There’s just the one NBL game on Thursday in Round 6 but it should be a cracker, with the Brisbane Bullets welcoming the South East Melbourne Phoenix to Nissan Arena. We take a look at the form of both clubs and provide our best bet for the clash 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 6 Preview & Betting Tips
Brisbane Bullets vs SE Melbourne Phoenix
Thursday 7:30pm AEDT, November 2nd, Nissan Arena
Coming off a hot Round 5 where they won both if their games, the Brisbane Bullets will be full of confidence ahead of Thursday night’s matchup with the Phoenix. The Bullets defeated the Wildcats as well as the highly-fancied JackJumpers last weekend, which brought their season record back to square at 4-4.
Nathan Sobey has been a man on a mission this season and is quite clearly back to his best after an injury riddled NBL23. Sobey has scored 14+ points in all eight games to date and also has 4x games od 24+ points, which is the most in the league. As it stands, he would be the front-runner for MVP.
In more positive news for the Bullets, star centre Aron Baynes is set to return on Thursday night after serving a five-game suspension for his outburst against the Taipans in Round 2. Baynes’ return allows the foul-prone Tyrell Harrison to go back to his usual role off the bench.
Also likely to be extremely happy with their current form are the South East Melbourne Phoenix. They’re finally getting a solid run without injuries to key players and their recent results speak for themselves. They’ve now won four on the spin including a three-point win over last season’s runners-up in the Breakers last weekend.
The Phoenix have a number of players in superb form as we approach Round 6. Mitch Creek, Will Cummings, and Gary Browne have all shown they can go off for 20+ points on any given night, making them one of the toughest defensive assignments in the competition.
However, the most important piece to the Phoenix puzzles is quite clearly Alan ‘Big Sauce’ Williams. The Phoenix haven’t lost a game since his return from injury, as he comes in averaging 19 points and 11 rebounds per contest.
Match prediction: These sides faced each other in Melbourne a couple of weeks ago and it was the Phoenix who secured a comfortably 23-point win (96-73). However, Aron Baynes was still suspended at the time, and the Phoenix were at home where they’ve proven to be a much stronger outfit compared to on their travels. With Baynes back and the Bullets fit and firing on their home deck, I like the odds of them returning the favour.
Additionally, the total points line looks to be a touch too high considering recent trends in Bullets games. The currently line of 181.5 points has only been exceeded in one of the Bullets eight games to date, which was against the fast-paced Kings in Round 3. There was also only 169 points scored when these teams played in Round 4, so I’m happy to play the unders here.
Also Backing:
Brisbane Bullets to Win ($2.43 at UniBet) – 1 Unit
Under 181.5 Points
$1.89 (2 Units)
