NBL Round 5

Brisbane v Sydney

Somebody must handle defeat for the first time this season as the Kings hit the road to face the Bullets. Brisbane did what was required in their 21 point defeat of Singapore. They were in cruise mode for the most part as they toyed with their opponent. NZ international Craig Bradshaw hit 22 points with 6 rebounds in 20 minutes. Mackinnon found some form with 21 points, 10 boards and 7 assists to be just shy of a triple double. Joey Wright was content to run his bench which scored 48 points in the encounter.

The Kings enjoyed the week off between their last match and took the Dragons apart in the clutch to win by 10. Worthington and Smith combined for 47 points and 15 boards in what was another clinical display. You have to give credit where is due and Brian Goorjian deserves plenty. His teams are well drilled on the finer points of the game and always find a way to win in the crunch moments. His team is relatively small but they are getting the job done to be 4-0 this season but this is a stern test.

Both teams are on short turnarounds having played their respective matches last Sunday so it will be interesting to see who handles that better. Goorjian has already stated that his team has to play the game at their pace otherwise Brisbane will ram the ball down their throat in the open court. Bullets like to play fullcourt defence so its extremely important that both Draper and Kendall handle the ball well.
Brisbane will be confident of their frontcourt getting the job done in the halfcourt game, but it will be interesting to see how they cope with the Kings defence which is ranked first in the league.
Worthington will receive a lot of attention from the home sides defence as he is leading the club in scoring with 23 per game. They can not leave Smith open on the perimeter either. After a slow start to the season Smithy warmed up for this battle with a good showing last start so he has to be respected as well. Good news for the Kings with Hinder expected back to add bulk to the frontline. Second import Isiah Victor may finally play his first league game. He is a soft shooting bigman who likes to hit the boards hard.

Selection - Brisbane -8 @1.9 Sportingbet - 3 units

Sydney has got out of jail in every win they have had. At some point they will snap like a twig and this could very well be the game. With Brisbane looking to equal the all time league record 20th consecutive home victory and their fierce rivalry with the Kings I can smell a blowout here.

Singapore v Tigers

Both teams clash for the second time this season as the undefeated Tigers travel to Singapore. Melbourne recorded a 23 point win in their first matchup. That was after it was only a four point game at three quarter time. Both teams had two tough matches in week four. Melbourne had more success winning two but did look a little jaded in their match against the Dragons winning only by three. This will be their 3rd game in 7 days with a lot of travel in between.

The Slingers lost both their games on the road against the Blaze and Bullets by double digits and it looks like the young club will continue to struggle on the road. But they will rely on their home performances to edge upward in the standings.  Singapore have to seize their chance here. The Tigers are a tough ball club to beat but at home with the Tigers possibly vulnerable with fatigue they must make the most of it. Being a younger club they should be thriving with each game played. They have shown improvement and would feel like they are better prepared this time to combat the Tigers. At least they know what to expect. Chris Cameron had his best game in the league in his first season scoring 24 points against the Bullets. Shane McDonald also had 15. Mike Helms needs to lift his performances. Averaging only 19 points so far this season he would be disappointed. It does not get any easier here against possibly the leagues best defender in Dave Thomas. Ben Knight has been the guiding light for the club averaging a double/double and lifting his scoring average by more then eight points from two seasons ago.

As we seen against the Dragons in the final few minutes Melbourne just have too many options offensively to get it done. Very hard to stop this experienced and confident group from dominating in key moments when they have to. Coach Westover has this team humming right now.

The Tigers do have a tendency to just cruise through matches and get it done at the business end with their clutch performers. How long can they continue to get away with this? This season they are 1-3 at the start with lines of ten or more. This isn’t a new trend either as I have seen in previous seasons similar numbers against the line.

With Singapore keen to perform at higher levels then they have shown on the road lately and with the Tigers possibly being in a down spot energy wise here I am keen for the home side to cover. I think their youngsters will appreciate the friendly confines of their home gym where they are putting up decidedly better numbers compared to their away efforts and after the first week they will feel this is a better situation for them to handle as they have had made strides in their improvement.

Selections -

Singapore +14 1.90 Centrebet - 2 unit

Mike Helms Most Points @3.5 TAB - 1 unit