THE weekend is here and so is the latest round of the 2021/22 National Basketball League (NBL) season, and there is plenty for fans to look forward to. The league will be hosting a whopping nine games over the span of six days, with loads of basketball action for fans to enjoy. With COVID constantly causing chaos across the competition, the NBL will be hopeful that the interruptions will be kept to a minimum this weekend as the league looks to get things back on track.

Things will kick off on Friday night, when the Brisbane Bullets will play host to the Sydney Kings when the two sides face off at Nissan Arena in what should be an exciting way to begin Round 8.

The Bullets produced one of their best wins of the season last round, taking down one of the championship favourites in the South East Melbourne Phoenix. Brisbane were clinical on the offensive end of the court, with a number of contributors leading the way to this result. They will be hopeful of something similar happening against the Kings, and with Robert Franks and Nathan Sobey both capable of scoring 25-plus points in any given match, it makes sense that they head into this match favoured.

The Kings have conjured some impressive wins throughout the season, but have lacked the consistency to make themselves a true championship favourite to date. With only three wins from their first eight games, they have found themselves towards the bottom spot of the ladder. This week presents an opportunity to get their record back on track, but will need Xavier Cooks and Jarell Martin to be at their best if they are to cook up a winning score against the Bullets.

The next match of the round will see the Adelaide 36ers look to record another impressive victory when they go head-to-head with Melbourne United at Adelaide Entertainment Centre on Saturday evening.

The 36ers produced a remarkable performance against the ladder-leading Perth Wildcats last round, demonstrating what this team can do if they fire on all cylinders. They will be looking to repeat this effort this weekend against the reigning champions, and while they enter this match as underdogs, they will be able to enter this clash with a level of confidence. However, they will need some of last week’s heroes in Daniel Johnson and Cameron Bairstow to step up once again.

United claimed two impressive wins last round over the Breakers and the Hawks. The latter was incredibly impressive, given the high quality of basketball both sides displayed. After a slow start to the year, it is evident that the reigning champions are well and truly back, and will be confident in their ability to claim consecutive titles this year. Making things even scarier for opposition teams moving forward, star guard Matthew Dellavedova produced his best NBL game to date with 33 points. If he can continue to get his offensive game rolling in the future, it will make United even harder to stop.

Moving East for the next clash, fans will be treated to a blockbuster clash between two of the competition heavyweights, with the Illawarra Hawks taking on the Perth Wildcats at WIN Entertainment Centre on Saturday night.

The Hawks enjoyed mixed results last week, claiming one win and one loss from the round. They defeated the Kings to the tune of eight points to kick the round off, but were bested by the reigning champions in what was one of the best matches of the season to date. They have shown that they will be tough to keep out of the top four come season’s end, but this weekend comes a true test of character. They face another title contender in the Wildcats this week, and will need players such as Duop Reath in form if they are to win this clash of the titans.

The Wildcats found themselves on the receiving end of a shock upset from the Adelaide 36ers last round, in a result that not many saw coming. It acted as a reality check for the team, who had enjoyed relatively smooth sailing to this stage. They will be out to bounce back this week, but face a worthy opponent in the Hawks this time around. They will be hopeful that the duo of Bryce Cotton and Victor Law finds some form after a quiet outing against Adelaide in Round 7.

Fans will get a feeling of déjà vu on Sunday afternoon, when the Sydney Kings take on the Brisbane Bullets for the second time in Round 8, this time at Qudos Bank Arena, with Sydney given the home court advantage.

With both sides only able to compete in a limited number of games recently, fans will be delighted to see the Tasmania JackJumpers and the South East Melbourne Phoenix hit the court again when the two sides clash at MyState Bank Arena on Sunday afternoon.

The JackJumpers have not been able to compete in an NBL game since New Year’s Day due to COVID-related issues. The team will be eager to pull the jersey on again, but there will be a question of freshness when the side heads into this massive matchup. However, they do face a side that has not had much action themselves, and if key players such as Josh Magette and Josh Adams can get rolling on the offensive end, then an upset may be on the way.

The Phoenix copped a shock loss last round, falling to a fired-up Brisbane Bullets side by a considerable margin in the end. The Phoenix simply did not have enough contributors, particularly on the defensive end. They will be looking to put themselves back on the winner’s list this week against a side that has struggled to date, but their defence will need to lift, but they have the capability with Zhou Qi at the five.

Illawarra-based basketball fans will be treated to another exciting clash this round, with the Hawks hosting the 36ers at WIN Entertainment Centre on Monday night. This will be the second clash of the round for both sides.

For the first time in a while, the Cairns Taipans will be hitting the court when they travel to Gippsland Regional Indoor Sports Stadium to take on the South East Melbourne Phoenix on Tuesday night. This will be the Phoenix’s second match of the round.

The Taipans have not been able to play a regular season match since New Year’s Eve, so this marks the start of their 2022 NBL journey. They may suffer some level of rust when they kick things off in this match, but if they can overcome this then they will consider themselves a red-hot chance to claim the win here, despite entering the match as underdogs. In their most recent match, Majok Deng delivered 27 points, so it would be handy if he could do something similar again here.

The final match of the round will see the Brisbane Bullets look to cause a boilover when they take on Melbourne United at Nissan Arena on Wednesday night. This will be the third match of the round for the Bullets and Melbourne’s second.