Round 9 of the NBL24 season continues on Friday night with a juicy double-header. Second up on the agenda is a heavyweight battle between the Perth Wildcats and the Sydney Kings at RAC Arena. We provide our full game preview and best bet right here!
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 9 Preview & Betting Tips
Perth Wildcats vs Sydney Kings
Friday 9:30pm AEDT, December 1st, RAC Arena
Although they’re by far the most successful team in NBL history, the Perth Wildcats haven’t lived up to expectation in recent seasons and began NBL24 in poor form which had even their most loyal fans calling for change. However, fast forward a few weeks and the Red Army have seen their Wildcats go on a five-game win streak to surge back into championship contention.
It's no coincidence that the Wildcats returned to winning ways the same time Bryce Cotton recaptured his form. Cotton has averaged 25.7 points in the Wildcats’ seven wins and just 12.2 points across their five losses.
The key for the Wildcats to continue their winning ways is to get more reliable offensive production from guys not named Bryce Cotton. Keanu Pinder was an MVP candidate with the Taipans last season, yet he has averaged less than 11ppg across his last five games.
Elsewhere, the Sydney Kings have had a solid start to their back-to-back title defence. They enter Round 9 in second spot in the standings with a 7-4 record despite having to deal with a number of injuries to key players during the first couple of rounds.
However, the Kings would be extremely disappointed with their loss against Melbourne United last time out. They led by 15 at half time and seven at three-quarter time, yet were overrun in the end to lose by 12 points.
On a positive note, star import DJ Hogg is starting to find his rhythm on offence after missing the first portion of the season. He’s averaging 18ppg across his last three games and is shooting the three-ball at over 40% during that span.
Match prediction: This matchup clearly has game of the round potential as both teams are expected to be right in the mix when the whips are cracking later this season. The bookies have struggled to split the pair, but the Perth Wildcats are currently listed as slight favourites at the time of writing.
The home side has won each of the last four meetings between these teams, with both clubs winning twice. It’s also important to note that three of those wins were by at least a dozen points, while the other was still a healthy seven-point margin.
Recent trends suggest the home team should have the edge in this matchup, and the Wildcats will also be full of confidence considering they’ve won five on the spin. On top of that, the Kings have lost three of their last five on the road.
It’s certainly not a big betting game for me, but I do give the Wildcats the edge at home on this occasion.
Perth Wildcats to Win
$1.85 (1 Unit)
