THE 2021/22 season of the National Basketball League (NBL) is well and truly underway, with the competition preparing for Round 9 this weekend. The most recent round saw a jam-packed schedule as matches took place for six consecutive days to help the league play catch-up after some COVID-related interruptions. Round 9 will see things (hopefully) return to normal, with seven matches set to take place. Things kick off on Thursday night with a massive clash that could change the landscape of the standings moving forward.

Proceedings will kick off on Thursday night, when the Illawarra Hawks once again play host to the Perth Wildcats, as the two teams face off at WIN Entertainment Centre in what should be an enthralling match between two of the competition’s heavyweight sides.

The Hawks have found themselves slightly out of form in recent weeks, after a blistering start to the season skyrocketed them into contention. Coach Brian Goorjian highlighted their Round 8 clash with the 36ers as a must-win game and they were able to get the job done. They face a tougher opponent this week, but have shown the ability to win when their backs are against the wall. However, the Wildcats do currently have the wood over them, given the two sides played last Saturday, and Perth claimed a 16-point victory. The Hawks will be out for revenge, and if Duop Reath and Sunday Dech can fire, then they are every chance to pull this off.

The Wildcats bounced back well last round, taking down the Hawks in a massive clash in the context of their season. The duo of Bryce Cotton and Victor Law fired on the offensive end, and when that happens, their side typically emerges victorious. They will be confident heading into this clash, given past results, but will still need to bring their A-game. In their favour is the fact that the Hawks are one of the worst defensive teams in the competition, so if the Wildcats offence can fire, it will go a long way in securing the win.

Next up on the agenda is the clash between the Tasmania JackJumpers and the Adelaide 36ers, with both teams eager to grab a win when they face off at MyState Bank Arena on Friday night.

The JackJumpers have been unable to get the ball rolling to start the season, but this was expected given they are in the midst of their first ever season in the NBL. They were bested by an experienced Phoenix side last round, but face a more beatable team this week, with their opponents facing struggles of their own this season. The duo of Josh Magette and Josh Adams was unable to fire in the loss, so the team will be hopeful that the pair can bounce back, given how crucial they are to the success of the JackJumpers.

The 36ers found themselves on the receiving end of a couple of tough losses in Round 8. The first of these came against the reigning champions in Melbourne United to the tune of 19 points, while they were then defeated by the Illawarra Hawks by 11 points. These were two very formidable opponents and they will be much more confident coming up against Tasmania, especially if they can return to the form that saw them take down the Perth Wildcats in Round 7.

The Cairns Taipans will be looking to get themselves back on the winners’ list when the face off against the Illawarra Hawks on Saturday evening at the Cairns Convention Centre. This will be Illawarra’s second outing of the round.

The Taipans returned to the court for the first time this year in Round 8, and were defeated by the South East Melbourne Phoenix. However, Cairns was still able to put in a strong performance, despite the expected rust that came from three weeks off. They face another tough opponent this week, but Illawarra’s defence has shown to be leaky at plenty of stages throughout the season, and Tahjere McCall has the capability to certainly lead this side to an upset victory.

These two teams will kick their round off in style when the SEM Phoenix travel north to take on the Brisbane Bullets at Nissan Arena on Saturday night.

The Bullets have managed to somewhat get themselves back into form in recent weeks, sitting in fifth place and looking to continue their charge into the top four. They broke even in their two clashes against the Sydney Kings last round, before almost recording an impressive upset over Melbourne United on Wednesday afternoon. If not for a final quarter collapse, they would have been in the box seat to jump into finals contention. Despite the loss, they will be hopeful this form continues, but the Phoenix have proven tough to beat. However, the Bullets have one of the deepest rosters in the league and will be confident in their ability to get the job done.

The Phoenix finally got themselves back on the winners’ list in Round 8, recording a pair of impressive wins in this period. They got the job done against the JackJumpers to kick things off, before backing up this effort with a win over the Taipans. They have done very well to put themselves in the contenders conversation, and will enter this match as favourites. However, the Bullets have performed admirably of late, so the Phoenix will still need to be at the top of their game, and a big part in this is the performance of Mitch Creek, who has enjoyed an MVP-calibre season to date.

Things will continue on Sunday afternoon, when the Adelaide 36ers welcome Melbourne United to the Adelaide Entertainment Centre for a big clash for both teams. This will be Adelaide’s second match of the round.

The reigning champions have been the form team of the competition of late as they currently hold an incredible eight-game winning streak. They faced a massive scare against the Bullets on Wednesday, but managed to get the job done thanks to a strong final-term fightback. They look to be unstoppable at times and will enter this match against the 36ers heavily favoured. Although, Adelaide did upset the Wildcats just two weeks ago, so United cannot afford to put this game into cruise control, and will need to get the best out of their players.

The penultimate match of Round 9 will see the Sydney Kings play host to the Perth Wildcats at Qudos Bank Arena when they face off on Sunday afternoon. This will be Perth’s second clash of the round.

The Kings were finally able to get another win on the board in Round 8, taking down the Brisbane Bullets in the second match between the two sides for the weekend. They could have won the first too, but collapsed in the final term as Brisbane ran all over them in a disappointing loss. They will be looking to continue the momentum they built in their win on Sunday, which saw a number of valued contributors such as Jarell Martin and Dejan Vasiljevic. However, they will need to be at their best if they are to take down the in-form Perth Wildcats.

The final match of the round sees the New Zealand Breakers host the Tasmania JackJumpers at MyState Bank Arena on Sunday evening. This will be the second match of the round for the JackJumpers.

The Breakers have been unable to hit the court in quite some time, with their last outing coming on January 16 due to COVID-related interruptions. The team will be eager to compete once again, given they had built a slight bit of momentum prior to these disruptions. They face another team that has struggled to start the season, with both sides only able to claim two wins for the season, so expect this match to go down to the wire.