{"id":13931,"date":"2019-09-30T16:05:37","date_gmt":"2019-09-30T06:05:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.neds.com.au\/blog\/?p=13931"},"modified":"2025-12-05T13:12:18","modified_gmt":"2025-12-05T03:12:18","slug":"nbl-round-1-tips-preview","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.neds.com.au\/blog\/2019\/09\/nbl-round-1-tips-preview\/","title":{"rendered":"NBL Round 1 Tips & Preview"},"content":{"rendered":"

The wait is over and the NBL is back in session for season 2019\/20 from Thursday night.<\/p>\n

This is undoubtedly the most highly anticipated season since the NBL rebranded and arguably, since the turn of the century. A new franchise will begin their competitive existence, while the signing of some genuine young stars, including Melo Ball and R.J. Hampton has garnered plenty of hype.<\/p>\n

We\u2019ll preview every game during the 2019\/20 NBL season, providing out best bet for each. Our 2019 NBL Round 1 tips can be found below.<\/p>\n

Thursday, October 3rd<\/strong><\/h6>\n
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<\/use><\/svg><\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n
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Melbourne United vs South East Melbourne Phoenix <\/div>\n
United (-5.5)<\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div> \n <\/div> \n
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The league\u2019s newest franchise are in action first-up, but they face a baptism of fire against their crosstown rivals and early NBL Championship favourites Melbourne United<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n

Head Coach Simon Mitchell has gathered a quality mix of local and international players for the Phoenix\u2019s first NBL season, including names league stalwarts Tai Wesley and Adam Gibson. Mitch Creek will return from a short stint in the United States, while journeyman Keith Benson will play his first season in Australia\u2019s top league.<\/p>\n

United have been one to Australian basketball\u2019s headliners for several seasons now and while they were unable to defend their 2017\/18 title, they reached the Grand Final series once again. They boast arguably the league\u2019s best all-round team, and loom as an extremely difficult prospect for all other teams at home and on the road.<\/p>\n

The line for this match has been set at 5.5 points and I think that United should cover that with relative ease.<\/p>\n

\n Bet Now: United vs Phoenix <\/a>\n <\/div>\n <\/div> \n <\/div> \n<\/section>\n
Friday, October 4th\u00a0<\/strong><\/h6>\n
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Cairns Taipans vs Sydney Kings <\/div>\n
Taipans to Win ($3.20)<\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div> \n <\/div> \n
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An interesting fixture takes us to North Queensland on Friday night, when the Cairns Taipans and Sydney Kings open the respective accounts.<\/p>\n

The signing of Andrew Bogut was always going to be a positive move for the Kings, and the former NBA star repaid the faith by producing a season MVP performance and playing a key role in Sydney finding themselves in the finals.<\/p>\n

Typically, the Kings have taken a few games and a couple of weeks to really kick into gear these last few seasons and despite a far-improved overall effort in 2018\/19, I think that it could be the case again this time around.<\/p>\n

The Taipans meanwhile have been playing well through their pre-season program. It is obviously tough to line up the form of practice games with the real thing, but I think that they are over the odds at around $3.20 and can record a win at the Snake Pit first-up.<\/p>\n

\n Bet Now: Taipans vs Kings <\/a>\n <\/div>\n <\/div> \n <\/div> \n<\/section>\n
Saturday, October 5th\u00a0<\/strong><\/h6>\n
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Perth Wildcats vs Melbourne United <\/div>\n
United (+3.5)<\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div> \n <\/div> \n
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There are only four games on the Round 1 slate and there\u2019s little doubt that the contest of the week will materialise in the nation\u2019s west on Saturday, when we\u2019re treated to a Grand Final series rematch between the Perth Wildcats and Melbourne United.<\/p>\n

Somehow, Perth began last season at a double-figure price to win the whole thing, but comfortably won through to the Grand Final series and beat Melbourne United three games to one. They loom as a genuine title threat once again in 2019\/20 and will be quietly confident of beginning where they left off, by beating United at what is the league\u2019s toughest road trip.<\/p>\n

We\u2019ll obviously have a far-better gauge on how Melbourne United will perform in this game after we see what they do against the Phoenix on Thursday, but I\u2019m happy to back their improved match fitness and I think that they can finish within a 3.5-point line as outsiders.<\/p>\n

\n Bet Now: Wildcats vs United <\/a>\n <\/div>\n <\/div> \n <\/div> \n<\/section>\n
Sunday, October 6th<\/strong><\/h6>\n
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<\/use><\/svg><\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n
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Illawarra Hawks vs Brisbane Bullets <\/div>\n
Hawks to Win ($1.70)<\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div> \n <\/div> \n
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Round 1 of the NBL season will conclude when the new-look Illawarra Hawks host the Brisbane Bullets on Sunday afternoon.<\/p>\n

The Hawks pulled off the coup of the offseason by signing US High School prodigy LaMelo Ball; a move that certainly looks like paying dividends in 2019\/20, if his pre-season form translates into the season proper. The Hawks were far from awful last season, but I\u2019m expecting an enormous improvement this time and they are potentially over the odds to win the whole thing at around $8<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

The Bullets exceeded expectations in 2018\/19 by winning into their first finals campaign since re-joining the league, and they harbour plenty of upside ahead of the new campaign. In terms of Championship betting, these two franchises are extremely well-matched, but I\u2019m happy to be with the home side first-up. There is still enough meat on the bone for me at their current price ($1.70 at publish).<\/p>\n

\n Bet Now: Hawks vs Bullets <\/a>\n <\/div>\n <\/div> \n <\/div> \n<\/section>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The wait is over and the NBL is back in session for season 2019\/20 from Thursday night. This is undoubtedly the most highly anticipated season since the NBL rebranded and arguably, since the turn of the century. A new franchise will begin their competitive existence, while the signing of some genuine young stars, including Melo…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":1269,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[9,10158,344],"tags":[54,55,575,1434,85,73,65,70,71,69,43,370,44,2224,168,66,3582,68,72],"hub_post_cat":[],"class_list":["post-13931","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-basketball","category-nbl-tips","category-sports","tag-basketball","tag-basketball-betting","tag-basketball-odds","tag-basketball-tips","tag-betting","tag-betting-preview","tag-brisbane-bullets","tag-cairns-taipans","tag-illawarra-hawks","tag-melbourne-united","tag-nbl","tag-nbl-betting","tag-nbl-odds","tag-nbl-tips","tag-odds","tag-perth-wildcats","tag-south-east-melbourne-phoenix","tag-sydney-kings","tag-tips"],"acf":{"md_tip_date":null,"md_tip_date_end":null,"md_market_url":"","tip_date":"30\/09\/2019","event_country":"Australia"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.neds.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13931","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.neds.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.neds.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.neds.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.neds.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13931"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.neds.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13931\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.neds.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1269"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.neds.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13931"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.neds.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13931"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.neds.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13931"},{"taxonomy":"hub_post_cat","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.neds.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/hub_post_cat?post=13931"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}