Round 15 in the NBL24 continues on Friday night with a special double-header. First on the program is a battle between the New Zealand Breakers and Melbourne United at TSB Stadium. 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 15 Preview & Betting Tips
New Zealand Breakers vs Melbourne United
Friday 5:30pm AEDT, January 12th, TSB Stadium
The New Zealand Breakers went into their Round 14 matchup with the Wildcats on a four-game win streak but couldn’t make it five as they fell by six points on their home deck in a shootout. The 108 points they gave up was their most of the season to date which shows that head coach Mody Maor still has plenty of work to do.
One of the key pieces to the Breakers puzzle is undoubtedly import Zylan Cheatham. The big man missed a large portion of the season before being sprinkled back into the rotation of late. He was fantastic in his most recent outing with 25 points and six rebounds in an equal team-high 34 minutes.
Similarly, Melbourne United went into their most recent game in great form having won five of their six games prior, but were upset by the 36ers on the road by four points. United also gave up a three-figure total on the night, which is just the second time that’s happened in regulation this season.
In important lineup news, star forward Luke Travers is set to return on Friday night after missed a pair of games in Round 14 due to an ankle injury. He’s expected to return to the starting lineup and be under no minute’s restrictions, which is a massive boost to the ladder-leaders.
Match prediction: These clubs have only met once this season and that came back in late October, with Melbourne United securing a nine-point win on their home deck (97-88). United had an even spread of contributions on the night with five guys scoring 16+ points, led by Ian Clark with 18. For the Breakers, Zylan Cheatham was the star man with 30 points on 3-3 shooting from deep.
Fast forward to now and it’s still United who have the edge in both recent form and overall ability. If it wasn’t for them being the travelling team they would be the very short-priced favourites to double the dose against the Breakers. Regardless of the venue, I have United bouncing back from their recent loss, which they’ve done on each occasion so far this season, and coming away with a win.
Melbourne United to Win
$2 (2 Units)
