NBL Semifinal Series Expert Tips & Predictions

The NBL semifinals are upon us with United vs Wildcats and Hawks vs Phoenix playing in a best-of-three series.

We have NBL betting tips for the series winners, where United and the Hawks are favoured to advance to the NBL Final.

NBL Semifinal Series Tips

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Melbourne United vs Perth Wildcats

United are the $1.60 favourites to advance to the NBL Finals, but they will need to be at their best to get past the Perth Wildcats.

United finished second on the NBL ladder with 19 wins and 10 losses, with the Wildcats owning an 18-11 record. Therefore, there isn’t much between them, and punters get $2.30 for the Wildcats to advance.

Melbourne has the benefit of playing two of the three games at home, which is why the odds are in their favour. However, we believe the Wildcats are the better team, spearheaded by Bryce Cotton.

Cotton leads the NBL in points per game with 28.52, clear of Kendric Davis. He’s the key to the Wildcats’ success, and because of his experience playing in the finals, we’re happy to back him and his team with confidence.

United has more of a team approach, and they have some classy players, including Marcus Lee, Matthew Dellavedova, Chris Goulding, and Jack White, but Perth also has class and experience.

Given the odds, we’re picking the Wildcats to steal the series. They could win Game 1 on Thursday, which would see their odds firm considerably with Game 2 being in Perth.

Betting tip: Perth Wildcats @ $2.30

Illawarra Hawks vs S.E. Melbourne Phoenix

The Illawarra Hawks have been consistently the best team all season, and with a 20-9 record, they are the firm favourites to better the Phoenix in the semifinals.

The Phoenix finished with a 16-13 record, and they showed signs of being a title contender at times. They defeated the Adelaide 36ers to progress to this stage, which was an excellent effort, but the Hawks are a different kettle of fish.

After years of not living up to their potential, the Hawks finally have everything in place to win a title. They have exciting offensive players, including Tyler Harvey and Sam Froling, and they have had the benefit of resting their players before the semis.

Other teams were battling for position but the Hawks have been tinkering with their roster and giving the lesser-known players some court time. That could be beneficial in a series where they might have to go deep into their lineup at times.

We don’t think the Phoenix can cope with their depth, and the Wildcats could roll through the series 2-0. $1.35 for the Hawks to win isn’t good value, so we’re backing them to win 2-0, which pays a healthy $2.30.  That’s a much better price for a series that we’re picking to be over before Game 3 in Illawarra.

Betting tip: Illawarra Hawks 2-0 @ $2.30