NBL24 has been a season to remember and now only two teams remain in the hunt to be crowned champions. Game 1 of this best-of-five Grand Final series kicks off on Sunday evening with Melbourne United doing the honours of playing host to the Tasmania JackJumpers. We have you covered with our full game preview and best bet below!
NBL24 Grand Final Preview & Betting Tips
Melbourne United vs Tasmania JackJumpers (Game 1)
Sunday 4pm AEDT, March 17th, John Cain Arena
It’s only fitting that Melbourne United are in the Grand Final series after putting together one of the great regular seasons. They assumed top spot in the standings in the opening round and would hold onto that position for the entirety of their campaign to earn home court advantage throughout the finals.
United found themselves in a competitive semi-final series against the plucky Hawks who they were able to eventually overcome in the deciding Game 3. They defended home court on both occasions, including a six-point win in the decider. Impressively, United are still yet to lose back-to-back games in NBL24, such is their resilience.
Veteran guard Matthew Dellavedova was the standout player for United in the semi-finals. He averaged 20.3 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 7.7 assists across the three outings and set the tone with his 30 & 10 performance in Game 1. Meanwhile, First Team All-NBL representative Chris Goulding averaged a tick over 15ppg on less than 30% from three-point range. His shooting touch will be key for United in the coming fortnight.
Elsewhere, the Tasmania JackJumpers managed to overcome underdog status in their semi-final series against the Wildcats to earn their second Grand Final berth in their third season since joining the competition. The JackJumpers dropped the opening game against the Wildcats but made the necessary adjustments to win the next two games by relatively healthy margins.
Importantly, Milton Doyle was able to find his range in his last couple of outings and will remain key to the JackJumpers chances of securing their maiden championship. He scored only 12 points in their Game 1 loss but bounced back with a pair of 24-point performances in the following two games.
Also key to the JackJumpers success both in the regular season and most importantly the finals has been Jack McVeigh. He’s currently averaging 23ppg and 6.5rpg in the post-season and has shot over 55% from the floor in three of his four games.
Game 1 prediction: Unsurprisingly, United are listed as the favourites to secure the win in Game 1. However, these clubs met three times during the NBL24 regular season and the JackJumpers managed to win the series 2-1. They took the honours in the first and last of those three games, including a five-point road win at John Cain Arena on October 8th.
The JackJumpers have been the best team in the competition over the last two months, winning seven of their last eight games. On top of that, they haven’t lost a single game by more than eight points all season. And in what I expect to be a tightly-contested opening game of the Grand Final series, I’m happy to take the JackJumpers at the +4.5-point line.
Tasmania JackJumpers +4.5
$1.80 (1.5 Units)
