Canterbury Rams vs Wellington Saints: Analysis and Prediction – Canterbury Rams will host Wellington Saints in NBL New Zealand Round 13.
Canterbury Rams vs Wellington Saints Odds
Canterbury Rams Team News
The defending champions are absolutely rolling and are currently on an impressive 12-game winning streak. In the previous round, they first claimed a narrow win on the road against the Nelson Giants (97:95) and then blew out the Manawatu Jets at home (107:66) to deservedly hold the top of the table with a 13-2 W-L record.
The Canterbury Rams look unstoppable at the moment. Their offensive machine seems truly impressive with Lachlan Olbrich and two imports KJ Buffen and MJ Walker along with Max Darling, Walter Brown and Taylor Britt, who will be absent in this game due to international duties. Still, even without him the Rams possess enough firepower to repeat a win against the shorthanded Wellington Saints, whom they already absolutely destroyed on the road around a month ago by an impressive margin of 23 points.
Even though they will be missing Taylor Britt, the Canterbury Rams have more than enough depth and size to cover for his absence against the unstable and shorthanded Saints. Possession will be the key for both squads, with the team that controls the defensive glass and keeps care of the ball the most likely to score the win.
Wellington Saints Team News
A couple of days ago, even though they were missing a couple of crucial pieces, the Wellington Saints made light work out of the Bay Hawks and snatched an important win on the road by a convincing margin of 26 points (117:91). This currently puts Wellington in third place in the standings with a solid 11-5 W-L record.
Despite releasing Lat Mayen and missing Hyrum Harris and Izayah Le´Afa, the Wellington Saints cruised to a 26-point victory over the Bay Hawks on Thursday. Wellington had four players hit 20+ points in that game and especially helpful were the 21 points scored by their newest American import recruit Terry Henderson. Tohi Smith-Milner, Ben Ayre and Taane Samuel also had monster games and didn´t give a chance to the also-ran Bay Hawks, whose horrific run of form continued.
Overall, the Wellington Saints have been unstable, particularly in the clashes against top teams, so today with an undermanned roster they are the clear underdogs. They still have a chance though, but it will take another monumental scoring night and a three-point barrage to keep in touch with the star-studded Rams.
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Canterbury Rams vs Wellington Saints H2H
In the first head-to-head clash a little under a month ago, the Canterbury Rams demolished the Wellington Saints on the road by 23 points (107:84).
Absences and injuries
The Canterbury Rams will be without Taylor Britt, while the Wellington Saints will not be able to count on Hyrum Harris and Izayah Le´Afa.
Canterbury Rams vs Wellington Saints Prediction
The Saints are shorthanded without two crucial scorers and that should be much more felt in a game against one of the heavyweights Canterbury than against the lowly Hawks. The Canterbury Rams have almost a complete roster and are clear favourites heading into today´s contest, so we opted for the Rams to win and to cover the spread.
Tip-off Time: Saturday, 22.06.2024. 06:00 CET
Prediction: Canterbury Rams -5.5
Odds: 1.83
Sportsbook: 22Bet
*Odds are active at the time the article is published
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