Melbourne United – Adelaide 36ers 05/10: Australia – NBL Starts: 10:30

The Sydney Kings commence their 29th season in the National Basketball League on Saturday night at Qudos Bank Arena with a blockbuster against the Adelaide 36ers. It’s been a long time coming. A preseason that started back in July with a trip to China and concluded with an historic meeting against the NBA’s Utah Jazz gives way to a regular season that is likely to be even more competitive than the thrill ride of 2016/2017. This will be a season where every game counts more than even before and you simply can’t afford to have an off night at this level. Complacency is not an option. Fatigue doesn’t matter. All teams is at least a class better from last season. Adelaide will provide a stern test for the Sydney Kings on Saturday. They are riding on a 6 games winning streak and have been scoring machine in the preseason with a average of 94 scored points. Despite a pair of significant losses in the offseason with the departure of reigning NBL MVP Jerome Randle and NBA-bound Terrance Ferguson, the 36ers are still loaded and will come in boasting a five game winning streak with 94 points in average. Adelaide was the only team to win every game against the Kings last season, including two at Qudos Bank Arena. They have now 5 straight h2h wins! The big game changer is that the Kings are coming off a 24 hour trip from Salt Lake City, dealing with jet lag. They will not be close to their best today at the same time 36ers is fresh, already in great scoring form and there is few negative things at the moment. They have 4 players who played in Europe meaning they played tough opponents and have the toughness. I have Adelaide 36ers as +8 points winner!