NBL Round 7 Preview
Sydney Kings v Cairns Taipans: Thursday 17/11 – 7.30pm at Sydney Entertainment Centre.
Round 7 of the NBL season kicks off on Thursday night with an intriguing match between two unpredictable teams.
Sydney produced perhaps its best win of the season to date last weekend, defeating Adelaide 113-104 in a thrilling overtime victory. Both teams were level when the buzzer blew at the end of the fourth quarter, but the Kings seemed to have all the momentum in overtime to win the phase 17-8. Star big man Julian Khazzouh was at his instrumental best, scoring 27 points and grabbing eight rebounds. The Kings captain had great support from Kevin Ratzsch, who accumulated 24 points and nine rebounds.
There’s nothing worse than a tight, low-scoring loss – and that’s what Cairns had to endure last weekend. Despite being in front of their vociferous home crowd, the Taipans failed to fire against Perth, going down 64-70 on Sunday night. In a positive signs for the Snakes, Ian Crosswhite played close to his best game for the season, accumulating 15 points, 11 rebounds and three assists. Unfortunately he didn’t have much help from his teammates.
Cairns comes into this game having lost its past three consecutive games. But the stat that might hurt it the most is it has lost its past 14 consecutive games at the Sydney Entertainment Centre. The key for the Kings in this game is to play tight defence under the rim. If they can force the Taipans to shoot from the perimeter, the Kings have classy big units to grab all the rebounds. With Khazzouh and Jerai Grant in top form, expect the Snakes’ losing streak against the Kings away from home to stretch to 15.
BEST BET:
Sydney by 1-10 ($2.85)
Melbourne Tigers v Perth Wildcats: Friday 18/11 – 7.30pm at State Netball and Hockey Centre.
Expect a ripping contest between the second and third placed teams at The Cage on Friday night.
Losing a game in front of your home crowd makes you feel terrible, but Melbourne went one step worse last weekend when it lost in overtime at The Cage. Townsville really took it up to the Tigers and rallied late to eventually run out 95-88 winners. Still, three of the Tigers’ players had monster games, with Cameron Tragardh racking up 26 points and 14 rebounds, Patrick Mills accumulating 16 points and 10 assists and Tommy Greer providing great support with 14 points and nine rebounds. But that loss was a result not too many NBL tragics were expecting.
Perth made the long flight over to Queensland for two tough games and returned home with mixed results. The Wildcats lost to Gold Coast 107-92 on Saturday night, with Luke Nevill (22 points), Kevin Lisch (19) and Matthew Knight (18) all trying hard. But the ‘Cats got some redemption the following night, grinding out a 70-64 victory over Cairns. Lisch continued his outstanding early-season form with 14 points and seven rebounds
Both of these teams ooze class, from the smallest to the biggest players on their respective rosters. Melbourne is always a much more difficult team to beat away from home. Having said that, the Wildcats have won their past three games over the Tigers at The Cage. With Perth leading the competition for points and assists, don’t be surprised to see a quiet Cage for the second consecutive week.
BEST BET:
Perth by 1-10 ($2.80)
Gold Coast Blaze v Townsville Crocodiles: Saturday 19/11 – 6.30pm at Gold Coast Convention Centre.
Two in-form Queensland teams, both coming off solid victories from the previous weekend, will set the Sunshine state alight on Saturday night.
Gold Coast desperately needed a victory last weekend to keep its playoffs hopes alive – and it delivered. The Blaze produced an excellent team performance to defeat the more fancied Perth 107-92. Five players scored at least 10 points, including import Adris Deleon (21) and Anthony Petrie (19 and eight assists). However the most encouraging performance came from superstar forward Mark Worthington, who led his team superbly from the front with 22 points.
It’s had a lot of great victories over the years, but perhaps Townsville’s emotional victory last weekend is up there with one of its best ever victories. The Taipans played out of their skins against Melbourne and forced the game into overtime. The Snakes came up with the goods in the extra period to win 95-88 and turn The Cage into a library. Eddie Gill proved just how much of a danger he is, dropping 30 points and seven assists, while Jacob Holmes gave great support with 13 points and 13 rebounds.
