Wellington Saints vs Whai Tauranga: Analysis and Prediction – Wellington Saints will play a 15th round NBL NZ match against the Whai Tauranga at the TSB Arena.
Wellington Saints vs Whai Odds
Wellington Saints vs Whai (1/2): 1.04 / 9.06
Asian Handicap (-17.5 / +17.5): 1.80 / 1.97
Total Over/Under (178.5): 1.83 / 1.85
Wellington Saints Team News
The Wellington Saints showed strong form in the previous round by easily disposing of the shorthanded Otago Nuggets at home by 26 points (106:80). That keeps them in the hunt for home court advantage in the playoffs as the Saints currently sit in fourth place in the standings with a 12-6 W-L record.
In the previous round, the Saints finally put an end to their shaky form and made amends for their heavy 25-point loss to the Canterbury Rams by dominating against the Otago Nuggets and consolidating themselves at the top of the ladder with a convincing victory. Wellington´s main star Hyrum Harris returned in that game, which means that the Saints are currently only without Izayah Le´Afa and basically have a full roster with their newest import acquisition Terry Henderson for today´s game against the Whai Tauranga.
Wellington are far more superior in all facets of the game compared to Whai, especially in terms of size. In addition, Whai will be shorthanded and will still be missing one of their imports Ira Lee, so the Saints will enter today´s contest as heavy favourites and should win routinely.
Whai Team News
Even though they had a shorthanded roster, the Whai Tauranga once again managed to surprise everyone in the last round by beating the star-studded Franklin Bulls at home (87:84). That win keeps them in contention for the playoffs, but by the thinnest of threads as they currently sit in seventh place with a 7-11 W-L record.
The Whai Tauranga are still in contention for the playoffs, but will need to win all of their remaining games and also hope other results go their way. Even though they have been missing their new import addition Ira Lee, Whai have strung together two consecutive victories after a poor spell of four consecutive defeats. However, this Wednesday they will have a mountain to climb against the stacked and star-studded Wellington Saints, who have the size advantage in the frontcourt and also a much better efficiency from behind the arc.
Without Ira Lee, the Whai Tauranga should struggle on the inside against the bigs of Wellington. It will be almost impossible for them to pull off another upset win as they need numerous things to fall into place. The Saints are much more superior and have their main star back, so the Whai Tauranga could be facing a very long night at the TSB Arena.
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Wellington Saints vs Whai H2H
In the first head-to-head clash a little over a month ago, the Wellington Saints came away as convincing winners on the road against the Whai Tauranga by 12 points (102:90).
Absences and injuries
The Wellington Saints will be without Izayah Le´Afa and Dion Prewster, while the Whai Tauranga will be without the services of Ira Lee.
Wellington Saints vs Whai Prediction
The Wellington Saints need a win for home court advantage in the playoffs and they should do it in style against the shorthanded Whai Tauranga. Whai have been having a good time as of late, but they are without one of their bigs and imports Ira Lee and should have a very tough time against the Saints, so we opted for the Wellington Saints to win and to cover the spread.
Tip-off Time: Wednesday, 03.07.2024. 09:30 CET
Prediction: Wellington Saints -17.5
Odds: 1.80
Sportsbook: 22Bet
*Odds are active at the time the article is published
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