After a dramatic finish to the regular season, it’s now time to dive into the inaugural NBL Play-In Tournament. Here, we take a look at the first game which will see Phoenix take on the Wildcats on Thursday night.
Jake Smit is going to be providing full previews and best bets for each and every game of the finals, so make sure to check out our NBL Tips page regularly to take advantage!
And if you’re looking for a sportsbook that can take care of all your betting needs, there are none better than Bet365!
S.E. Melbourne Phoenix vs Perth Wildcats Preview & Betting Tips
Thursday Feb 9, 6:30pm AEDT, John Cain Arena
The first ever NBL Play-In game will take place at John Cain Arena in Melbourne on Thursday night and it should be an absolute cracker.
The Phoenix finished the regular season in 5th and the Wildcats in 6th, which gives the Phoenix home court advantage in this single elimination game.
The winner of this game will take on the loser of the second game on Thursday night (Taipans vs JackJumpers), and it’s season over for the loser.
The Phoenix’s finals hopes were hanging in the balance a couple of weeks ago when they were riding a five-game losing streak, but their key guys got healthy at the right time to help steady the ship and win three of their last four games.
Gary Browne made a timely return a couple of weeks ago after missing a large chunk of the season through injury, while important starters Alan Williams and Ryan Broekhoff also missed a couple of key games for the Phoenix.
To say the Wildcats finals hopes were in the balance would be one of the great understatements. Had DJ Vasiljevic made one of his three-point attempts in the dying seconds of the last game of the season, it would be Melbourne United playing on Thursday night instead of the Wildcats.
A bit of luck had to go their way, but the Wildcats have made it out of the regular season for the 36th time in the last 37 seasons after having their historic streak broken last campaign.
The Phoenix will feel confident about their chances of securing this win considering they dominated the Wildcats in Melbourne only a couple of weeks ago. That 112-91 win saw them clinch he season series 2-1.
Alan Williams absolutely dominated their recent matchup with a stat line of 27/14/6, exploiting the poor interior defence and defensive rebounding that has plagued the Wildcats all season.
Bryce Cotton still put up 25 points to lead the Wildcats, and they’ll need him to be at least that productive on Thursday night after the horrific game he played against the Kings last Sunday. Cotton finished that game with a 2-20 shooting clip – easily the worst of his NBL career.
Even if Cotton returns to form and puts up 30+ points on Thursday night, I can’t see it being enough to overcome the Wildcats deficiencies and matchup issues that the Phoenix present.
At home and back to full strength, I’m more than happy to place two units on the Phoenix to win and cover the small spread.
S.E. Melbourne Phoenix -3.5
$1.85 (2 Units)
