, a pair of top-three clashes and plenty of excellent punting value.
Round 10 of the NBL will have you thinking you’ve died and gone to Australian Domestic Basketball Heaven.
Be sure to read on and check out our preview of Round 10 as like the whipping boy in the group assignment at School/Uni – we’ve done all the homework for you.
The round starts off in the snake pit in a clash between sixth v eighth.
While initially, it could sound like a bit of a fizzer, this has the potential to turn out to be a cracking contest.
Both teams go into this match coming off much-needed wins with Cairns upsetting Melbourne United by seven points on their home court and the Breakers easily got the job done against Illawarra in Auckland.
Despite the win last week, the Breakers still have their issues both on and off the court and with Cairns are a single win of a spot on the ladder that puts them in finals contention need to win this.
Cairns has been a bit hit and miss this season but they’ve recently come into some good form and playing the flat-track bullies the NZ Breakers and a chance to get into finals contention – this is a game they can’t afford to lose if they are to have any hope this season.
It won’t be a walkover, but the Taipans should get the job done on Friday night.
RAC Arena plays host to a top of the table clash between the Wildcats (2nd) and the Kings (3rd)
Boy oh boy are we looking forward to this one.
The Sydney Kings look unstoppable at times but so far in the 2019-20 season.
The Kings are just one win away from their best-ever start to a season with 11 wins from 12 matches and playing the Wildcats on their home court is always a challenging task.
Coming off a big win over their bogy side Melbourne United last Sunday will give the Sydney Kings plenty of confidence whereas the Wildcats copped a double-digit defeat at the hands of the Adelaide 36ers.
It’s worth noting that three out of the last five games have been decided by nine points or less, but with the Wildcats playing at home, on the rebound from a loss and wanting to make an impression for the purpose of value, it’s worth taking them at the current price.
Melbourne United had a Barry Crocker of a weekend losing to both Cairns and Sydney whereas the 36ers got the job done over the Breakers and Perth.
United will be happy to be back in the home comforts of Melbourne Arena after a tough road trip.
The home side still goes in favourites in this match, given the fact they won six straight prior to last weekend and the Adelaide 36ers have a habit of being highly unreliable.
The 36ers seem to be no good on the road (3-4 in season 2019-20) and have lost their past three straight to Melbourne United.
United won’t repeat last weekends losses and with the benefit of playing at home and not having to back it up with another game this weekend, they should get the job done.
LaMelo Ball and the Illawarra Hawks make the trip to Bris-Vegas to take on the Bullets in front of a sell-out crowd at the venue they now know as The Armoury.
The Bullets really should be doing better than what they are producing this season with a team that has plenty of talent but can never seem to deliver any consistent results.
For the Hawks, they’ve basically become a team that is doing what they can to make sure LaMelo’s NBA draft stocks rise and rise, kind of as an investment property baby boomers use with their negative gearing.
Both teams really need a win but it’s unlikely they’ll be playing finals this season.
It’ll be a good game and there obviously be good talent on the court but if you’re looking for value happy to take LaMello’s Hawks to be up at half-time with the home crowd at the Armoury bringing the Bullets home.
Another top table clash as the 3rd placed Phoenix host the Wildcats.
Depending on how Perth fare on Friday night, this could be the game that makes them or breaks them for their 2019-20 campaign.
The Wildcats did smash the Phoenix back in October 110-79 but you wouldn’t expect it to be a similar result in this meeting.
With the Wildcats having to back it up from a game at home on Friday and the Phoenix back at home, it’s best you stick with the home team in this one.
Backing it up from a big road trip to Perth, the Sydney Kings meet their bunnies in recent times – the Cairns Taipans.
Perhaps bunnies aren’t the best description for a team called the Taipans given that some snakes do eat live rabbits, but this is Basketball and right now the Kings have won seven straight against the Taipans.
The Kings are firm favourites in this and Cairns are the kind of team that could keep it competitive.
Don’t expect any miracles here on Sunday, back the home team at the 1-10 margin for some value.
The round finishes off on Monday night with the Bullets heading across the ditch to face the Breakers.
There are a few scenarios to play over the weekend as to what implications this game could have on the ladder, but if the Bullets win on Friday and are able to back it up on Monday they could see some hope in the rest of their 2019-20 campaign.
At present, it’s best to look at the head to head or overall result markets for this match.
New Zealand has done quite well at home against the Bullets, so when in doubt take the home team.
Happy to go with the Breakers up at half-time and winning the match in this one.