Recently, I had to get tested and isolated at home to await my result.
I ended up getting a POSITIVE.
But it’s not for what you think, oh no, I’ve tested positive for NBL FINALS FEVER and I happen to be a superspreader of the Aussie Hoops variant.
So let’s inject ourselves with some value as the NBL finals get underway this weekend and turn it into a profitable one.
Two famous old establishment NBL clubs going at it in what will hopefully be a best-of-three game series.
This is the first time the Illawarra Hawks have played in the finals since 2017 whereas the Wildcats feature in the postseason for the 35th consecutive year.
Can Brian Goorjians men start the finals with a massive upset?
RAC Arena has not been a happy hunting ground for any team, especially the Illawarra Hawks, having recorded only one win in 35 games, along with that, the Wildcats have never lost a playoff series opener at the venue.
For each time Illawarra has played in their past five finals appearances, they’ve been knocked off by the Wildcats.
Illawarra did beat Perth in an 81-79 thriller in the final round to book their place in the playoffs but was stunned by the Sydney Kings in their final regular-season match.
Perhaps Perth has been going through the motions, missing Bryce Cotton, and losing their last two regular-season matches on the eve of the finals.
The Wildcats are missing Bryce Cotton, perhaps that is a factor.
Avid readers of my NBL tips will know, I’ve been on the Brian Goorjian Illawarra Hawks bandwagon all season long.
While the stats make for grim reading, these streaks are made to be broken.
To really spice things up to start the NBL Finals – I’m backing Illawarra for an upset.
A Throwdown finals series in Sydney with no fans.
What a depressing sight and a real double-foul from NBL Commissioner Jeremy Loeliger and owner Larry Kestelman to play this game behind closed doors.
Some crowd is better than no crowd and this edition of the Throwdown, while it is a final, will look and feel grim.
Now that we’ve gotten the editorial out of the way, as for the match itself, Melbourne United head into the finals off a three-game winning streak and have primed themselves for this moment all season long.
Phoenix would love to cause an upset, but I just can’t see that happening.
I can, however, see Phoenix putting up a fight.
Melbourne United has belted their cross-town rivals twice this season so perhaps they’ll get within striking distance.
I’ll take United at the 1-10 margin for a nice bit of value.