Both sides come into this game with form under their belt, with Gold Coast winning two of its past three games and Towsnville winning three of its past four. The last time these two teams met, the Crocodiles won 78-70, led by 17 points from import Elvin Mims. However Deleon, Gold Coast’s latest import, didn’t play in the game and has been unstoppable since arriving at the Blaze. The Crocs must put a lot of time and effort into him. This is going to be a very close encounter, but it’s hard to go the past the overall season form of Townsville.
BEST BET:
Townsville by 1-10 ($5.55)
Adelaide 36ers v Melbourne Tigers: Saturday 19/11 – 7.30pm at Adelaide Arena.
Adelaide and Melbourne folk don’t like each other. It’s similar on the basketball court.
Adelaide fans shouldn’t be too disheartened by their team’s performance last weekend. The 36ers tried their hearts out at home, but were outclassed in overtime by a determined Kings outfit to eventually go down 113-104. The 36ers had control of the game, but failed to fire in the overtime period, losing the term 17-8. Daniel Johnson (25 points and eight rebounds) and Chris Warren (21 points and seven assists) performed gallantly for the losers.
Hopefully Melbourne will still be fresh and fit to play when Saturday night rolls around. The Tigers will be coming off a tough game against Perth the night before, so they can’t afford to drop their guard in front of a boisterous Adelaide home crowd.
Melbourne will go into this game with supreme confidence, because it will know it has defeated Adelaide the past seven consecutive times the two teams have met. In fact, the 36ers haven’t defeated the Tigers since December 2008. Here’s the worst bit for Adelaide fans though: Melbourne sits third on the current ladder and Adelaide sits ninth. Ouch. Expect the Tigers to continue their recent dominance over the 36ers with a big win on Saturday night.
BEST BET:
Melbourne by 11+
Cairns Taipans v New Zealand Breakers: Sunday 20/11 – 4.00pm at Cairns Convention Centre.
Last season’s Grand Finalists meet for the first time since that infamous series.
This match will be Cairns’ second match for the round, after playing the Kings on Thursday night. But luckily the Taipans will have two days to relax and enjoy the trip back up north ahead of Sunday’s match.
There was just one question on the lips of New Zealand fans after last weekend: where the heck did that come from? The Breakers hosted a fired up Wollongong outfit, who played out of their skins to cause a massive upset and win the match 63-81. There’s no doubt the Kiwis were well below their best. Only one player in CJ Bruton scored more than 10 points. In fact, Mike Vukona’s 12 rebounds was the highest individual statistic of any Breakers player.
Cairns will no doubt want revenge for losing last season’s title to New Zealand. The 53 points the Taipans scored in the third game of that series was the club’s lowest ever score and the lowest ever by an NBL Grand Finalist. But despite the revenge factor and the home court advantage, the Breakers have way too much to play for. Not only will they want to avenge last weekend’s shock loss, but they’ll want to win for Vukona and Bruton, who will be playing their 150th and 100th NBL matches respectively.
BEST BET:
New Zealand by 11+
Wollongong Hawks v Perth Wildcats: Sunday 20/11 – 7.30pm at Wollongong Entertainment Centre.
The final game of the round sees two of the oldest clubs in the NBL go head-to-head.
Sporting teams often have defining moments during a season – and there’s no doubt Wollongong had one of those last weekend. The Hawks travelled across the Tasman and returned home with full points after an inspirational 81-63 victory over more fancied New Zealand. While the Breakers were certainly playing below their best, the Hawks took their game to another level and obviously hit the court with plenty of motivation. Rhys Martin led the way for Wollongong, scoring 20 points and shooting at 70 per cent efficiency from the field in an instrumental performance.
For the second round in a row, Perth will be playing two games in one round. So by the time Sunday comes around, the Wildcats would’ve played four games in two rounds. Will they have the energy? Going on their form this season, you’d say yes.
Perth has an excellent record against Wollongong in recent years, winning six of the past eight encounters between the two teams. Expect that streak to continue on Sunday night too. The Wildcats are a much more established team at the moment, sitting second on the ladder, while the Hawks sit sixth. With Lisch in MVP-like form, Perth will make it a night to forget for Wollongong.
BEST BET:
Perth by 11+
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