NBL Round 19

Adelaide v Melbourne Round 19

The 36ers will be hoping to avoid a season series sweep against the Tigers which will keep their remote playoff hopes alive.  They will still be without their Captain Brett Maher for this game and may also be without import Julius Hodge.

The 36ers lost 3 games in the space of 4 days last week, the most recent being a 155-107 hiding against the Bullets in Brisbane.  Darren Ng led 5 players in double figures with 20 points.  If Hodge (ankle complaint) can’t take his place in this game, it will make an already difficult task that much harder for the 36ers.

The Tigers amassed a 16 point half time lead against the Breakers at home last Saturday and then coasted to a 112-98 victory.  Chris Anstey (22 points and 12 rebounds) and import Sean Lampley (22 points) were the main contributors.  The Tigers have a home game this Saturday against Singapore before they host Brisbane next week.

If Hodge does not make it onto the court, the minus 9.0 that is out there about the Tigers looks like value to me.  Until this gets confirmed, I will not be getting involved in the line betting.  The points total looks to be on the mark.

Sydney v South Melbourne Round 19

The Kings, who have 20 wins, host the Dragons, who have 19 losses.  The televised game on Big Wednesday has first place squaring off against last place.

After suffering just their third defeat of the season, the Kings bounced back with a comfortable 108-90 home victory over local rivals West Sydney.  Import Dontaye Draper top scored with 22 points in just 22 minutes.  Russell Hinder got charged in this game with fighting.  Whilst he is a chance at being suspended tonight, whether or not he plays is fairly insignificant as the Kings have an abundance of depth to cover his absence.

The Dragons suffered their 10th consecutive loss in Perth against the Wildcats last Saturday, going down 99-111.  Import Bakari Hendrix paced the Dragons with 26 points.  He also received good support from Matt Burston (17 points and 13 rebounds) and Joe Ingles (17 points).  Some scouts from the Los Angeles Lakers are expected to attend this game and check out Ingles, who is being touted as a potential NBA Draft Pick in June. 

I believe the Kings will get a comfortable victory at home here and the line betting seems to accurately reflect this.  The points total also looks spot on to me.