Sydney Kings v New Zealand Breakers – NBL Betting Preview and Prediction
Sydney Kings and New Zealand Breakers will clash on Friday, February 12 at the Qudos Bank Arena for the first time this season. Here is our betting preview and prediction for the match.
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Sydney Kings vs New Zealand Breakers
When: Friday, February 12 – 19:30 AEDT
Where: Qudos Bank Arena
After a disastrous start of the season, Kings are slowly starting to look better. They’re ranked fifth in the league with a 2-3 record and a +18 points differential, which is quite impressive considering they are without Didi Louzada, Xavier Cooks, Daniel Kickert and Angus Glover.
Last time out, Kings faced off against Adelaide 36ers at the Adelaide Entertainment Centre, where they completely stomped the hosts with 94-75. The game was very one-sided from the start, with Sydney securing a marginal three-point lead by the end of Q1 (21-18), which they then extended to nine points by the end of the first half thanks to another phenomenal showing in Q2 (27-21).
From there onwards, Kings continued to extend their lead with 17-12 and 29-24 in Q3 and Q4 respectively to close out the game 19 points ahead. Casper Ware was leading the way with 27pts, followed by Jarell Martin with 23 pts and Dejan Vasiljevic with 15. Brad Newley and Craig Moller each contributed nine points from the bench.
All in all, it was a massive win for Sydney and a great performance from Ware, who has hit six 3-pointers and also managed three rebounds and three assists. While we are handing our praises, Martin had four rebounds, an assist, three 3-pointers and 52.9% from the floor.
Kings’ next opponents, the New Zealand Breakers currently sit in eighth (i.e. second-to-last) spot in the league with a 1-3 record. Breakers enter this match off a loss at the Cairns Convention Centre, where Breakers got trashed by Cairns Taipans 69-84.
The match was very one-sided from the start. Cairns ended the first half 11 points up, thanks to strong showings in Q1 (22-16) and Q2 (21-16). The second half did not play out much differently, with Cairns further extending their lead to 16 points by the end of Q3 (66-50) at which point, the game was more or less decided.
It’s fair to assume Breakers would look better had they not lost the first quarter by six points, but at the end of the day, Breakers just didn’t play well. Most of the Breakers’ shot under 50%, with their best player Tai Webster managing only 13 points.
This will mark Kings’ first game at Qudos Bank Arena this season, so we can expect a fair amount of home fans attending the match to cheer for their team – or at least as much as the COVID-19 restrictions will allow. Playing in front of their fans will surely help Kings, although it’s not like they will need much help facing the shaky Breakers.
And let’s not forget just how good Ware and Martin were for Kings last time out. If they can replicate what they have shown against Adelaide, Breakers will be in for a world of hurt. We like our underdogs, but considering all the factors, it’s incredibly difficult to imagine Kings dropping this one.
Prediction: Sydney Kings -5.00 points
