Round 2 action in NBL24 begins on Thursday night with a double-header. The matchup of the night looks to be the second meeting which sees the Cairns Taipans play hosts to the South East Melbourne Phoenix. We provide a full game preview and betting tips 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 access the rest of our NBL Round 2 betting tips here!
NBL24 Round 2 Preview & Betting Tips
Cairns Taipans vs SE Melbourne Phoenix
Thursday 7:30pm AEDT, October 5th, Cairns Convention Centre
Undermanned in their opening game, the Cairns Taipans were no match for the star-studded Breakers on the road. They got off to a solid start and took a narrow lead into the first break, but it was all the home side after that as the Taipans went on to lose by 11 points (87-98).
Rookie Sam Mennenga was the most efficient scoring option for the Snakes and led the team with 17 points on 64% shooting. Import Patrick Miller, who’s arms are some of the biggest you’ll ever see on a pro basketballer, was also solid on debut for the Snakes with 15 points, five rebounds, and six assists.
The Snakes were depleted at the guard position against the Breakers with star import Tahjere McCall out injured along with young gun Taran Armstrong. Import forward Josh Roberts also missed the opener with an ankle injury. McCall is likely to at least miss the next couple of weeks, although both Armstrong and Roberts are a chance to suit up on Thursday night.
Round 1 was a mixed bag for the South East Melbourne Phoenix. They began their campaign with a poor 15-point loss (67-82) loss against United in Throwdown XXI, before bouncing back in a big way second up against the Wildcats whom they defeated comfortably by 11 points (110-99).
Captain Mitch Creek’s lack of a preseason was obvious in the opening game where he struggled with just six points on 25% shooting, although he was much better in the second game, as were most of his teammates, where he posted 23 points (50% shooting). Import Tyler Cook also franked his hot Blitz form with a huge performance against the Wildcats, while Gary Browne also returned from injury and was highly productive in his 14 minutes off the bench.
With Browne and Creek now fully recovered from their respective injuries, the Phoenix are only missing import Big Sauce (Alan Williams) and role player Gorjak Gak. Sauce is still a couple of weeks away but has still been very much involved in helping his teammates off the court.
Match prediction: The Taipans performed well to only go down by 11 points last outing and should be stronger in their home opener on Thursday night with a couple of key pieces back in the fold. Likewise, the Phoenix should be better again with two games under their belt and some added fitness to key personnel. The odds suggest this will be a tight one with the Phoenix currently around $1.70 favourites at most bookmakers, and those odds seem fair and not worth attacking in my opinion.
Instead, I like the chances of this clash going under the current total points line which is currently set at 179.5 at Neds. The Taipans lack the personnel to engage in a shootout with the Phoenix and I think they’ll try and slow the pace down a touch to keep things under control. On top of that, each of their last six meetings have gone under 179.5 points. I like the unders here, but will only stake 1.5 units as it’s still early in the season and we’re all trying to get a proper read on teams.
Under 179.5 Points
$1.95 (1.5 Units)
