The 2021-22 NBL season continues this weekend with Round 2 where there are seven games set to play out. We hit on 4/6 of our plays in the first round and are back with tips for all games for this weekend. Check out our Round 2 betting tips below and good luck to everyone following!
NBL Round 2 Betting Tips
S.E. Melbourne Phoenix vs New Zealand Breakers
Friday 7:30pm AEDT, John Cain Arena
The Phoenix got their season off to a fantastic start with a huge 24-point win at home over the Breakers where they led from wire to wire. Import point guard Xavier Munford was fantastic in his NBL debut with 27 points including four three-pointers. Big Zhou Qi also made his NBL debut and impressed in limited minutes with eight points and five rebounds along with a few blocks.
The Breakers had a nightmare lead-up to their season opener and matters only became worse when centre Yanni Wetzell and coach Dan Shamir were made unavailable on the day of their first game. The tough circumstances certainly got to the Breakers as they equalled their franchise record low of 23 first half points. Buckets became a bit easier to come by in the second half but by that stage the game was already out of hand.
These teams will be meeting for the second time in six days and again it will be played at John Cain Arena in Melbourne. Phoenix will start as the very short favourites and rightly so after their dominant win in Round 1, however the Breakers will welcome back coach Dan Shamir as well as Yanni Wetzell for this encounter, which will certainly help level things out. We’re expecting a much closer battle this time around and for the Breakers to cover the big spread.
New Zealand Breakers +9.5
$1.90
Sydney Kings vs Illawarra Hawks
Saturday 5:30pm AEDT, Qudos Bank Arena
The Kings copped a late scare in their Round 1 game against rivals Melbourne United, but were able to close out the win in the end by five points after leading by 12 at three-quarter time. It was an all-around team performance from the Kings with no single player scoring more than 15 points and only four ending up with double figures, which was a solid way to begin their campaign.
The Hawks made a statement in their first game of the season with a professional 10-point win away against the 36ers. They did their damage in the middle two quarters where they outscored the opposition by a combined 19 points. The Hawks had four players score 15+ points with all of Tyler Harvey, Justinian Jessup, Duop Reath and Xavier Rathan-Mayes sharing in the spoils.
Both teams got their season of to a winning start but only one will remain undefeated after Round 2. The Kings have homecourt advantage on their side and will start as the narrow favourites as a result, although we disagree with the odds and believe the Hawks were the more impressive side in Round 1 and should prove very hard to beat once again.
Illawarra Hawks H2H
$2.13
Melbourne United vs S.E. Melbourne Phoenix
Sunday 1pm AEDT, John Cain Arena
Melbourne United were undermanned and on the road against a quality Kings outfit in their first game of the season. They fought back late to only lose by five points which is an achievement in our opinion, but the lack of firepower on offence was certainly visible for everyone to see. Fortunately, United return back to Melbourne now where they’ll play their next three games.
The Phoenix will be playing their second game of the round when they take on United on Sunday afternoon. We mentioned above that they won their Round 1 fixture against the Breakers really easily, so they shouldn’t have too much fatigue in their third game of the season. The Phoenix also have great depth this season and can give just about anyone on their bench some minutes if needed.
The first Throwdown of the season is here and it should be an interesting one. Phoenix should prove to be too strong in the head-to-head market, but it’s the ‘unders’ in the total points that we like the most. United are lacking weapons on offence this season and will struggle to put up 80+ points on any given night, which puts a lot of responsibility on the Phoenix to score heavy here. We see the total falling at least 5-10 points below the current line.
Other Tips
Tasmania JackJumpers vs Adelaide 36ers (Thursday 7:30pm AEDT) – Adelaide 36ers $1.90 Sportsbet
Cairns Taipans vs Tasmania JackJumpers (Saturday 8pm AEDT) – Cairns Taipans -2.5 $1.95 TAB
Adelaide 36ers vs New Zealand Breakers (Sunday 3pm AEDT) – Under 163.5 Points $1.90 Sportsbet
Perth Wildcats vs Brisbane Bullets (Sunday 5:30pm AEDT) – Under 166.5 Points $1.95 TAB
