Brisbane Bullets vs Illawarra Hawks Verdict
Brisbane Bullets won their opener by three points and can repeat that margin and cover a -2.5 line against Illawarra Hawks on Friday. Tyrell Harrison is backed to get 20+ points in the game for the Bullets.
Key Stats
- Brisbane beat New Zealand 88-85 after trailing by 11 points during the second half.
- Tyrell Harrison scored 22 points on 10-of-13 shooting in Brisbane's opener.
- William Hickey produced 18 points, nine rebounds and five assists against New Zealand.
- Illawarra scored only 81 points in their season opener, losing by 14 to the Breakers.
Brisbane Bullets Form
Brisbane started NBL27 with an 88-85 win over New Zealand on Tuesday. They had to work for it after falling 11 behind during the second half, but finished strongly and held the Breakers to 85 points after New Zealand had scored 95 against Illawarra two days earlier.
Velička couldn't have done much more in his first regular-season appearance, finishing with 23 points and 14 assists.
Harrison was the major beneficiary inside, scoring 22 points, while Nate Hinton added plenty around the box score.
The obvious concern is the turnaround. Brisbane have only two full days between games while Illawarra haven't played since Sunday.
That makes the Bullets' second-half performance against New Zealand encouraging, but it also gives me more reason to take the full-game line rather than Brisbane in the first quarter or first half.
Illawarra Hawks Form
Illawarra were beaten 95-81 away to New Zealand Breakers in their opening game last weekend.
William Hickey was one of the brighter spots with 18 points, nine rebounds and five assists. That nine-rebound performance is what brings his 7+ market into play here.
He's a guard, but rebounding has always been part of what makes Hickey such an awkward matchup, and the Hawks are happy to give him serious minutes.
Illawarra are reportedly preparing to part ways with Darius Days after he played fewer than seven minutes in Round 1, with another import centre being considered to support Sam Froling.
It's hardly ideal timing before facing a Harrison-Velička combination that clicked immediately for Brisbane.