Every Game In Focus (Round 2, NBL25)

Every week of the Hungry Jack's NBL25 Season, we'll be previewing the big games, the big names and all the key talking points.

Check out the Round 2 Preview below.

Don't forget, every game of the NBL25 season is live on ESPN via Kayo. 

South East Melbourne v Melbourne

When: Thursday, September 26, 7.30pm AEST
Where: John Cain Arena
Watch: Live on ESPN via Kayo | NZ: ESPN | International
Scores: Download the free NBL App

Watch for: How South East Melbourne respond to their underwhelming performance in round 1. The question still lingers about their defensive identity and they get a chance to show what that is against their cross-town rivals. While the Phoenix love to push the pace, United have no issues in slowing it down to grind away. Can the Phoenix trust their style of play or will they settle with Melbourne and try to slog it out?

Players to watch: Nathan Sobey had a rough debut for his new club against Perth and will be looking to bounce back in the Throwdown. His 13 points and 5 turnovers were well below his best, so you can expect him to be on the front foot in this game and try to lift his team to a win.

On the other side, Chris Goulding should be back to full health after recovering from an illness to play in their opening round win. Goulding came off the bench and played 23 minutes, but looked clearly hampered from a rough week health-wise. He did however still hit a three, to continue his streak of consecutive games made with at least one three-pointer made.

The stat: Matthew Dellavedova has recorded 4+ assists in 19 consecutive appearances. That's the longest active streak of any player in the league.

Nathan Sobey.

Illawarra vs Brisbane

When: Friday, September 27, 7.30pm AEST
Where: WIN Entertainment Centre
Watch: Live on ESPN via Kayo | NZ: ESPN | International
Scores: Download the free NBL App

Watch for: Brisbane was labelled “pathetic” by their head coach Justin Schueller after their lacklustre opening round performance. It was a completely different team than everyone saw in the pre-season and the poor defence was the main talking point for the Bullets. Now they come up against one of the more exciting teams in the league, as the Hawks look to build on their big Round 1 win.

Players to watch: New import, Darius Days, wasted no time in making his presence known to the league with a 20-point, 12-rebound display against Cairns. The big man dominated all over the floor and set the tone for the Hawks throughout and proved very quickly that Illawarra’s patience in replacing Gary Clark paid off.

Bullets new import, James Batemon, will be looking to make an impact in this one after struggling to fire against New Zealand. The playmaking guard scored just three points in 23 minutes of action to go with three turnovers and four assists. For a Brisbane team that has a lot of new key pieces in their starting five, Batemon’s performance will be crucial for their success.

The stat: The Hawks have won their last five games at home.

Missing in action: Josh Bannan was scheduled to make his return from injury after missing the pre-season, but the club is still to confirm his availability.

James Batemon.

Perth vs Sydney

When: Friday, September 27, 9.30pm AEST
Where: RAC Arena
Watch: Live on ESPN via Kayo | NZ: ESPN | International
Scores: Download the free NBL App

Watch for: This is all set up to be a high scoring affair between two of the quickest paced teams in the league and two of the deepest in terms of talent. Both teams put up over 100 points in their opening round games and had some standout individual performances. Perth will rely on Kristian Doolittle to set a tone defensively, and he will have to pick which of Sydney’s offensive weapons he tries to shut down first.

Sydney played four of their starters for the entire last quarter and Cam Oliver played 9:30 with Brian Goorjian saying post-game that he had to trust who would get it done in the clutch. How do they work their rotations in this game?

Players to watch: This one is simple. With all the talent on both teams, all eyes will be on the Bul Kuol and Bryce Cotton matchup. Historically speaking, these two get after it from the opening tip and the physicality goes up a notch. Cotton has been open about how he respects the way Kuol goes about it defensively and that it makes him rise to the occasion to be tested by one of the best in the league. Whoever comes out on top in this game will go a long way to helping their team get the win.

The stat: Kuol is coming off an incredible +39 in 22 minutes of play against Adelaide in round 1. Considering the final margin was a single figure game, it was a clear indicator of how important he is to the success of the Kings.

Missing in action: Jaylen Adams and Kouat Noi both returned to the lineup in game 1 and we'll have both teams at full strength in this one.

Cameron Oliver.

Cairns vs Adelaide

When: Saturday, September 28, 5.30pm AEST
Where: Cairns Convention Centre
Watch: Live on ESPN via Kayo | NZ: ESPN | International
Scores: Download the free NBL App

Watch for: Both teams suffered a Round 1 loss, largely in part to their inability to secure the defensive rebound. Adelaide gave up 20 offensive boards to the Kings, whereas Cairns allowed the Hawks to pull down 17 of them. No doubt it would be a key area both teams are focusing on in practice ahead of this game.

With Adelaide being the bigger of the two teams, Cairns guard’s will be encouraged by Adam Forde to get into the paint and help out their big men in that department.

Players to watch: Montrezl Harrell made all the headlines in Round 1 with his first double-double, a dunk down the lane, a huge block on a former MVP and some entertaining mic’d up moments. Harrell was a beast on both ends of the floor and looked very comfortable in his new team. While Harrell was great, Isaac Humphries struggled to make an impact, scoring just two points in his limited action. How do Adelaide find the balance of getting both their big stars to shine?

