Kicking off Round 4 in NBL24 is a Thursday night clash between the Adelaide 36ers and the South East Melbourne Phoenix. Both clubs could do with a win so you can expect this to be a fiery affair. We bring you our full game preview and best bet below.
Also, we’re providing previews and expert betting tips for every game of the NBL24 season, so make sure to head over to our NBL Tips page regularly to keep up to date with all of our content.
NBL24 Round 4 Preview & Betting Tips
Adelaide 36ers vs SE Melbourne Phoenix
Thursday 7:30pm AEDT, October 19th, Adelaide Entertainment Centre
Finally getting off the mark with a win in Round 3 were the Adelaide 36ers. They were able to take care of a fellow struggling side in the Hawks, defeating them by nine points at home (89-80) in their most recent outing. That win put an end to a four-game losing streak to start the season.
Next Star Trentyn Flowers had one of the great breakout games in the win over the Hawks. He poured in 18 points in the final term, knocking down three after three to carry his side to victory. Flowers is one of many Next Star’s who have been uber impressive in the early stages of NBL24.
The challenge now for the Hawks is to back up their recent performance with another strong outing against the Phoenix. If they can secure another win on Thursday night they just might spark a resurgence.
Also thankful to come away with a win in their recent game were the South East Melbourne Phoenix. They held a 1-3 record heading into their matchup with the then top-of-the-table JackJumpers, but managed to grind out an extremely important one-point win on their home deck (86-85).
Import Gary Browne was back to his best in the win over the JJ’s, scoring a team-high 20 points to go along with nine rebounds and four assists. Mitch Creek and Will Cummings also proved to be important when combining for 31 points.
The best news of the season to date for the Phoenix is that star centre Alan ‘Big Sauce’ Williams will be returning on Thursday night for his first game of NBL24. The Phoenix have been playing undermanned and undersized in the opening three rounds but will present a much different challenge to their opponents going forward.
Match prediction: Both clubs enter Round 4 with losing records but it’s the Phoenix who will be the more optimistic of the pair. Getting Big Sauce back in the frame is massive for the Phoenix on both sides on the floor, but particularly on defence where they’ve had zero rim protection in the early goings.
The Phoenix have won three of their past four meetings with the 36ers and with Sauce’s return making them nearly full-strength on Thursday night, I expect the Phoenix to be making it four wins from their past five in this matchup. Despite being the travelling team, I’m happy to back them in to cover the small spread.
SE Melbourne Phoenix -3.5
$1.92 (1.5 Units)
