The first best-of-three semi-finals’ series in NBL23 gets underway on Sunday afternoon with the Breakers hosting the JackJumpers. Who will take the bull by the horns and win the all-important opening game?
Jake Smit previews Game 1 of the semi-final series between the Breakers and the JackJumpers. Find his best bet below, and be sure to check out our NBL Tips page regularly to find our best bets for every finals game in NBL23!
New Zealand Breakers vs Tasmania JackJumpers Preview & Betting Tips
Sunday Feb 12, 4pm AEDT, Spark Arena
The New Zealand Breakers capped off their remarkable regular season with a top two finish, which gives them home court advantage in this best-of-three semi-finals’ series. Standing in their way are the Tasmania JackJumpers who are aiming to make their second Grand Final series in as many seasons.
The Breakers have had a full week off to get some freshness back into their bodies – part of the benefit of finishing top two and avoiding the play-in tournament.
On the other hand, the JackJumpers will be riding high after their triumph in Cairns on Thursday night where they overcame the odds to make it to the final four.
The final regular season game the Breakers played was the most important of them all. They required a win against the ninth-placed Bullets in order to finish second. On the road, the Breakers were pushed all the way and ended up needing overtime to finally secure the win and automatic finals qualification.
For the JackJumpers, they’ve only had a couple of days rest since their vital win against the Taipans. They got off to a flying start and took a nine-point lead into the first break, which they were able to hold onto the rest of the way before eventually winning by eight points.
The JackJumpers will be hoping that the rust vs rest trade off works in their favour on Sunday when they head to Spark Arena - a stadium where they were humiliated earlier in the season.
The Breakers destroyed the JackJumpers 94-62 in front of their home fans in Round 5. They dominated the fourth quarter 30-12 and sent the the stadium into an absolute frenzy.
Putting the clamps on the JackJumpers has been a common occurrence for the Breakers this season, particularly at Spark Arena. They kept the JackJumpers to 65 and 62 points in their two meetings there for an average of 63.5 points – way down on their season average of 85.2 points per contest.
The absence of their floor general in Josh Magette makes the task of putting points on the board all the more difficult, considering he led the team in assists this season.
All signs lead towards another home victory for the Breakers and I expect them to get the job done relatively comfortably.
New Zealand Breakers -4.5
$1.76 (2 Units)
