The Tips & Rankings 19/17
WHAT are the chances Melbourne will play defending NBL champion New Zealand five times in a row or Adelaide playing Perth four times in succession?
Wrapping 18: 36ers third???
YES, it could happen but while Cairns needed six results to go its way to sneak into the NBL postseason, Adelaide needs a mere two to fall into place for it to finish third.
It's a wrap - or not
HOW perfect. Today the 2015 NBL Grand Finalists will see out the regular season's penultimate round with a top-four spot hanging in the balance.
Lose-lose for Taipans-36ers
ANY way you look at it, it was a lose-lose last night for the 36ers and Taipans in Cairns.
One win from securing top
MELBOURNE'S 80-73 road win over Illawarra last night means it needs just one more win to take a stranglehold on the NBL's highest perch.
Champs show how it's done
THAT'S how you do it. When your back's to the wall, your chemistry is suspect, your cohesion questionable, you just need to focus on what made you a champion.
The Tips & Rankings 18/16
IT doesn't get any bigger for the NBL than tonight's fixture between finals wannabe Adelaide and reigning champion New Zealand.
Breakers, Tall Blacks face tough roads
NO club basketball team in the world will be worse hit by FIBA's decision to slot Oceania into the Asian Zone than NBL powerhouse New Zealand Breakers.
Wrapping 17: When umps hit ridiculous
EVERY import in the NBL this season has reasons to be unhappy with the standard of refereeing, moreso even than local players.
36ers wait on Randle
JEROME Randle, the playmaking import who has taken the NBL by storm, will know the extent of his left knee injury after scans tomorrow.

