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Years ago

The Race to the NBL Playoffs

Could we see arguably the four richest clubs miss the playoffs?

Sydney are in a big slump. Powell has not produced what would have been expected, they have been slow to bring in another import and and Khazzouh is now ruled out from returning.

Bairstow is a massive loss for Brisbane and they have more away games than home games still to come.

Perth and Melbourne have probably the toughest runs home and are also struggling to cover injuries.

Adelaide, Illawarra and Cairns all still have 7 home games up their sleeves, giving them a strong run home. Adelaide and Illawarra have also both been very strong performers on the road this season.

GAMES STILL TO COME
Adelaide - 7 Home, 5 Away
Illawarra - 7 Home, 4 Away
Sydney - 5 Home, 4 Away
Brisbane - 5 Home, 6 Away
Cairns - 7 Home, 6 Away
New Zealand - 5 Home, 6 Away
Perth - 5 Home, 8 Away
Melbourne - 5 Home, 7 Away

My prediction is the Top Four will be made up of Adelaide, Illawarra, Cairns and one of Sydney, Brisbane or NZ. I cannot see either Melbourne or Perth getting there at this point.

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Chairman Of The Bored
Years ago

Impossible to call with any authority at this stage, but I like the sound of that! I would expect that anyone other than NZ or Perth fans are probably sick of seeing them in the finals, particularly the Granny. Last year i didn't even watch the GF series.
Long way to go yet though, i'm sure there are more twists in store.

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LV
Years ago

How great would it be if it came down to the last round with most teams still vying for a spot.

My top 4 pick right now would be Cairns,Melbourne, Sydney and Adelaide with Illawarra to just miss out in 5th. NZ, Perth and Bris won't be far off the mark but key injuries and too many roster changes will hurt a bit. Casper Ware has been so good that I reckon he might help United avoid the same fate.

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Ricky Diculous
Years ago

If Brisbane bring in a quick, scoring guard their fortunes could be turned right around.
They have enough bigs to do a decent job at covering Bairstow.

At this stage I say:
Sydney
Illawarra
Melbourne
Cairns/Adelaide

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ROFLcopter
Years ago

I struggle to see Perth, United & NZ making it.

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LV
Years ago

United's current team has the best record of any current group.

That doesn't mean they'll make the top 4, but it does give me some confidence even though they're only 6 games in.

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Johnson
Years ago

I can't see Perth,Breakers,Brisbane making the playoffs,so it's melbourne or cairns to fight out for last playoff spot.That makes my playoff teams Illawarra,Adelaide,Sydney and Melbourne/Cairns.I'm thinking the league would want both Sydney and Melbourne in playoffs.They draw big crowds = more money for nbl.

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Bear
Years ago

As we approach the final half of the season, injuries and team depth is going to become the major factor for me in determining who may make play-offs.

That will also impact team performance and form, so at this stage I tend to agree that the following teams may struggle to displace those above them:

Breakers - just can't win enough games consistently.
Wildcats - don't have the size and depth this year.
Bullets - may not be able to cover critical injuries.

That leaves the same five teams consensus appears to be in agreement with to fight it out for the top four spots.

Hard to make any judgement call on who may drop out, the season is so tight it may come down to the last round, however if any of the three above were to break into the top four at the end of the season it would be a huge surprise to me.

At this stage, anyway...

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Hoops

The Race to the NBL Playoffs

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