NBL Round 19

New Zealand v West Sydney

The Breakers host the Razorbacks, where both teams will be looking to get back on track after suffering defeats last weekend.  It has been the away team that has prevailed in the two previous meetings (The Razorbacks by 8 in New Zealand in round 3 and the Breakers by 16 in Sydney in round 16).

The Breakers defeat came against the Tigers in Melbourne last Saturday, 98-112.  Kirk Penney and import Derrick Alston (27 and 21 points respectively) carried the bulk of the scoring load.  Not having Tony Ronaldson (Achilles) didn’t help them here.  He is considered unlikely to play tonight and the Razorbacks will be a tough nut for the Breakers to crack without their big man.

The Razorbacks lost to local rivals the Kings at the Sydney Entertainment Centre last Saturday, 90-108 (3 days after edging out the Dragons in Melbourne).  Imports Darnell Hinson (20 points) and Troy Devries (19 points) were the main contributors against the Kings.  Role player Clint Reed was charged for fighting with Russell Hinder.  He will not miss any games as he only copped a fine.

I believe the Breakers are a touch too short here.  The likely absence of Ronaldson, whose passing game creates a lot of openings on the Breakers offence, will make it a tough for the Breakers to get the win.  As the Razorbacks have shown all season, they are capable of pulling off an upset and I believe that a small play on them is warranted here.  The points total looks a touch too high to me but there is not quite enough value in the current market for a play on the unders for me.

Razorbacks +7.5 at $1.91 (Bet Choice) - 1.5 units
Razorbacks at $3.75 (NSWTAB) - 0.5 unit