NBL schedulers have been extra busy over the last couple of weeks as Covid wreaks havoc among some select teams. At the time of writing, it looks as though there will be just two games being played in Round 5, both of which we’ve previewed and provided tips for right here!
NBL Round 5 Betting Tips
Cairns Taipans vs Perth Wildcats
Friday 8pm AEDT, Cairns Convention Centre
The Taipans have made a surprisingly solid start to their NBL22 campaign with two wins from their first three games. They weren’t in action in Round 4 but were impressive 26-point winners in their most recent game at home against the 36ers, which made it a 2-0 start on their home deck. Scott Machado remains sidelined with the nasty injury he picked up on opening night, but Tahjere McCall has more than picked up his slack in a fantastic display to date.
The Wildcats have quietly put the early doubters to bed and have reminded them all once again of their greatness with four wins in their first five games. Admittedly, all five games have been on their home deck, but their lone loss against the Bullets came it overtime which shows just how good they’ve been. Bryce Cotton and Vic Law have already formed a dynamic duo and will be a hard tandem to stop come playoff time.
It’s an interesting game we have on our hands here and one we aren’t quite sure how it’ll play out in terms of a winner. One thing we do expect however, is for it to be a low-scoring affair. The early total has been set at 165.5 at Ladbrokes and when you consider that it’s been met in only two of their combined eight games to date, it looks a lofty one.
Tasmania JackJumpers vs Melbourne United
Saturday 5:30pm AEDT, MyState Bank Arena
The JackJumpers announced themselves as a threat in NBL22 when they defeated the talented Bullets on opening night, but four straight losses, three of which were on the road, had many thinking it would be a very long season for the newbies. However, they bounced back with an impressive home win against the winless Breakers in Round four and are now 2-1 on their home deck, which is a good start by all means.
Melbourne United got their championship defence off to a horror start with losses in each of their first two games. However, they’ve since gone onto win three straight by an average margin of just over 26 points in an impressive return to form. Import Caleb Agada and team captain Chris Goulding have both been immense in their recent winning run and look to be forming quite the dynamic duo on offence.
The JackJumpers bring some impressive home form into this meeting with the defending champions, but United are also in some very nice touch themselves. Instead of playing the head-to-head market, we like the total market once again here. Both of these clubs make their bread on the defensive end and only twice in their 11 games combined has the total surpassed 163. With that said, we’re happy to be on the unders here.
