NBL24 Round 10 begins on Thursday night with an intriguing matchup between the Cairns Taipans and the Sydney Kings. Action at the Cairns Convention Centre will begin just after 7:30pm AEDT, and you can find our full preview and best bet for the game 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 10 Preview & Betting Tips
Cairns Taipans vs Sydney Kings
Thursday 7:30pm AEDT, December 7th, Cairns Convention Centre
In the midst of an extremely busy schedule, the Cairns Taipans were able to secure an unlikely victory against Melbourne United last time out. They were firing on all cylinders on the offensive end, pouring in 115 points which obliterated their previous season high of 89 points which came back in Round 2.
More importantly, their recent win snapped a three-game losing streak that threatened to derail their season if it continued. Still, the Snakes have plenty of work to do until we can start taking them seriously as contenders, as there’s simply been too wide of a gap between their best and worst performances thus far.
On a positive note, sparsely played import Josh Roberts came out of hibernation in Round 9 and even earned himself a start against United most recently. Roberts made the most of the opportunity with 22 points on 10/11 shooting in his 27 minutes on the floor.
Meanwhile, the Sydney Kings suddenly find themselves in great need of a win after dropping each of their last two games. They enjoyed healthy leads on the road against both United and the Wildcats, but a big dip in form in their second halves saw them come away empty handed.
The most alarming aspect of the Kings’ losses this season has been the amount of points they’ve been conceding. They average 90.3 points against across their wins this season, but that number blows out to 102.8 across their past four losses.
There were some encouraging signs for the Kings in Round 9 despite losing. Jonah Bolden produced his best performance of the season when draining 7/8 of his triples to end with 28 points. It certainly wouldn’t be a surprise to see him injected into the starting lineup sooner rather than later.
Match prediction: Neither team would be happy with their form over the last couple of rounds and both would absolutely love to come away with a win on Thursday night to try and build some mid-season momentum.
The Taipans currently lead the season series 1-0 after defeating the Kings 87-80 at home in Round 5. However, the Kings star trio of Jaylen Adams, DJ Hogg, and Denzel Valentine combined for 10-39 shooting on the night, so to only lose by seven points is an encouraging sign.
After back-to-back losses, I expect a lift in intensity by the Kings here, particularly on the defensive end. I think they represent excellent value in both the H2H and handicap markets and am keen to have a decent crack.
Sydney Kings -2.5
$1.91 (2.5 Units)
