NBL Basketball / Andy Morris / 21 October 2008 / Leave a comment Bet Now

The two hottest teams in the NBL clash at Hisense Arena in a match that could be crucial to the South Dragons, writes Andy Morris.

After five rounds, the NBL ladder is not all it appears to be. Top dogs are the New Zealand Breakers, but their 4-1 record flatters them as they have played all five games at home so far.

Round 6 will be a big test, and South Dragons are lying in the wings ready to take over at the top.

While the Breakers face two road trips, to Cairns and the Gold Coast, the Dragons have home advantage in the match of the round against the Taipans.

These two teams can lay claim to being the hottest in the league, as the Dragons have won four straight while the Taipans take a two game winning streak into the round and lie third on the ladder.

The Dragons had two morale-boosting wins last round, winning by five points at Sydney Spirit then beating the defending champions the Melbourne Tigers by a massive 28 points at Hisense Arena in front of nearly 9,500 fans - the biggest crowd for an NBL match in Victoria for seven years.

Even without Mark Worthington, the Dragons were breathing fire from the off as Joe Ingles starred with 26 points and nine boards while Tremmell Darden bagged 18 points and Nick Horvath 17. They ran away with the match in the final quarter, going on a 13-0 run midway through that term.

Cairns have won twice and lost once away from home so far this season, but I don't see them having enough quality to topple Brian Goorjian's team in front of their own fans, and I back the Dragons in match odds.

I don't think the round will be a total loss for the Taipans, though, as I expect them to beat the Breakers.

Andrej Lemanis' New Zealanders only came good late in the game against the Blaze last time out, and their 12-point win was an unfair reflection on the game.

Last season they lost 10 of their 15 away games and though they might do slightly better this year I don't see them taking anything from their visit to Cairns. They might have beaten the Taipans by 22 points in the quarter-finals last season, but Cairns have improved since then and should be backed in match odds.

The Townsville Crocodiles are fourth on the ladder going into the round, but Sydney should put up a good fight when they go to the Townsville Entertainment Centre.

Sydney were only narrowly beaten by the Dragons last time out, winning the final quarter by nine points but still coming up five points short. Derrick Low and Julian Khazzouh had excellent games, with Low firing 32 points.

The Crocs have only played once in the past two weeks and will want to forget their 107-93 home defeat to the Wildcats in a hurry. They were 11 points down after the first quarter and never looked like getting back into the match. So for me this will be a road win for the Spirit.

The Blaze have opened the season with seven straight losses, and I'm sure it will become eight this round.

Their points percentage is more than five below the next worst team, the 36ers, and they face a trip to Wollongong where the Hawks have won three of their four home games so far. A straightforward win for the Hawks here.

There could be some light at the end of the tunnel for the Gold Coast however. They ran the Breakers close in Auckland and I fancy them to overturn that defeat when the teams meet again at the Gold Coast Convention Centre. If the crowd get behind them I feel they will finally chalk up their first win of the season.

That should cut the gap on the 36ers, as I tip Adelaide to go down at home to the Wildcats. Perth have only won two of their four away games while the 36ers are 2-0 at home, but I was really impressed by the Wildcats' win in Townsville last time out and I back them in match odds.

The Tigers have stuttered at the start of this season, only winning four of their seven games. Their home match with the Crocodiles is a big chance to show that they can still make an impression this term, and I back them to take it.

The round concludes when the Spirit host the Hawks in Sydney, and I believe the home side can take advantage of Wollongong's poor away form - they have lost all three on the road so far - to rack up another win.

Tips: Dragons to beat Taipans, Taipans to beat Breakers, Spirit to beat Crocodiles, Blaze to beat Breakers, Hawks to beat Blaze, Wildcats to beat 36ers, Tigers to beat Crocodiles, Spirit to beat Hawks.