Round 2 of the 2022-23 NBL season kicks off on Thursday night as the Illawarra Hawks look to get themselves on the board as they host the S.E. Melbourne Phoenix.
Greg Davis has the ball as he brings us his preview and NBL betting tips for the Thursday night contest. We’ll also have previews for every match of the round, so stay tuned for more NBL content.
Illawarra Hawks vs S.E. Melbourne Phoenix Preview & Betting Tips
WIN Entertainment Centre, Wollongong, Thursday October 6th, 7.30pm EDT
Match Preview
In life PG (post Goorjian), Illawarra will live and die by the jumpshot. Seemingly, Tyler Harvey’s jumpshot.
In their first match since master coach Brian Goorjian departed the Hawks’ nest to work in the East Asia Super League, Illawarra suffered a 106-97 loss to arch-rival and defending champion Sydney last Saturday night to kick-off the 2022-23 NBL season.
Harvey made just one shot from seven attempts beyond the three-point arc and just six shots from 19 field goal attempts overall as he would have struggled to hit water if he fell out of a boat.
The Hawks host Mitch Creek and the South-East Melbourne Phoenix, who enjoyed a season-opening victory over last year’s grand finalist Tasmania, so the heat will be on Harvey to find his range.
Illawarra guard Lachie Dent had a career-high 19 points with a perfect seven from seven (including a stunning five from five from three-point range), while the likes of Wani Swaka Lo Buluk and George King also made significant contributions.
But the Hawks cannot bank on the likes of Dent to maintain that clip, so Harvey needs to lift if Illawarra – under new head coach Jacob Jackomas – are to give a play-off berth a shake.
They broke down defensively too often against the Kings with 106 points being way too many for a team that hung its hat on defence under Goorjian. Sydney scored 31 points in the last term alone to steamroll over the Hawks.
On the back of a blistering first quarter against the JackJumpers, the Phoenix held on for victory with Creek (23 points and six rebounds) and Kyle Adnam (30 points, four assists, four rebounds) the stars of the show.
Significantly, they kept Tasmania to just 79 points.
In one of the weirder stats, the Phoenix have lost their last seven Thursday night games.
But early indications are that this Phoenix side will be tough to beat after missing out on the play-offs last season when they were ravaged by COVID and injuries. They certainly appear determined to make amends with another strong roster assembled.
The Phoenix look to have improved while the jury is out on the Hawks who have had some roster turnover and look a little on the shaky side without Goorjian.
Both sides are still sorting out how to work their new imports into their line-ups, but the Phoenix may just edge out the home side here.
The total match points market could be profitable with the average total at WIN Entertainment Centre being 187.4 points. The under-overs total for Thursday has been set at 174.5. The Phoenix also have a habit (their last four away games) of being in games that go over the points line.
More Bets: Total Match Points – Over 174.5 Points ($1.90 @ Ladbrokes)
First Quarter Handicap – SE Melbourne +0.5 ($1.92 @ Ladbrokes)
S.E Melbourne Phoenix H2H
$2.34 (1 Unit)
