‘Twas the weekend before Christmas, and the NBL had seven delightful games in the hope it would deliver some Basketball joy.
The punters awaited the preview from Neds in the hope they could back a winner and jag a multi to deliver some Christmas punting cheer.
We preview all seven games ahead of Round 12 of the NBL.
The Round kicks off nice and early across the ditch with the Breakers playing host to the Phoenix in what will be only the second time these two teams have met.
It was a mixed bag of results for both teams last weekend with the Breakers coming off a three point loss to Adelaide at home and the Phoenix getting the job done in overtime against the Taipans.
This will be the first time the South East Melbourne Phoenix have ventured across the ditch and despite being one of the highest scoring sides in the NBL, it’s probably best to back the home team in this match.
South East Melbourne have won two out of five of its away games this season whilist the Phoenix have actually been pretty decent at home with a 4-4 record.
There’s even money in this market but when in doubt – always pick the home side.
No LaMelo Ball, no chance for the Illawarra Hawks in this clash.
Expect this Friday night’s clash between the Adelaide 36ers and the Illawarra Hawks to be very, very one sided.
The Adelaide 36ers have won two on the trot, the Hawks are on a three game losing streak coming off a big loss against Melbourne United.
There’s no major explaination regarding my tip for this one.
The 36ers will win this and win this comfortably, especially with this match being on their home court.
This is a must win game for the Brisbane Bullets.
The good news is – they are playing at home.
The bad news is – they are playing the Sydney Kings.
If Brisbane are to have any chance of playing finals, they must win this game, but I don’t think they will.
The Sydney Kings came back from back-to-back losses the previous weekend by getting the job done over Melbourne United and reminding the competition that they mean business.
Recent records suggest the Kings have no problems against the Bullets winning all nine of their meetings since the Bullets re-joined the competition back in 2017.
Back the Kings by plenty.
This is the third time this season last year’s Grand Finalists meet as the Wildcats host Melbourne United at RAC Arena on Saturday night.
The Perth Wildcats are back to their winning ways and are now three games clear second on the ladder to Melbourne United.
Both teams are set to feature in the finals so this should be a cracking contest.
Heading into the game, Melbourne can look for all the tactics it wants, but dealing with the feral…sorry, passionate Perth Wildcats home crowd might just be a factor in this game.
The Wildcats record is pretty impressive over Melbourne, especially at home.
For the best value i’d look for United to get off to a good start and the Wildcats to bring it home.
Take the half time/full time United/Wildcats for a great value bet this weekend.
With less than a days rest from Friday night, both Illawarra and the Breakers meet on Sunday afternoon.
This has to be the clash of two of the most unreliable teams to back in any market and it really is a toss of the coin.
So I’m going all out here, back the home team – even without LaMello Ball.
Go for the 1-10 margin for some sort of value.
But it’s really a toss of the coin.
With both teams wanting a top four finish, Sunday’s clash at the Snake-Pit is a must win.
Adelaide ahas a 4-5 record this year which means this clash against the Taipans could be a hard one to pick.
The Taipans are 7-9 this season and have been incredbily unreliable to back and a notirous killer of multis.
The 36ers don’t mind playing the Taipans having won eight of their last 10 against them, but the Taipans do like it at home with a 5-3 record.
I’m always inclined to back the home team in these sorts of match ups, so with that in mind – I’m tippng the Taipans in a close one, 1-10 points.
The Phoenix Roadshow starts and ends this round of NBL traveling to Sydney to take on the highly fancied Kings.
The Phoenix do not want a weekend of back to back losses and they did get close to Sydney Kings going down by only four points back in November.
It’ll be a short rest for the Sydney Kings who played the Bullets on Saturday night, but a 6-1 record on their home court makes it really hard not to back them.
This stat is telling – Sydney has averaged 99 points at home, whereas the Phoenix average 77 points away.
Back the Sydney Kings by 11+ for some value in this one.