NBL - Round 3

NZ Breakers v West Sydney

After a spectacular start to the season, last years cellar dwellers, the Razorbacks, travel over the ditch to take on the Breakers. The Razors are 2-1 this season and have covered in all 3 games while the Breakers kicked off their season with a tough 90-95 loss at the hands of the much improved Taipans two weeks ago.

Rod Beveridge has transformed West Sydney into one of the most exciting basketball clubs in this league. The import combo of Hinson/DeVries has been simply awesome with DeVries being the bargain buy of the year. He plied his trade down in Tasmania, not be the most fashionable of places to find a key import, and Beveridge will testify he certainly has not disappointed. He put on a shooting clinic against the Dragons which hasn’t been seen since the days of Andrew Gaze running the courts. Hinson also can do it all, score, rebound and with the experience to lead this young ball club and give direction. They will go into this contest very confident.

For the Breakers they are hopeful guard Kirk Penney will be available. He sustained a calf injury in the Oceania series against the Aussies and he will be a game time decision. If he plays, he may only have limited minutes court time. The team is already without Paul Henare, their experienced point guard, so the Penney inclusion is pretty crucial to their chances. Even though they lost their home opener there were some great positives. Import Rick Rickert posted solid numbers, 19 points, 12 boards and a couple of blocks while perimeter shooting forward, Oscar Forman, led the team with 20 points. They have enough depth this year and versatility to trouble most sides in the league. Their defence was impressive, with the game only being decided in the final 2 minutes, so they have plenty to build on for this game.

I think the key area of this match up will be the battle fought by the guards. Can the Breakers beat off the Razorback’s suffocating full court pressure without a true point guard? If they can move the ball freely down court they can start to pick their opponents apart in the half court game. Import Wayne Turner certainly will be working hard to ensure they can control the ball enough to be effective. Tony Ronaldson and Phill Jones need to step up their production for this to occur. For the Razors it’s a question of ‘if’ they can keep providing more of the same quality ball they will surprise a lot of clubs this season. Will they sneak into Auckland and steal another win? They have set themselves the task of reaching the playoffs this season and with their form who can doubt them!

The Razors imports are averaging 46 points per game between them and Khazzouh has filled up the middle beautifully. Tony Rampton returned sooner then expected against the Wildcats so that is also a plus for their inside game. It’s hard to go past the Razors here particularly with a formline through Perth. While NZ were impressive against Cairns, their second half effort was poor. With injuries to 2 key players and lacking the match fitness of their opposition, NZ may struggle. With the speed the Razors move, they will be asking lots of questions of the NZ defence and Rickert will definitely be a target of that quickness. He may find himself sitting on the pine if he hasn’t adjusted quick enough to the pace of the game. Tony Ronaldson while great in the half court is very slow overall and a quick transition game will not suit him. NZ seemed to be settling for too many outside jumpers against Cairns, so they either haven’t the confidence to go to the rim or they don’t have the speed to do so.

Selection :

Bet 1 unit West Sydney +6.5 @ 1.9 Sportsbet, Sportingbet, IASBet

Bet 1 unit Game Total Over 206.5 @ 1.9 Centrebet