It’s a huge double-header in the NBL on Friday night and the headline act is second up on the schedule with the Perth Wildcats taking on Melbourne United. It should be another epic battle between two powerhouse clubs and as always, we have you covered with a full betting preview below!
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.
NBL25 Round 3 Preview & Betting Tips
Perth Wildcats vs Melbourne United
Friday 9:30pm AEST, RAC Arena
The Perth Wildcats began their season with a strong home win against the Phoenix but were unable to back it up against the powerhouse Kings last weekend, going down by one-point in what was a highly entertaining game.
Bryce Cotton was red-hot in the season opener but struggled a touch last outing, connecting on just 4/13 of his shots. Keanu Pinder had a nightmare game against the Kings with just one point and one rebound in 11 minutes of action.
In lineup news, Ben Henshall is expected to return after missing last weekend with illness. However, Tai Webster will miss both games in Round 3 due to a calf complaint.
Melbourne United opened their NBL25 campaign with a pair of wins, one against the JackJumpers and the other the Phoenix. They weren’t so good last weekend however, as they were held to just 72 points in a road loss against the JackJumpers.
Matthew Dellavedova was superb in their wins and not so good last game. He won’t be travelling to Perth due to personal reasons but is expected to play at home on Sunday afternoon against the Taipans.
After a slowish return to United, Jack White was great against the JackJumpers last weekend with 21 points and 12 rebounds. Chris Goulding had 11 points off the bench but is the likely replacement for Dellavedova in the starting lineup on Friday night.
Game Prediction: Delly is a huge loss for United and his absence means the likes of Shea Ili and Ian Clark will need to have big games if they’re to steal the win on the road. However, with this game near even odds at the time of writing, I’m a fan of backing the Wildcats at home here. Cotton rarely has two poor shooting games in a row, and Pinder will be keen to make amends for his horror showing against the Kings. I expect that star duo to lead the Wildcats to victory.
Another play from this game that I like is the unders in the total points market. The current line of 182.5 is too high for a game involving United, especially considering each of their last five games have gone under the total points line.
Also Backing: Under 182.5 Points $1.86 (1 Unit)
Wildcats to Win
$1.70 (1.5 Units)
