There’s been a ton of NBL games cancelled over the last couple of weeks which has been frustrating to say the least. However, there’s expected to be a decent amount in Round 7 and we’ll be bringing you previews and best bets for all of them right here!
NBL Round 7 Betting Tips
Illawarra Hawks vs Sydney Kings
Thursday 7:30pm AEDT, Win Entertainment Centre
The Hawks have had a tough schedule to start the season with only one of their first four games on their home deck. However, they’ve shown their class and ability with wins in three of those games, including their only home fixture to date. The Hawks may be coming off a last start loss against the Bullets, but they’ve had the best part of four weeks to digest and plan for their redemption.
The Kings have had a roller coaster start to the season and would probably be a little bit disappointed with their 3-3 record, when considering that five of their six games have been on their home floor. Their most recent outing resulted in a 14-point loss at home to Melbourne United, which put an end to a mini two-game win streak they’d put together.
Due to Covid complications, both of these teams have had at least a couple of weeks off and will be absolutely itching to get back out there on Thursday night, providing it all goes to plan. The Hawks will start as the favourites and deservingly so, although they should be a lot shorter than they currently are in our opinion. The Kings have only played one road game to date and that ended in a record-breaking 42-point loss against United around four weeks ago. They now travel to face one of the best teams in the league on their home deck and we expect it to be a task too tough for them at this stage.
Illawarra Hawks -4.5
$1.90
New Zealand Breakers vs Melbourne United
Friday 7:30pm AEDT, MyState Bank Arena
The Breakers finally got off the mark in Round 6 when they upset the talented Bullets on the road by five points. Yanni Wetzell is proving to be a fantastic addition to the squad and is enjoying a breakout season, but he’ll need some more help from his teammates to dig the Breakers out of their 1-6 hole. They’re currently occupying bottom spot on the ladder and have played the most games of any team in the competition.
United started their title defence in poor form with losses in each of their first two games, but they’ve quickly turned it around with wins in each of their last four, three of which have been by 14+ points. Admittedly, United have had a fairly kind schedule when compared to most teams in the competition and we’ll likely find out more about where they’re really at in the coming weeks when they face some of the more talented teams.
These teams have already played each other once this season, with United cruising to an 83-60 victory at home. At lot of water has gone under the bridge since that clash and the Breakers are certainly a more dangerous outfit this time around, particularly on the neutral court. With that said, we firmly believe the result could go either way, which makes the Breakers the value play on this occasion.
New Zealand Breakers +5.5
$1.91
Illawarra Hawks vs Melbourne United
Sunday 1am AEDT, Win Entertainment Centre
The Hawks kicked off Round 7 with an impressive home win against the Kings where they controlled the game for most of its duration before winning by eight points. That made it two wins from two games on their home deck, as well as four wins from five games overall. The Hawks are now just percentage behind Perth who sit at the top of the ladder at the current time.
United trailed the Breakers for the majority of the first three quarters in their first game in Round 7, but tightened the screws in the latter stages of the game and were able to grind out an 11-point win on the road. Impressively, that made it five straight wins for the defending champions after they lost their opening two games of the season. They’re now 5-2 and third in the standings.
It’s a very interesting matchup we have on our hands here between two of the big dogs in NBL22. United will be full of confidence after reeling off five wins on the spin, but the Hawks are currently undefeated at home and will be the more rested team ahead of this fixture. With all things considered, it should be a close game but we’re slightly leaning towards the Hawks in the H2H market in a low bet game.
Illawarra Hawks H2H
$1.80
Adelaide 36ers vs Perth Wildcats
Tuesday 7:30pm AEDT, Adelaide Entertainment Centre
Adelaide will be taking to the court for just the second time in a month when they host Perth on Tuesday night. Most recently the 36ers were thumped by 26 points on the road by the Taipans, taking their season record to 2-3. Tuesday night’s clash will be just their third game on their home deck this season where they currently have a 1-1 record after a loss against the Hawks and more recently a win against the Breakers.
Perth have had another successful campaign to date and enter their Round 7 clash having won five of their six games, which has them sitting at the top of the standings. Admittedly, the Wildcats have had a very favourable draw to start the season with all but one of their games on their home deck, but their most recent game was on the road against the Taipans which they were able to win by six points after coming from behind.
The Wildcats will start as the deserving favourites despite being the travelling team in this fixture, although it is a tough one to predict and we believe the bookies have got the H2H pricing nearly spot on. Instead, we’ll be looking to attack the total points line, which looks a bit too high in our opinion when you consider that eight of their 11 games combined have had 163 or less points scored.
