The NBL Cup continues this week with Round 7. There are games on nearly every day, but we’ve made the weekend games our focus here. Check out our best bets from Friday and Saturday’s NBL action below and good luck following!
NBL Round 7 Betting Tips
Brisbane Bullets vs Illawarra Hawks
Friday, 5pm AEDT
Brisbane Bullets couldn’t make the most of their big six-game homestand to start the season, winning just two of their six games. They’ve gone on to split their first two road games, which brings them to 3-5 on the season. The lack of reliable scorers in their roster looks to be the main issue, with Nathan Sobey carrying a very heavy load on that end of the floor.
Illawarra Hawks have been the surprise packet this season, especially in the opening couple of weeks where they won their first four games. The backcourt combination of Tyler Harvey and Justinian Jessup has been a fruitful one to date and will cause opposition coaches all sorts of headaches. The Hawks are currently second on the ladder with a 6-3 record.
This will be the third meeting between these teams this season, with the Hawks winning the opening two. Both were low-scoring affairs in Brisbane and came down to the wire, but the Hawks were too strong in the clutch. Nothing has happened since last time they met that suggests to us that the result will be different this time around, particularly now that it’ll be played on a neutral court. We have the Hawks taking care of business and taking a 3-0 lead in the season series.
Illawarra Hawks -3.5
$1.90
Cairns Taipans vs Perth Wildcats
Friday, 7:30pm AEDT
Cairns Taipans will be looking to bounce back from a last start defeat against Melbourne United where they led by double-figures in the third term. Inability to close out games has been a constant theme for the Taipans this season, which is a key reason why they come into this game at 3-7 and looking nothing like the contenders we all thought they’d be.
Perth Wildcats seem to be growing with every game they play this season and are coming off a huge comeback win against the Kings. It was a high-scoring affair and arguably the best game of the day, with John Mooney’s huge 30 points and 16 rebounds the difference in the end. He’s been a magnificent addition for the defending champs and has helped them to a positive 4-3 record to date.
The Wildcats have had a really tricky schedule to start the season and have navigated it admirably to be ahead of the ledger at this point. As long as Bryce Cotton is healthy and John Mooney continues to ball out, then they should be too strong over 40 minutes against the Taipans here.
Perth Wildcats -1.5
$1.90
Adelaide 36ers vs New Zealand Breakers
Saturday, 5:30pm AEDT
Adelaide 36ers were jumped by Melbourne United in their clash on Thursday night, trailing by more than 20 points at the first change. They were able to gather themselves after that and make it a decent contest, but the damage was already done. The 36ers move to an even 6-6 on the season and have now played at least two more games than every other team in the competition.
New Zealand Breakers came out of the blocks firing against the Sydney Kings to take a double-digit lead into quarter time. What happened after that however, was nothing short of bizarre. They lacked intensity and effort on both ends of the floor and ended up getting blown out by nearly 20 points. As a result, the Breakers are now 1-6 and clear last in the standings.
After watching what the Breakers dished up last time out it’s just about impossible to back them against the 36ers here. Unless they pull their fingers out and find an answer to their immense struggles on offence, then this should be a very comfortable win for Adelaide.
Adelaide 36ers -3.5
$1.90
