After a very interesting week, the 2016-17 NBL season continues this Thursday night with Bullets vs Kings and into the weekend as we offer our Round 6 preview and betting tips.
NBL Round 6 Betting Tips
Brisbane Bullets Vs Sydney Kings (Thursday, November 10th at 6:30pm)
Competition leaders the Sydney Kings will head to Brisbane this week to take on the 5th place Bullets. The Kings come into this on the back of two hard games. Surprisingly, during round 5, the Kings went down against the Cairns Taipans 64-57. It was a disappointing outcome with the Kings shooting around 33% from the field. A couple of days later during their hard fought rematch, the Kings claimed victory 79-77.
Losing to Cairns may ultimately prove as a positive for the Kings. After being so far ahead of the rest of the league, they now know they aren't untouchable. It should galvanise them.
The Bullets, meanwhile, aren't so lucky. After starting the season well, they have significantly dropped off. Last weekend against the Breakers, the Bullets were outplayed across the board. Pair that with a Cam Bairstow shooting 0-9 from the field and Dan Kickert 2-8 and the Bullets never had a chance.
This one will be interesting. We can expect both teams to come out and try and shake off last week's results. We’re predicting a high scoring tight match.
Tip: Either Team By Less Than 7 - $2.20 at CrownBet
New Zealand Breakers Vs Cairns Taipans (Friday, November 11th at 5:30pm)
The Breakers were clutch against Melbourne last round. They dropped 15 during OT to ultimately overpower Melbourne 98-92. Alex Pledger was the standout performer with 20 points, 10 boards and 1 assist, while shooting at 90%. The only player on the court with a better shooting percentage was Rob Loe. Hemanaged 13 points off the bench in his 14 minutes of game time.
The Taipans have come out of nowhere over the last couple of weeks. It started when they knocked off Melbourne for their first win of the season, then backing it up against Illawarra and then Sydney last weekend. They had their chances again during their Kings rematch, but were unable to capitalise.
The Breakers are strong favourites and its not too hard to see why. The Breakers at home are increasingly hard to beat and are playing with plenty of confidence. They should win this easily.
Tip: New Zealand Breakers at the line (-4.5) - $1.87 at CrownBet
Melbourne United Vs Sydney Kings (Saturday, November 12th at 7:30pm)
Before the 2016-17 NBL season began, this was the game we were looking forward to the most - the clash of the (should-be) NBL titans.
Unfortunately, Melbourne United aren't even close to being called titans. Melbourne are really struggling this season. They currently anchor the ladder with 3 wins and 6 losses so far this season.
Clearly not where the team wants to be, Chris Goulding has been side-lined for much of the season. Star recruit Cedrick Jackson - a 3-time NBL champion and NBL league MVP - has been cut from the team for "strategic reasons". Jackson was dominant last season with the Breakers, but has failed to make an impact for United.
By all accounts Sydney should win this one. However, as we said earlier, the Kinds are taking on Brisbane in what we anticipate will be a high scoring showdown. This along with back-to-back away games will definitely see the Kings production drop. During Monday night's clash against the Taipans, it looked at times like Sydney might go 0-2. They eventually won 79-77 after out-scoring the Taipans 25-22 in the last.
Chris Goulding is up in the air at the moment. No one really knows whether he will be playing or not. We’ve heard he was fit to play last week but coach Dean Demopoulos elected to keep him sidelined in anticipation for this game. Only time will tell, but regardless, we suggest taking Sydney at the line and just kicking back and enjoying the show.
Tip: Sydney Kings at the line (-1.5) - $1.83 at CrownBet
Perth Wildcats Vs New Zealand Breakers (Sunday, November 13th at 7:00pm)
The Wildcats are still pushing forward. They Currently sit 2nd on the ladder and head into this one on the back of a brutal - point victory over the Adelaide 36ers. Jason Johnson was all but released by the Waldcats two weeks ago, but somehow he stayed on the list and was called up against the 36ers. Considering he dropped 20 points and 4 boards, we should see Johnson hold his position for another week. Damian Martin returned on restricted minutes and shot 100% with 6 points added to the Wildcats total.
New Zealand will be chomping at the bit to get back at the team that cost them the championship last season. The Breakers should grab a clear victory against the Taipans on Friday night and will then head over to the west. With the Wildcats coming off an extended break and the Breakers having to travel, we expect this one will fall to Perth.
Tip: Perth Wildcats at the line (-3.5) - $1.84 at CrownBet
Take note: Any of the tips in this article are simply the author’s opinion, so bet at your own risk and always gamble responsibly. Also be sure to check out the Before You Bet Twitter Page for all our thoughts in the lead up to bets! Happy punting!
