Round 7 in the NBL24 season is headlined by another edition of the Throwdown, which pits South East Melbourne Phoenix against Melbourne United. Action will get underway at 2pm (AEDT) on Sunday, and we have a 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. Alternatively, you can find all of our NBL Round 7 best bets here!
NBL24 Round 7 Preview & Betting Tips
SE Melbourne Phoenix vs Melbourne United
Sunday 2pm AEDT, November 12th, John Cain Arena
Finding their groove in NBL24, the South East Melbourne Phoenix will play at home for the fourth time from five games this Sunday. They’ve made a habit of playing will in front of their fans with wins in all five of their home games this season. Conversely, they’re just 1-4 on the road.
Last time out the Phoenix were able to make fairly light work of the undermanned Taipans, defeating them by 13 points at John Cain Arena. That made it five wins from their last six games, with their only blemish during that span being a 16-point road loss to the Bullets in Round 6.
Having Alan ‘Big Sauce’ Williams fit and firing has been key to the success of the Phoenix. The squad has lost only one game since his return. In more positive news, import Will Cummings is expected to suit up in Round 7 after a short layoff due to injury.
Speaking of injuries, Melbourne United have been hit hard this season and there seems to be no relenting. Finally able to play with a full complement of their roster last weekend, United suffered multiple injuries in their loss against the Wildcats.
Unfortunately, Luke Travers, Ian Clark, and Matthew Dellavedova have all been ruled out for Sunday’s Throwdown, which will force coach Dean Vickerman to improvise with some new line-ups. On top of that, Ariel Hukporti is also reportedly not at 100%, and Jo Lual-Acuil will start for the first time this season at the centre position as a result.
Despite all of these injuries, the top-of-the-table United will be quietly confident about their chances of causing a minor upset on Sunday. They have arguably the deepest roster in the competition and might actually benefit from this adversity in the long term.
Match prediction: Melbourne United will start as the underdogs on Sunday simply due to them being short-handed. However, they’ve shown the ability to win without some of their key guys already this season and certainly shouldn’t be discounted in this one.
United have only lost two games this season and both were extremely narrow defeats. I still believe they’re more than capable of taking it to the Phoenix on Sunday and am happy to be on them to cover the spread.
Melbourne United +4.5
$1.91 (1 Unit)
