Taranaki Airs vs. Wellington Saints Prediction, Tips & Odds – Jun. 5, 2022 07:00 CET
After the debacle against the Rams, the Wellington Saints will be hoping to make amends against the revamped Taranaki Airs this Sunday. This season has been a struggle for the reigning champions who failed to take advantage of their new star debuting and lost to a heavily undermanned Canterbury side two days ago.
Taranaki Airs vs Wellington Saints Odds
Taranaki Odds: 2.14
Wellington Saints Odds: 1.69
Total Over (176.75): 1.90
Total Under (176.75): 1.80
Odds presented by 22Bet. You can watch the game for free on the following LINK.
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Taranaki Airs Team News
After the arrival of their new dynamic American duo of Javonte Douglas and Anthony Hilliard, the Airs have transformed into a title contender. Playing with a weakened roster, they only won one game during the opening two weeks but recently achieved two huge wins over the Southland Sharks (97:86) and the Otago Nuggets (96:83).
Taranaki’s new imports are making an immediate difference but the hosts also have a strong presence in the paint in view of national team center Tai Wynyard. Last weekend they took down the league leaders at home and definitely seem capable of getting their third consecutive victory against the unstable guests.
The @TaranakiAirs snap @otagonuggetsnbl‘s 5-game win streak with a 96-83 win tonight!
Javonte Douglas the hero with 26 PTS – including 19 in the 4th – alongside Anthony Hilliard’s 29 PTS + 9 REB 🔥🔥
Keith Williams with 28 for Otago in the loss 🙌#SalsNBL #LetsGo @skysportnz pic.twitter.com/dlNFfk7Gs5
— Sal’s NBL (@nznbl) May 29, 2022
Wellington Saints Team News
At this point, Wellington’s fans must be wondering what will it take to get their team going. After the arrival of their last two roster pieces from the Australian NBL, Tom Vodanovich and Xavier Cooks, the Saints were expected to recover from a poor start and start winning. Forced to rebuild their roster from scratch, they were expected to struggle and lose some games at the start of the season. However, no one expected them to be near the bottom with only one win after six rounds.
Not even a triple-double by their newest acquisition Xavier Cooks was enough to get them their first road win of the season this Friday. The Rams entered the game without a couple of key scorers but still got it done despite trailing for most of the game. The Saints vanished in the final quarter and blew a huge opportunity to pick up an easy win away from home against a team that is one of the title favourites with a full roster.
How about a triple-double on debut for @xaviercooks10 last night against the Rams 💪
22 PTS | 12 REB | 11 AST | 2 STL | 3 BLK 🔥#SalsNBL #LetsGo @skysportnz @saintswgtn pic.twitter.com/YvdoZeDnGt
— Sal’s NBL (@nznbl) June 4, 2022
Taranaki Airs vs Wellington Saints Prediction
The Saints finally have a full roster but they are still without a classic center. They are undersized and got outrebounded in almost every game so far including their loss on Friday. New imports provide the scoring they were lacking but without a strong rebounder and better interior defense, we don’t think the Saints will be able to defend the title.
The Airs are in great form and will be well-rested. At the moment they can´t be underdogs at home against this undefined Wellington side and should be able to cover the spread.
Prediction: Handicap Taranaki (+3.5)
Odds: 1.701
Bookmaker: 22Bet
Date and time: 05.06.2022 07:00 CET
