NBL Betting Selections

Slingers v Townsville

With a 0-3 start, the Slingers look to resurrect their season against the Townsville Crocs. After a 99-93 home loss to the Blaze there will be no excuses for another sub par performance here.

The  Crocs have another crisis of their own with star import Rosell Ellis ruled out for the year. They have a shortlist of replacements but will travel to Singapore shorthanded. They even called guard Anthony Stewart out of retirement to sign a 4 game contract until a replacement from the states is found.

For the first time this season there were some positive signs for the Slingers in their loss to the Blaze, in particular from their younger brigade. First year players Shane McDonald and John Fitzgerald both tallied 17 points in support of Helms who had an equal game high of 27 points. They will need a solid display from import Rod Grizzard if they are to threaten here however. He was only 2/5 for 4 points along with 4 boards before fouling out in 22 minutes.
 
The Crocs were eventually downed by the Kings 85-78 in their home opener and appear to be having problems finishing off their games. After their ‘great escape’ overtime victory over the Razors in Sydney they capitulated quite badly to Cairns and Kings, after having big halftime leads. John Rillie led the way against the Kings with 17 points with solid support from Ben Pepper who had an amazing 20 boards, 15 of those by halftime!! Galen Young struggled, frustratingly fouling out in quick time and to date has recorded 17 fouls in 3 games, fouling out twice. For mine, he is extremely limited offensively which, when all taken into account, can be a liability to the team, especially now Ellis is out. With the Crocs amongst the worst travelled teams in the comp over the years, this is an ideal situation for the Slingers to pounce and record their first win of the season. Mike Helms has put up big numbers against the Crocs in the past so the Slingers definitely have the edge inside and on the boards. Their young squad was really overawed in Perth against the Wildcats and didn’t turn up mentally. This can happen with a young squad away from home and I am prepared to forgive that performance as their other two home results were quite good, despite not getting the cash.
 
For the Crocs, John Rillie usually performs better at home and he is going to be asked to supply big numbers here ! Pepper will work tirelessly on the boards but as the game wears on younger bodies Cameron, Janev and Knight will get the upper hand. They have been getting quality minutes from Kelvin Robertson, who is averaging 14 points this season, but the loss of Ellis is too big of a void to fill. Ellis has been a vital cog at both ends of the court, averaging 28 points before being ruled out for the season. I just can’t see them getting the adequate production required to win this game. Daniel Egan, Greg Vanderjagt and Michael Cedar are going to have play big minutes. These are the sort of match ups the Slingers have been craving for.

Selection :

Slingers at +4.5 2 units (+4.5 @ 1.9 with Centrebet & Sportsbet)

As long as the Slingers take care of the ball and stem the flow of easy transition points they should win. They match up well on the boards and they like to get to the foul line which should put the Crocs in foul trouble and give them some cheap points in the process. The extra motivation to notch a first win in front of a home crowd against a Townsville franchise struggling to find another import should prove the difference.