If the events of last week were anything to go by, Round 3 of the NBL should be an absolute beauty.
But before we get stuck into our three best bets for the weekend ahead, here’s that incident.
OMG. MITCH CREEK DUNKS ALL OVER DELLY AND THE THROWDOWN IS ALIVE! 🤯🤯🤯
Watch live and free on @10PeachAu + @kayosports #NBL22 pic.twitter.com/yAzdr9gYHa
— NBL (@NBL) December 12, 2021
Mitch Creek and Delly have brought back the biff, and we’ve brought back the value.
Let’s rip into our NBL Round 3 tips and preview.
With both the Kings and Melbourne United coming off epic games last weekend, one can only hope that Thursday night’s clash will be just as good.
United will be hurting after going down to cross-town rivals the Phoneix, and the Kings most certainly do not like losing to the Illawarra Hawks.
It might be round 3, but this will be the second time that these two sides have met this season when the Kings managed to snag a five-point 79-74 victory over a United side that missed their chances.
With Melbourne United starting the season 0-2, they’ll be desperate to get a win and our old mate Matthew Dellavedova will come out breathing fire after that indiscretion with Mitch Creek.
It’s worth noting that the home team has won the past nine games between these two sides, and you can’t go past an angry on the rebound Melbourne United outfit at John Cain Arena.
Take them at the line.
Brian Goojian’s men have started the season with two wins on the road and finally get to play in front of their adoring home fans this Friday night playing host to the NZ Breakers.
The Breakers have yet to open the season with a win in their first three matches, and the market suggests they’ll be 0-4 as $3.70 underdogs.
I for one, cannot see an upset happening in this contest and it looks to be yet another exciting ride for the Gorj and his Hawks this season.
Illawarra to get it done and get it done easily in this one.
Many pundits have already dubbed last Sunday’s game between the Bullets and Wildcats as one of the games of the year, and rightly so.
Two periods of overtime resulted in the Brisbane Bullets claiming a very rare 97-94 victory over the Wildcats at RAC Arena.
The Basketball gods were on the side of Nathan Sobey, who was ejected in the season opener against the JackJumpers, making amends in the overtime.
Can the Bullets back it up in the space of five days?
Probably not.
The market suggests that the Wildcats will get the win, and they’ll want to make the most of their passionate home crowd support at RAC Arena before they have a likely long, extended road trip thanks to WA’s border shenanigans.
Avid readers of our NBL tips will know that I love a good stat and each of Perth’s last nine night games have gone UNDER the total match points line, not only that, Perth has covered the line in nine of its last 10 Friday games.
Lock that in for good old line-total points double
The Sydney Kings back it up 48 hours after playing Melbourne United, when they take on the South East Phoenix in what is set to be a fascinating encounter.
Saturday night sees the Taipans host the Adelaide 36ers in what is set to be a blockbuster clash up North. It will be interesting to see what impact on the markets the news of Scott Machado’s foot injury will have, with the Taipans point guard ruled out for 4-6 weeks.
A triple-header feast awaits us on Sunday, the day kicks off with Melbourne United hosting the NZ Breakers, followed by the Bullets taking on the Hawks and finishing off with the Perth Wildcats up against the Tasmania JackJumpers in what will be their last hit out at RAC Arena for a fair while.
Round 2 completes with a midweek clash between the Kings and JackJumpers in Sydney on Wednesday, December 22nd.