Round 1 of NBL25 continues on Friday night With the Perth Wildcats hosting the South East Melbourne Phoenix in the Jungle. Both clubs will be full of optimism coming into a fresh campaign, and we’re here to provide a preview and best bet for their upcoming clash!
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.
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NBL25 Round 1 Preview & Betting Tips
Perth Wildcats vs South East Melbourne Phoenix
Friday 8:30pm AEST, September 20th, RAC Arena (Perth)
After a strong regular season in NBL24 where they finished second, it was a disappointing finals series for the Perth Wildcats who lost to the JackJumpers in the semi-finals despite having home court advantage, as well as winning the opening game of the series.
However, the Wildcats resisted the temptation to make too many moves in the offseason and will instead run it back with the same staff and almost the same squad. It’s been confirmed by coach John Rillie that the Wildcats will employ the same starting 5 as last season in their opening game, which of course has Bryce Cotton as the head of the snake.
The Wildcats were in sizzling form in the preseason where they went undefeated from eight outings, including winning three from three at the recent NBL Blitz.
In contrast, the South East Melbourne Phoenix were the wooden spooners last season with a 10-18 record, although they did have a lot of bad luck on the injury front and seldom had a full complement of players available.
Still, they’ve opted for a major overhaul of their roster with only four familiar faces returning for NBL25. The biggest departure was captain Mitch Creek who had been with the club since their inaugural season.
The Phoenix were aggressive in their recruitment and have added a number of talented players to their roster. Derrick Walton Jr is a massive coup, while Jordon Hunter and Angus Glover are also very handy additions. On top of that, the Phoenix added ex Bullets star Nathan Sobey.
Game Prediction: The Wildcats have more continuity with their roster as well as home court advantage on Friday night, however I still think the Phoenix have been a touch disrespected in the betting markets.
Yes, it’s a tough ask for the new-look Phoenix to go and win in the jungle first up, but I see the +8.5 spread as very gettable. In saying that, it’s a brand new season and no one can be certain what to expect, but I don’t mind the idea of having something on the Phoenix to keep this close.
Phoenix +8.5
$1.91 (1 Unit)
