NBL finals Cairns Taipans vs. Perth Wildcats game 1 betting

Game One: Friday, February 17, 7.30pm AEDT, Cairns Conventions Centre, Cairns, Watch on Fox Sports

Other series match ups:
Game Two: Monday, February 20, 9.30pm AEDT, Perth Arena, Perth
Game Three (if required): Friday, February 24, 7.30pm AEDT, Cairns Conventions Centre, Cairns

IT seems strange to say it, given only four teams have made the NBL playoffs, but the Cairns Taipans and Perth Wildcats are two of the seven best teams in the competition.

That’s because just two wins separated the second placed Taipans and the second bottom Sydney Kings.

But we have the juicy match up of second versus third in the first round of the playoffs, the two teams battling it out for a spot in the NBL finals.

These two teams split the season series 2-2, having played for the first time in October last year, before matching up three times in the space of 20 days, the Taipans winning their last home tilt 85-77, earlier this month.

Both of these sides looked like their seasons were cooked less than three weeks ago, but the Taipans reeled off six wins in their past seven games and the Wildcats snared four of five.

The translation is these two are among the form clubs in the competition, which should make for a tight tussle that could go either way.

The Taipans did beat the top of the table Adelaide 36ers twice in the last round to go from missing the playoffs all together to finishing second, but there is some smoke and mirrors there: The Sixers were guaranteed top spot, no matter how their games went, so there may have been some foot off the pedal involved.

The Taipans have the home court advantage and will build their attack around import guard Travis Trice, who leads the offence with a tick over 14 points and a little under 3.5 assists per game. Versatile form Boomer Mark Worthington does much of the grunt work for this team with nearly five boards and nearly 3.5 assists per game, while Cam Gliddon manages just over 11 points per night and leads the team in steals with 1.18 per game.

The key to the Taipans success against the Wildcats has been their ability to keep tabs on an offence that features the NBL’s leading scorer in Bryce Cotton, at 22 per game, and the fourth most potent man in the league in Casey Prather, who averages better than 19 each night.

Throw another import in Jameel McKay and his more than six boards per night, along with defensive dynamo Damian Martin’s 1.71 thefts and you have a side that was made to win playoff games.

Game one predictions

Game result: Cairns Taipans to win (-153.85 with Sportsbet.com.au)

Line betting tip: Perth Wildcats +4.5 ($1.95 with Sportsbet.com.au)

Total game score: Under 158.5 ($1.90 with Sportsbet.com.au)

The Taipans have beaten the Wildcats in each of their two home clashes this season and won their last outing easily. Really, it feels like this is a flip of the coin, but we think the Taipans can take the first one at home, before losing momentum on the road in Perth. It won’t be a blow out though. They have had one game this season that has gone to overtime between these two teams and the other was a two point thriller in Cairns. This is another one of those “toss of a coin” matches – but haven’t they all been in the NBL this season? We’re gonna say this will be another close one and the 4.5 point line seems very generous for a Perth Wildcats side that has won four of its last five. The total game score has exceeded 158.5 twice and gone under twice. Both times it fell short, it was just half a point. The caveat to that is that in one of the games it took overtime to get it over the 158.5, with the total score at just 144 at the end of regulation. The most recent game finished at 163, but you feel there will be plenty more intensity and more defence given this is a playoff game.

Series predictions

Series winner: Perth Wildcats ($2.37 with Sportsbet.com.au)

Series correct score: Perth Wildcats to win 2-1 ($4.20 with Sportsbet.com.au)

Series top scorer: Casey Prather ($2.70 with Sportsbet.com.au)

The playoffs are the Perth Wildcats’ domain and could very well sweep this 2-0, even though they finished below the Taipans. But we’re giving Cairns the first one at home, before the Wildcats come into their own and finish off the series with a pair of wins. There really isn’t much between them and the only reason the Taipans are favourites is because they have the home court advantage. The one-two import punch between Cotton and Prather has been a revelation for the Cats and, even though the likes of Trice and Gliddon will prove tough to stop, we’re picking the high powered Perth wing to continue his scoring streak – he averages 27.5 in his last two.

Cairns Taipans vs. Perth Wildcats betting odds

Series winner:

Cairns Taipans ($1.54)
vs.
Perth Wildcats ($2.37)

Correct series score:

Cairns Taipans 2-0 ($3.50)
Cairns Taipans 2-1 ($3.30)
Perth Wildcats 2-0 ($3.75)
Perth Wildcats 2-1 ($4.20)

Most Points:

Bryce Cotton ($2.30)
Casey Prather ($2.70)
Travis Trice ($4.50)
Cam Gliddon ($6)

All odds provided by Sportsbet.com.au