The NBL23 season is on the line for both the Breakers and the JackJumpers who will do battle at Spark Arena on Sunday afternoon. A spot in the Championship series awaits the winner, while it’s season over for the loser.
Jake Smit previews the game and brings you 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!
Also, if you're looking for a new sportsbook to bet with that has some of the best odds in the industry, why not try Dabble?
New Zealand Breakers vs Tasmania JackJumpers Preview & Betting Tips
Sunday Feb 19, 4pm AEDT, Spark Arena
NBL23 has been a season like no other, with more unforgettable moments than we’ve ever seen. And you can’t help but feel as though we’re in for something special again on Sunday when the New Zealand Breakers take on the Tasmania JackJumpers in this semi-final decider.
The Breakers finished the season as the higher seed and with have home court advantage in Game 3, and they’ll be starting as the hot favourites to progress to the Championship series.
The reason why this series is going to a deciding game is because of the huge bounce back performance from the JackJumpers at home in Game 2. They defended the island with an 89-78 win, largely due to an electric third quarter that they finished on a 9-0 run.
Milton Doyle was the Player of the Game on the back of 23 points and five assists, while Jack McVeigh was also important for the winners with his 16 points, seven of which came in the final frame.
Dererk Pardon was probably the Breakers best player on Thursday night with 15 points, 11 rebounds and four steals, and Barry Brown Jr. added 19 points off the bench in just 26 minutes.
Will McDowell-White was the catalyst for the Breakers in their Game 1 win but couldn’t get involved in any meaningful way in Tasmania. This was largely due to the JackJumpers trapping him on every possession as soon as he crossed half court, which forced other Breakers to generate offence – something they severely struggled with.
Breakers coach Mody Maor wasn’t runner-up in the Coach of the Year award by accident, so you can expect him to make some adjustments to free up his start point guard on Sunday afternoon.
The Breakers will also have more confidence on their home floor in this matchup, particularly in the defensive side of their game. They’ve limited the JackJumpers to 65, 62, and 68 points at Spark Arena this season.
All three of the Breakers vs JackJumpers games in New Zealand this season have gone under the total points line; in fact, each of the Breakers last five home games have gone under.
There’s little to suggest either team will try and speed things up in Game 3, especially considering these sides rank 9th and 10th in offensive pace this season.
I’ll be backing the total points unders and JackJumpers unders in two separate bets in this one.
Also Backing:
JackJumpers Under 77.5 Points $1.95 @ Dabble (1u)
Under 163.5 Points
$1.90 (1.5 Units)
