The 2021 NBL Grand Final series between Melbourne United and the Perth Wildcats continues on Sunday night. Catch our match prediction and best player prop bet for this crucial Game 2 right here!
NBL Grand Final Betting Tips
RAC Arena, Friday 5pm (AEST)
Melbourne United recorded what could be a season-defining win on the road in Game 1 to go up 1-0 in this best-of-five Grand Finals series, however, the Wildcats are the most successful club in league history for a reason and will be desperate to square the ledger in Perth in Game 2 on Sunday.
Game 2 Prediction
If Game 1 of this Grand Final series is a sign of things to come, then we should be in for a real treat over the next week or two. Melbourne United drew first blood in the series with a three-point win on Friday night, but it certainly wasn’t a straight-forward victory. The minor premiers trailed by one point at quarter time and four points at half time, but dominated the third term 29 to 18 to take control of the game and finish up as the winners.
The Wildcats offence has struggled over the past couple of weeks without Bryce Cotton and that continued in Game 1 where they put up just 70 points. A lot of responsibility on that end of the floor falls on John Mooney and foul trouble really hampered him from the get-go on Friday night, which limited him to 29 minutes and just eight points. Todd Blanchfield was able to hold up his end of the bargain with 27 points on 7-15 shooting, but was joined by just Kevin White as the only other scorer double figures.
For United, they got awesome production out of their two star players in Jock Landale and Chris Goulding who combined for 40 of the team’s 73 points. Goulding was allowed by the Wildcats to put up 14 three-point attempts, which always spells danger in a big game. Mitch McCarron was the other key performer with a stat line of 6/11/7 and was also really effective on defence.
Interestingly, United have now won their past three games against the Wildcats in Perth, which is something no other team has been able to do for a number of years now. In saying that, the Wildcats remain one of the toughest teams to beat at home and have the best coach in NBL history in our opinion in Trevor Gleeson. We expect the great man to make the necessary adjustments for his team to thrive at home and pull out a crucial win at home in Game 2.
Player Prop
Like we mentioned above, the only constant threat on offence for the Wildcats in Game 1 was Todd Blanchfield. He’s someone that has stepped up in a big way since Bryce Cotton went down with injury, but has also blossomed under the guidance of coach Trevor Gleeson this season. Blanchfield has scored 24+ points in three of his past four games and 23+ in four of his past seven and they’ll need him to be big again in Game 2 in order to claim a split in their home stand.
Blanchfield 20+ Points
$2.50
