Beat The Coach: Top Round 20 picks & PLAY NOW

Round 20 of NBL26 is set to serve up some massive battles as the ladder continues to take shape and finals draw closer.

Six teams will hit the hardwood twice this weekend, with plenty of stars on offer as they look to back up their huge Beat The Coach scores from recent weeks.

Damon Lowery had an improved week in Round 19, falling to 1,727 players. He’ll want to slash that number once again, so it’s up to you to deploy your best squad of players in Round 20 of Beat The Coach, presented by Choice Hotels.

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Premium options:
Andrew Andrews – Cairns Taipans ($310,900)
Bryce Cotton – Adelaide 36ers ($444,100)
Hunter Maldonado – Brisbane Bullets ($279,600)
Isaac Humphries – Adelaide 36ers ($246,200)
Izaiah Brockington – New Zealand Breakers ($262,300)
Jack McVeigh – Cairns Taipans ($343,700)
Jacob Holt – Brisbane Bullets ($207,200)
JaVale McGee – Illawarra Hawks ($368,100)
John Brown III – South East Melbourne Phoenix ($311,600)
Jordan Hunter – South East Melbourne Phoenix ($222,000)
Karim Lopez – New Zealand Breakers ($307,000)
Kyrin Galloway – Cairns Taipans ($209,700)
Nathan Sobey – South East Melbourne Phoenix ($410,600)
Owen Foxwell – South East Melbourne Phoenix ($299,400)
Parker Jackson-Cartwright – New Zealand Breakers ($425,800)
Sam Froling – Illawarra Hawks ($241,500)
Tyler Harvey – Illawarra Hawks ($247,700)
Will Hickey – Illawarra Hawks ($294,000)
Zylan Cheatham – Adelaide 36ers ($324,900)
- Names listed alphabetically

Bryce Cotton was the standout as usual for the Adelaide 36ers in Round 19, with the MVP contender dropping 82 SuperCoach points for the week.

Zylan Cheatham and Isaac Humphries were both impressive in the frontcourt too. Cheatham finished with 63 SuperCoach points for the round, while Humphries had 57 and still comes in at a very affordable price of $246,200.

The Brisbane Bullets are still missing plenty of important names and will be led by Hunter Maldonado and Jacob Holt this weekend. Holt had a terrific weekend, finishing with 30 SuperCoach points against the 36ers, while Maldonado had a quieter weekend with 21.

Another massive Jack McVeigh performance saw him finish with 86 SuperCoach points for the round. 52 of those came against the JackJumpers on Friday night.

Kyrin Galloway impressed with 53 SuperCoach points, while Andrew Andrews missed Friday’s clash, and still managed 40 SuperCoach points in the second game.

JaVale McGee managed a huge total across his two outings, finishing with 85 SuperCoach points for the round. Will Hickey and Tyler Harvey were both strong with 56 and 46 SuperCoach points respectively, coming in as slightly more suitable options than QJ Peterson who is priced the highest out of the trio and averages a similar total.

Sam Froling scored 41 SuperCoach points for the round and comes in at $241,500, making him an affordable option as a forward or center.

Another side affected by some big injuries, the New Zealand Breakers will rely on Karim Lopez, Izaiah Brockington, and Parker Jackson-Cartwright heavily this weekend.

Lopez led the way for the side with 69 SuperCoach points, while Brockington and Jackson-Cartwright followed closely scoring 66 and 61 respectively.

South East Melbourne Phoenix stars have continued to put in some big performances, led this week by a pair of impressive defensive displays from John Brown III. Brown scored 100 SuperCoach points for the week, which was the most by any player in Round 19.

Nathan Sobey was excellent once again with 77 SuperCoach points for the round, while Owen Foxwell and Jordan Hunter played solid roles once again with 49 and 37 SuperCoach points respectively.

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Budget-friendly picks:
Angus Glover – South East Melbourne Phoenix ($192,800)
Daniel Grida – Illawarra Hawks ($128,900)
Dejan Vasiljevic – Adelaide 36ers ($132,100)
Ian Clark – South East Melbourne Phoenix ($198,500)
Jack Purchase – Brisbane Bullets ($64,700)
Kody Stattmann – Cairns Taipans ($123,600)
Lachlan Barker – Cairns Taipans ($101,100)
Malique Lewis – South East Melbourne Phoenix ($151,300)
Marcus Lee – Cairns Taipans ($136,800)
Matt Kenyon – Adelaide 36ers ($58,500)
Mitch Norton – Brisbane Bullets ($170,700)
Mojave King – Cairns Taipans ($176,500)
Reuben Te Rangi – New Zealand Breakers ($106,300)
Rob Loe – New Zealand Breakers ($92,600)
Tai Webster – New Zealand Breakers ($118,400)
Wani Swaka Lo Buluk – Illawarra Hawks ($133,800)
- Names listed alphabetically

Dejan Vasiljevic continues to play an important offensive role off the bench for Adelaide, finishing with 32 SuperCoach points in Round 19.

Matt Kenyon only scored 9 SuperCoach points for the round but could be one to watch at just $58,500 with Nick Rakocevic missing for the side’s first clash against Illawarra.

Mitch Norton continues to play a crucial role for Brisbane in the absence of several players. He scored 32 SuperCoach points last round. Meanwhile, Jack Purchase’s strong cameo saw him finish with 10 SuperCoach points, a number that could increase if he’s afforded more minutes.

Cairns have had some impressive victories recently, and their role players are making their mark. Mojave King was terrific last week, finishing with 63 SuperCoach points, Marcus Lee did a solid job and finished with 33.

Excellent individual performances from Lachlan Barker and Kody Stattmann also saw them finish with 32 and 31 SuperCoach points respectively across the two outings.

Wani Swaka Lo Buluk and Daniel Grida tend to put their best foot forward each week for the Illawarra Hawks, and Round 19 was no different. Swaka Lo Buluk finished with 29 points for the round, while Grida has enjoyed a strong scoring run and finished with 26 for the week.

Rob Loe made the most of an increased role last weekend, finishing with 45 SuperCoach points in total.

Reuben Te Rangi started once again and finished with 20 SuperCoach points, while Tai Webster maintained his solid contributions and finished with 19 SuperCoach points.

South East Melbourne’s depth has been a huge point of difference for them and last weekend was no different as far as individual performances go. Ian Clark was huge once again, finishing with 42 SuperCoach points, while Angus Glover and Malique Lewis finished with 19 and 18 respectively.

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