THE second Throwdown headlines Round 4 of the NBL season as the top four begin to separate themselves from the chasing pack. We take a look at the six games across this weekend.

NEW ZEALAND BREAKERS vs. CAIRNS TAIPANS
Friday, October 31, 5.30pm
Spark Arena

The Breakers host the Taipans in what shapes up as a mouth-watering matchup. The Breakers had a mixed round last week, breaking through for their first in NBL 2019/20 against the Taipans on Thursday night, before faltering against United on Saturday night in Melbourne. Corey Webster, Sek Henry and Brandon Ashley all starred in both encounters, and will need to put in similar outings against a Taipans side who seem to be finally heading on the up. The Taipans had a slow start to their season and it appeared that they were going to taste a similar lack of success as they had last season. But despite a tight four-point loss to Adelaide on Friday night last week, they bounced back in the final match of the round on Monday night to defeat Melbourne by five-points. But they now have to travel and face off against the Breakers in New Zealand, one of the toughest tasks in the league and will need all of Cameron Oliver, Nathan Jawai and D.J. Newbill to continue their strong patches of form in their sole game for the round.

BRISBANE BULLETS vs. PERTH WILDCATS
Friday, November 1, 7.30pm
Queensland State Netball Centre

The Bullets will be looking to bounce back when they host Perth on Friday night. Brisbane suffered their fourth loss of the season when they travelled to Sydney and were defeated comprehensively by the unbeaten Kings. They have been up and down so far this season, but cannot afford a slump against the Wildcats who have lost just the one match so far this season. Lamar Patterson has been having a season to remember so far for the Bullets and will need to continue that if they are to get a win tomorrow night, whilst Nathan Sobey has worked back into form and could very well continue his recent purple patch. For the Wildcats, they will be hoping to making it a sixth win for the season and keep in touch with the unbeaten Kings. Perth played on last Friday against South East Melbourne and handed the new franchise their first loss, smashing them by a whopping 31-points. They will be bringing that momentum into this weekend, and with Terrico White and Bryce Cotton continuing to dominate week-in week-out, the Wildcats will be going in with confidence.

SOUTH EAST MELBOURNE PHOENIX vs. MELBOURNE UNITED
Saturday, November 2, 5.30pm
Melbourne Arena

After suffering their first loss as a franchise against the Wildcats last weekend, the Phoenix will be looking to make it 2-0 against their Throwdown rivals who handed them their first win in their inaugural match. After suffering a crushing defeat to the Wildcats, the Phoenix had to back up and host the 36ers on Sunday – which they did to record their fourth win of the season. John Roberson got himself into foul trouble early against United the last time they played, and if he stays out of it, it looks like he will continue his blistering start to the season. United on the other hand, have just the one win to their name which came against the Breakers on Saturday night, before they fell to the in-form Taipans on Monday night. Shawn Long, Chris Goulding and Melo Trimble have been the main stars for United thus far, and they will all be looking to have strong performances against their cross-town rivals as United will be desperate to avoid going down 0-2 to the new team.

ADELAIDE 36ers vs. SYDNEY KINGS
Saturday, November 2, 7:30pm
Adelaide Entertainment Centre

The 36ers will be out to end Sydney’s unbeaten start to NBL 2019/20 as they host the Kings on Saturday night. Adelaide currently sit inside the top four and will be looking to keep it that way after they had a mixed Round 4, beating the Taipans on Friday night before falling to the Phoenix on Sunday. Both were close matches, but the positives from both were that Jerome Randle is certainly feeling right back at home with the 36ers, whilst Daniel Johnson is still leading the way on the scoring end. For the Kings, this will be their first of two matches this round, and they will undoubtedly be looking to maintain their perfect start to the season. They played the 36ers in Round 2 and won by a convincing 22-points which will bring them a lot of confidence, with the emergence of Didi Louzada and the addition of Casper Ware taking the Kings to new heights and early favouritism for the championship.

NEW ZEALAND BREAKERS vs. PERTH WILDCATS
Sunday, November 3, 3:00pm
ILT Stadium Southland

The two most dominant NBL franchises for the past decade will lock horns for the first time this season in Auckland on Sunday. Both sides sit on either end of the ladder, but that will not stop this matchup likely going down to the wire. The Breakers host the Taipans on Thursday night while the Wildcats will be travelling from Brisbane who they face on Friday night, but the rest in between will do the sides no harm as they look to re-engage in their decade-long rivalry. For the Breakers this weekend poses a brilliant opportunity to get back in touch with the top four as they have only won the one game so far this season, whilst for Perth, they have the chance to close the gap or potentially overtake the table topping Sydney Kings should they come away from this round with two wins.

ILLAWARRA HAWKS vs. BRISBANE BULLETS
Sunday, November 3, 5:00pm
WIN Entertainment Centre

The Hawks have only registered one win for the season and have been handed one of the the cruellest blows learning earlier this week that star import Aaron Brooks will miss the remainder of the season due to an Achilles injury. It is a crushing blow to the young Hawks, as Brooks has been their top scorer in almost all of their matches thus far this season. They will need to rely more on LaMelo Ball who will now be the Hawks’ number one scoring option from a guard’s perspective, while Tim Coenraad put in 18 points against the Wildcats last weekend which is something Illawara will definitely need. For the Bullets, it will be their second matchup of the round after they host the Wildcats on Friday night. It looms as a crucial weekend for the Bullets as they currently sit just one game outside the top four.

MELBOURNE UNITED vs. SYDNEY KINGS
Monday, November 4, 7:30pm
Melbourne Arena

A blockbuster state rivalry concludes an enthralling Round 5 of NBL action, with the underwhelming Melbourne United hosting the championship favourite Sydney Kings. This match will be both sides’ second of the weekend as they each play on Saturday against South East Melbourne and Adelaide respectively. United were one of the favourites heading into the season, but should they lose against their crosstown rivals on Saturday, then the importance of this match goes through the roof. They have won just the one match this season, so if they cannot come away from this tough double header this weekend with at least one win, then the writing may very well be on the wall already. For Sydney, they will head in as favourites in both matches, and deservedly so after they have had a dominant start to the season to lead atop the ladder with five straight wins.