The 2019-20 NBL season continues this weekend with Round 5 kicking off on Thursday night, which will be the first of seven games taking place this weekend. We went 5-3 with our line plays last weekend and will look to keep the ball rolling!
We’ll be providing our expert betting tips for every NBL game this season, so make sure you check out our NBL Tips regularly, as well as our NBA Tips for some more great basketball betting tips.
Good luck to everyone following!
NBL Round 5 Betting Tips
NZ Breakers vs Cairns Taipans (Thursday 5:30pm)
The Breakers come into this with a 1-3 record in what’s been a fairly disappointing start to their campaign. Their most recent outing was a 104-98 loss to Melbourne United, which was United’s first and only win of the season so far. Meanwhile, the Taipans come into this off a win over United to make it two wins from their past three games. The Snakes defence has been a feature in their performances lately and we expect them to bring the intensity again on Thursday night. We expect this one to go under the rather large total.
Total Points Under 177.5
$1.89
Brisbane Bullets vs Perth Wildcats (Friday 7:30pm)
The Bullets started the season off well with wins in their first two games, however, they’ve since lost three on the spin and are in danger of losing touch with the top four. Lamar Patterson and Nathan Sobey have combined for nearly 40 points per game on average, but the lack of a quality third option is the worry. The Wildcats bounced back from their shock loss to the Taipans with a couple of wins in Round 4. They’re now 5-1 on the season and are sitting pretty in second spot on the ladder. Both of these teams can score in bunches when they get on a roll and we expect this to be a high scoring affair as a result. The total has been set 5-10 points too low in our opinion.
Total Points Over 173.5
$1.90
SE Melbourne Phoenix vs Melbourne United (Saturday 5:30pm)
South East Melbourne Phoenix lost their first game of the season in Round 4 when they were obliterated by the Wildcats on the road, however, they returned to the winner’s circle later in the round when they took care of Adelaide back in Melbourne. As mentioned above, United got their first win of the season in Round 4 when they beat the Breakers, although they couldn’t make it 2/2 as they fell to the Taipans on Monday night. Phoenix have been the far better team this season and should definitely be the favourites to win the first ever Melbourne derby.
SE Melbourne Phoenix
$2.13
Adelaide 36ers vs Sydney Kings (Saturday 8pm)
The 36ers have had an up and down start to the season to hold a 3-2 record through four rounds. Their three-game winning streak came to an end in their most recent outing against Phoenix where they lost by 10 points. The Kings have clearly been the best and most consistent team so far this season. They’ve won all five of their games and have been particularly dominant in third quarters when the game is usually on the line. The Kings are the better team here and while we expect the 36ers to be competitive at home, we see the Kings remaining undefeated.
NZ Breakers vs Perth Wildcats (Sunday 3pm)
The Breakers and the Wildcats will both be playing their second game of the round when they meet on Sunday afternoon. The Breakers haven’t had the best of starts to their campaign but have a roster that boasts quite a bit of talent. On the other hand, the Wildcats have lost just one game at the time of writing and look every bit like a contending team again this season. There’s a lot of basketball to be played before this game gets underway, however, we’re keen to take the early price on the Breakers taking care of the Wildcats at home.
Illawarra Hawks vs Brisbane Bullets (Sunday 5pm)
The Hawks get their first chance to take to the courts on Sunday when they host the Bullets who will be playing their second game of the weekend. The Hawks have been the worst team in the league by a fair margin so far this season and it’s only going to get worse now they’ve lost their leading scorer in Aaron Brooks to injury. The Bullets are far from the best team in the league, but they should still be far too strong for the undermanned and inexperienced Hawks outfit in this contest.
Bullets/Bullets - HT/FT
$1.76
Melbourne United vs Sydney Kings (Monday 7:30pm)
The final game of the round will see rivals Melbourne United and the Sydney Kings go head to head. United have won just one game at the time of writing and certainly haven’t lived up to their expectations. Recruits Melo Trimble and Shawn Long have both been good on the offensive end, but it’s the defensive end where their troubles are. Meanwhile, the Kings are the hottest team in the competition and are everyone’s early favourites to win the title. There’s no way that United should be favourites in this match-up, so we’ll be taking the early price on offer for the Kings.
