The Bet Deluxe NBL preview and tips are back after a big fill-up on February 20 when declaring the Cairns Taipans to knock off Illawarra and the Perth Wildcats to end Melbourne United’s winning run.
Our team has done the form for you ahead of the Wednesday night and Thursday night doubleheaders.
So sit back as we lay up the best bets to you.
new zealand v brisbane
march 3rd 5:0PM
The eighth-placed New Zealand Breakers (2-6) greet the fifth-placed Brisbane Bullets (5-5) to the State Basketball Centre on Wednesday night.
The Breakers finally put it all together last Saturday with a 106-62 demolition job of the Adelaide 36ers to notch up their second victory of the year.
Tai Webster and Corey Webster went lights out against the 36ers with both guards scoring 29 points each in the 44-point win.
Nailing 36 of 62 field goal attempts at a percentage of 58.1%, the Breakers showed why it was considered a genuine playoff threat this season prior to the quarantine and COVID bubble wreaking havoc on its season.
The Bullets, meanwhile, were impressive in their 115-95 rout of the Cairns Taipans last Sunday.
Their prowess around the boards was on display with Harry Frolling hauling in 11 rebounds and leading the Bullets to 45 rebounds compared to the 28 the Taipans managed.
Nathan Sobey continued his prolific point-scoring form this season with a 30-point effort in the win to take his season average up to 23.4 points per game.
The head to head record in recent times bodes well for the Breakers who won the last clash between the two teams 87-91 and in doing so made it four wins in the last six games against the Bullets.
However, the Bullets look like the more reliable team this season and the constant travel seems to be less of a factor on their form.
The Bullets to go 6-5 with a win here.
Suggested Bet: Brisbane Bullets win at $1.71
perth v south east melbourne
march 3rd 7:30pm
The Perth Wildcats are vying to make it four consecutive wins when it faces the South East Melbourne Phoenix at the State Basketball Centre on Wednesday night.
Perth has finally found its rhythm after an inconsistent start to the season and made it three wins in a row after easily dispatching the Cairns Taipans with an 89-69 win last Friday.
The reigning NBL champion put the defensive clamps down on the Taipans in the second half.
The WIldcats defensive unit limited the Taipans to 28 second-half points while breezing through for 48 of its own to come away with the 20-point triumph.
Leading NBL point-scorer for 2021 Bryce Cotton is averaging 24.4 points per game and the veterean is clearly the player Pheonix Simon Mitchell will need to keep a watchful eye over.
Mitchell’s men bring in winning form to the game after a narrow loss against the Adelaide 36ers was overcome with a 93-76 win against the Illawarra Hawks on Sunday.
Co-captain Mitchell Creek was on point to guide his team to victory against the Hawks with 25 points, six rebounds and five assists.
The battle between Creek and Cotton will be one to savor here.
Individually, Cotton has been the better performer over the four times these two teams have already met this season averaging 22.3 points per game compared to Creek’s 18.6 points per game.
However, the spoils have been shared at two wins a piece this season.
Given the Phoenix belted the Wildcats belted the Wildcast 96 to 71 only a fortnight ago, the even money offer to do so again looks the value here.
The Phoenix’ win against the Hawks looks to have a bit more depth compared to that of the Wildcats’ win over the Taipans.
Suggested Bet: South East Melbourne Phoenix head to head at $2
cairns v sydney
march 4th 5:00pm
The Sydney Kings will attempt to inflict a fourth straight loss upon the Cairns Taipans when the two teams do battle at the State Basketball Centre on Thursday night.
Both teams have struggled to garner any winning momentum this year with the Kings sitting in seventh spot on the ladder (5-6) and the Taipans (3-9) squandering at the bottom of the league table.
Having already met twice this year, Cairns has started the favourite in both fixtures but the wins were shared.
A nail-biting 87-86 win for the Taipans to open the season against the Kings was matched a week later when the Kings got their revenge with a 99-91 victory.
Kings guard Casper Ware plied away in offence during both games.
Ware averaged 20 points across the two fixtures and will have to play another leading hand here if his squad are to edge ahead.
The Taipans will be reliant on Cameron Oliver to produce something akin to the 27 points and 10 rebounds he had in the eight-point loss to the Kings on Australia Day.
Rebounds have played an important factor in the result of both games thus far.
Sydney were dealt a gut-wrenching 83-80 loss against league leaders Melbourne United but matched it with a the powerful United outfit on the rebounds.
That form reads better than the meek 28 rebounds managed by the Taipans in the 115 to 95 hiding it copped against the Brisbane Bullets on Sunday.
However, we are expecting a close game here given the Taipans started the $1.40 and $1.51 favourite on both occasions against the Kings earlier this season.
The Kings do get the Taipans at a neutral venue and should be able to get the win but the value here lies at the point spread.
Suggested Bet: Cairns Taipans to cover the +3.5 point spread at $1.91
