NBL Round 8 continues on Friday night with a prime-time clash between the Adelaide 36ers and the South East Melbourne Phoenix. Both teams are in need of a win and that should make for a fiery and entertaining affair. We bring you our full game preview and best bet below!
Also, we’re providing previews and expert betting tips for every game of the NBL24 season, so make sure to head over to our NBL Tips page regularly to keep up to date with all of our content.
NBL24 Round 8 Preview & Betting Tips
Adelaide 36ers vs SE Melbourne Phoenix
Friday 7:30pm AEDT, November 17th, Adelaide Entertainment Centre
The Adelaide 36ers were no match for the JackJumpers in Round 7 when losing by 10 points on their home floor (72-82). The 72 points they scored was only one point short of their lowest total for the season which was in their opening game against the Bullets.
The 36ers have now lost two in a row by double-figures and currently sit in ninth spot in the standing with a 3-7 record. They rank in the bottom four in both offence and defence, which certainly isn’t a recipe for success.
Where to now for the 36ers? It’s tough to see much upside if we’re being honest. Their best scorers in Trey Kell and DJ Vasiljevic are both streaky at the best of times, and the former won’t even be in action on Friday night as he continues to recover from injury.
Similarly, the South East Melbourne Phoenix have had some struggles in recent rounds, losing two of their last three games including a loss against a heavily undermanned Melbourne United last time out.
However, a four-game win stream from Rounds 3-5 has given the Phoenix some wiggle room, as they enter this clash at 6-5 and in fourth position in the standings.
A big issue for the Phoenix in recent games has been star centre Alan Williams getting into foul trouble. He’s fouled out in three straight games and it’s no coincidence they’ve lost two of them. Williams is averaging 17 points and 10 rebounds per game and is far too important to be sitting on the sidelines.
Match prediction: The Phoenix haven’t been setting the world on fire with their recent performances, but they’re still clearly the better team in this matchup. If Alan Williams can stay on the floor and be the anchor on defence, they should be able to negotiate an important win here.
However, I prefer the odds of the 36ers failing to cover their team total points line which currently sits at 87.5 points. They’re without Trey Kell and that puts a lot of pressure on the likes of DJ Vasiljevic and Isaac Humphries. Considering they only scored 72 last time without Kell, I’m happy to back their unders here.
Adelaide 36ers Under 87.5
$1.85 (2 Units)
