Nelson Giants vs. Bay Hawks Prediction, Tips & Odds – May 28, 2022 07:30 CET

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May 27, 2022

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Led by their new star American import Trey Mourning, the Nelson Giants have been the most pleasant surprise of the season. They faced some formidable opponents so far but the Saturday clash with the Hawks will finally show their true worth and whether they are a real playoff contender.

Nelson Giants

The Giants don´t have a lot of offensive options but are still winning games. League´s leading scorer Trey Mourning is their go-to guy offensively but their main weapons are strong defense and a slow-paced possession game.

Despite losing a key piece in Tom Ingham before the season even started, they currently sit in fifth place and have only lost one game so far. At home, they are an extremely tough unit to beat. A very solid Canterbury Rams side with a couple of Aussie NBL names got a taste of their relentless defense and home atmosphere going down by 85:77 last week. The only team that managed to beat them so far is the Auckland Tuatara but only because they had a huge rebounding advantage.

Only time will tell if the Giants are a fluke or a serious contender. In our opinion, they need one more stable scoring option because it is a long and grueling season. In case one of their imports picks up an injury they will be in trouble so they should explore the market and, if possible, sign a backup scorer.

Bay Hawks

The Hawks unexpectedly lost their opening game of the season to the Franklin Bulls and haven´t looked back since. If it wasn´t for their away loss to the juggernaut Otago two rounds later, at the moment they would hold the top of the table. Currently, they share the top position with Auckland and Otago and already look like a title contender after narrowly losing in the playoff final last year.

Their domestic core led by Ethan Rusbatch and Derone Raukawa remained intact and will be their driving force this season. So far the X factor for them has been their superstar Aussie NBL import and home favourite Hyrum Harris who arrived from the Adelaide 36ers. He has been doing a little bit of everything becoming their main stat-sheet stuffer. With all-around performances and an average of 12 points and 11 rebounds across five games, he is already one of the main MVP candidates as other teams simply have to hope he has a bad day when they play against him.

However, the Hawks are also experiencing some problems as they are still without their star center Jack Salt. After playing for the Brisbane Bullets in the Aussie NBL this season, he has been battling injuries and illnesses and still isn´t fully fit. The Hawks finally found a replacement for him prior to this round in Tajuan Agee, who scored the game-winner against Canterbury on Thursday after arriving to New Zealand only a day before the game.