All eyes for Cairns will be on their import duo, Rob Edwards and Pedro Bradshaw. Both had rough debuts for their new clubs, hitting just 6-28 from the field combined. Without a true point guard currently available for Cairns, Edwards and Bradshaw will need to find a way to be efficient and effective to help Cairns compete. 

The stat: Harrell's first double-double of 13 points and 13 rebounds, came in just 20 minutes of action.

Missing in action: Taran Armstrong is still out with a calf injury, while Jackson Makoi is set to miss again through suspension. There is some optimism that Kyle Adnam will be available after missing the last four weeks with a knee injury.

Adelaide will still be without Jarell Martin, who will be on the sidelines for at least another month.

Rob Edwards.

Tasmania vs Melbourne

When: Saturday, September 28, 8pm AEST
Where: MyState Bank Arena
Watch: Live on ESPN via Kayo | NZ: ESPN | International
Scores: Download the free NBL App

Watch for: Tasmania will be unveiling their championship banner in front of a sold out crowd at MyState Bank Arena on Saturday night, as they welcome the team they beat in that series back for another rematch. After two weeks of travel and six games, Tasmania has had 10 days between their opening round effort against United and should be fit and ready to fire in this one.

Historically speaking, any game against these two clubs usually ends up being physical and a grind to the finish, so don’t expect that to change in their second match-up in as many weeks.

Players to watch: The JackJumpers are still looking to find who will step up without Jack McVeigh on this roster. It will be up to the supporting cast of Majok Deng and Anthony Drmic to find more of a scoring punch in their games to help tick the scoreboard over. The major responsibility, however, will still fall on the shoulders of Jordon Crawford and Milton Doyle to really lead this team for a full 40 minutes.

Fan favourite, Marcus Lee, returns back to Tasmania where he won the title last year and will no doubt receive a very warm reception from the JackJumpers fans. On the court, his battle against Will Magnay will be fun to watch as they go from teammates to enemies for a couple of hours.

The stat: Milton Doyle went scoreless in the opening quarter of their first game against United, before exploding to drop 23 points in the rest of the game.

Missing in action: Sean Macdonald is out and expected to return in mid-December. Good news for Tasmania is that Magnay and Craig Sword are both cleared to play in this game.

Marcus Lee.

Sydney vs Illawarra

When: Sunday, September 29, 2.30pm AEST
Where: Qudos Bank Arena
Watch: Live & free ESPN via Kayo | 10 & 10 Play | NZ: ESPN | International
Scores: Download the free NBL App

Watch for: The Freeway Series is sure to have some added spice in NBL25, largely because both these teams are strong contenders to go all the way this season. Two of the deepest teams in the league go head-to-head and try to get the first bragging rights over the other.

To add more feeling into this game, Brian Goorjian returns to the sideline of this rivalry, only this time he’s on the opposite sideline once again. With Xavier Cooks history with the Hawks, there’s plenty of motivation for Sydney to see this game as more than just the next one of the schedule.

Players to watch: Former MVP, Jaylen Adams, reminded everyone of why he’s one of the best players in the competition with his dominant Round 1 performance against Adelaide. Adams had 25 points, six rebounds and seven assists in that game and did it without a single turnover.

This game looks like the perfect matchup for young star, Lachlan Olbrich to shine. The 20-year-old picked up where he left off in the NZNBL in Round 1, scoring 12 points and pulling down 11 rebounds in 20 minutes of action. Against more athletic and mobile Kings big men, Olbrich should enjoy the battle on both ends.

The stat: Jaylen Adams has scored more than 16 points in his last 11 games, while Cam Oliver has scored more than 14 in his last seven.

Lachlan Olbrich.

New Zealand v South East Melbourne

When: Sunday, September 29, 4.30pm AEST
Where: Spark Arena
Watch: Live & free ESPN via Kayo | 10 Bold & 10 Play | NZ: ESPN/TVNZ | International
Scores: Download the free NBL App

Watch for: New Zealand put all their pre-season woes behind them last weekend and began the season with a dominant win over Brisbane. The last quarter had some shaky moments as their 26-point lead slowly dissipated, but the Breakers managed to hang on and give head coach Petteri Koponen his first win.

Parker Jackson-Cartwright was a key driver in their win, as he carved up the Brisbane defence and filled it up himself and dished out 11 assists to his teammates, who knocked down eight first half threes. Sam Mennenga relished the extra opportunity as a starter, with Freddie Gillespie suspended and had an outstanding first game with 22 points. Can New Zealand pick up where they left off before heading to the USA?

Players to watch: It came in different spurts, but former Next Star Mojave King, showed his improvement in the Breakers opening game. King had 10 points in the first half, including some timely threes and a buzzer beating circus shot going into half-time. The 22-year-old looks to be the sparkplug for New Zealand all season long.

Derrick Walton Jr looked good in first game for his new club, without looking great. His 8 assists to just 1 turnover was a standout, but his 3-11 from the field is what hurt his performance overall. In a battle between two of the quickest and most explosive guards in the league, will he stop Jackson-Cartwright in his tracks?

The stat: The Breakers hit eight first half threes on 12 attempts against the Bullets, before only managing to hit one of nine in the second.

Derrick Walton Jr.