NBL Dream Team: Round 7 Preview

The Melbourne United winning streak came to an end in Round 6 and their dream team scores plummeted accordingly. With four doubles this week I think we’ll all bounce back though.

 

Reviewing Round 6

It’s becoming pretty normal to see AJ Ogilvy in the champions list and based on the way he’s going, I can’t see that changing anytime soon. His 68 meant he was only outscored by Daniel Johnson, Tom Jervis, Jerome Randle (74), and Matt Knight (72). With only the two teams having the double match, Jervis was well ahead of Jermaine Beal (64) and Mitch Creek (62) for best value. Rhys Carter (34) topped the value picks for single game players,

It’s not often that a player is the 3rd best scorer for the week, only 4 points short of scoring 100, to turn it around and become the 3rd worst scorer falling 4 points  into the negatives, but that’s exactly what Chris Goulding achieved. I had been thinking he’d found some solid consistency, but it looks like that was just because Melbourne kept winning. Hold him if you have him though, he could easily go back to his previous form.

While scores were lower due to most teams only have the one match, there were some real game changers too. Adam Gibson (28) only playing was an unexpected misfortune. Backing Jarrod Kenny (24) on court also turned out to be less than ideal. Clint Steindl (-4) also had a really bad game.

 

Get Ready for Round 7

AJ Ogilvy manages to top the list, despite his huge price, because in Round 8 only Illawarra and Townsville will play the double match and there will be one captain choice leagues ahead of everyone else. He also has a ridiculously low break-even of 4, so he’s going increase in price this week. Don’t ask me how you afford him though.

Other options that you could look at bringing in are Torey Craig, who has become quite consistent over recent weeks, or Todd Blanchfield, if you think he can find some consistency in the varied Melbourne scorers. Tai Wesley is also a good option if it is certain he will return.

Illawarra really need Larry Davidson to step up and start delivering as the difference between having him on court or AJ on court is currently costing them games. He’s not going to start smashing out huge scores, but he’s already minimum price and should jump up soon. Igor Hadziomerovic is the pick of bargain players with a double match this round, followed by Lucas Walker and Matt Hodgson.

If you’re not keen on any of these boys then you could bet on a guard with a high ceiling like Corey Webster, Chris Goulding, or Stephen Holt, however they all come with the usual risk of disappointment if they have an off shooting night. Charles Jackson is also someone to consider, he’s been a great scorer in all except for his two shockers in rounds three and four.

Melbourne and New Zealand join Adelaide and Perth in having double matches this round. Make sure you’ve got the right players on court and let me know if you’ve got a tough decision about who to bench. I think I’ll be putting Majok Majok on court instead of Nathan Jawai this week after Nate’s disappointing round 6.