Round 6 in NBL25 begins on Thursday night with a special double-header for fans and punters to dive into. The second game of the night is our focus here and that matchup sees the Hawks host United in a battle of two of the top championship fancies. As always, you can catch our free game preview and best bet below!
Also, we’re providing previews and expert betting tips for every game of the NBL25 season, so make sure to head over to our NBL Tips page regularly to keep up to date with all of our content.
NBL25 Round 6 Preview & Betting Tips
Illawarra Hawks vs Melbourne United
Thursday 7:50pm AEDT, WIN Entertainment Centre
The Illawarra Hawks have hit the ground running in NBL25 with five wins from six games. They began with three wins in a row before a narrow loss against the 36ers, before bouncing back with a pair of easy wins against the JackJumpers and the Taipans.
Coach Justin Tatum has his Hawks offence absolutely firing on all cylinders through the first six games. They’re averaging over 101 points per contest which is 10 points better than the next closes which is United and the 36ers at 90 per game. The Hawks haven’t been too shabby on defence either considering the high pace they play out, ranking in the top five for points conceded.
Trey Kell has improved each season in his NBL career and has made a blistering start to life in Illawarra. He’s currently rated as the front runner for the MVP award on the back of his 19/4/4 average. Tyler Harvey is not too far behind him with his 18ppg average on a highly-efficient clip.
Melbourne United started their campaign with a pair of strong wins but have since hit a bit of a road block with three losses in their past five outings. Their most recent loss was by nine points in the Throwdown, marking their first defeat against the Phoenix in six games.
United have had a far better record over the past two seasons when Shea Ili has been on the court and he was sorely missed in Round 5 with a calf injury. The reigning Defensive Player of the Year is set to miss again this week but should return in Round 7.
And after three straight games on their home deck at John Cain Arena, United will now hit the road for a single game trip to the ‘Gong. However, they then return back to Melbourne for three more home games as part of a blessed schedule to being the season.
Game Prediction: These clubs last faced in the NBL24 semi-finals where United came away with a 2-1 win in what was an extremely tight series, with the opening two games being decided in overtime.
The Hawks look to have only gotten better in the offseason due to more time under Tatum’s tutelage coupled with some savvy pickups. On the flip side, United lost a few key pieces and will also be without Ili on Thursday night.
In my opinion, the Hawks should be shorter favourites in this matchup and I’m more than happy to back them in at the small -3.5 handicap for a decent whack
Hawks -3.5
$1.92 (2.5 Units)
