Beat The Coach: Top Round 22 picks & PLAY NOW

The final round of NBL26 has arrived, and with the top five places still yet to be determined, there is still plenty of exciting basketball to be played out.

All 10 teams will hit the court once for Beat The Coach this weekend, with Sunday’s Ignite Cup final between the Adelaide 36ers and the New Zealand Breakers not counting towards this week’s scoring.

Damon Lowery fell to 2,965 coaches last week but claimed on NBL Overtime that he just “took this round off.”

Prove Damon wrong and put your best team together to take him on in Round 22 of Beat The Coach, presented by Choice Hotels.

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Premium options:
Bryce Cotton – Adelaide 36ers ($430,700)
Elijah Pepper – Perth Wildcats ($242,300)
Hunter Maldonado – Brisbane Bullets ($286,100)
Isaac Humphries – Adelaide 36ers ($236,300)
Izaiah Brockington – New Zealand Breakers ($360,800)
Jack McVeigh – Cairns Taipans ($362,000)
JaVale McGee – Illawarra Hawks ($357,400)
Jaylin Galloway – Sydney Kings ($241,000)
Jesse Edwards – Melbourne United ($268,400)
Jo Lual-Acuil Jr. – Perth Wildcats ($303,300)
John Brown III – South East Melbourne Phoenix ($312,100)
Josh Bannan – Tasmania JackJumpers ($373,500)
Kendric Davis – Sydney Kings ($494,500)
Kristian Doolittle – Perth Wildcats ($344,900)
Majok Deng – Tasmania JackJumpers ($244,700)
Milton Doyle – Melbourne United ($297,100)
Mojave King – Cairns Taipans ($233,400)
Nathan Sobey – South East Melbourne Phoenix ($360,000)
Owen Foxwell – South East Melbourne Phoenix ($245,400)
Parker Jackson-Cartwright – New Zealand Breakers ($381,300)
QJ Peterson – Illawarra Hawks ($229,900)
Tim Soares – Sydney Kings ($230,500)
Tyger Campbell – Tasmania JackJumpers ($250,900)
Tyler Harvey – Illawarra Hawks ($265,100)
Tyson Walker – Melbourne United ($250,500)
Tyrell Harrison – Brisbane Bullets ($312,900)
Xavier Cooks – Sydney Kings ($292,500)
Zylan Cheatham – Adelaide 36ers ($364,500)
- Names listed alphabetically

Bryce Cotton brought the house down with an unbelievable performance against the Breakers last week, with a 42-point masterclass which saw him garner 50 SuperCoach points for the evening.

Zylan Cheatham was just as good in a SuperCoach sense, scoring 49 SuperCoach points off the back of a near-triple double, while Isaac Humphries finished with a more respectable 23 SuperCoach points for the night.

Hunter Maldonado was the main man once again for the Brisbane Bullets with a whopping 46 SuperCoach points against the Wildcats, but the big story is Tyrell Harrison who returned after an extended stint on the sidelines and finished with 23 SuperCoach points in just 15 minutes of game time.

Jack McVeigh led the way for the Cairns Taipans with 31 SuperCoach points against Melbourne United, while Mojave King continued his impressive run of 20+ SuperCoach point performances, scoring 28.

Illawarra Hawks star JaVale McGee was his side’s equal-highest scorer for the round despite only playing one game, finishing with 51 SuperCoach points, while Tyler Harvey also finished with 51 after an excellent week.

QJ Peterson had a strong round alongside his fellow imports as well, finishing with 49 SuperCoach points.

Milton Doyle and Tyson Walker scored in volume for Melbourne United, finishing with 74 and 72 SuperCoach points respectively, while Jesse Edwards was strong once again with 51 SuperCoach points of his own.

Parker Jackson-Cartwright and Izaiah Brockington continue to lead the way for the New Zealand Breakers with the absences through their squad. Jackson-Cartwright excelled against Adelaide, finishing with 38 SuperCoach points, while Brockington had 29.

Kristian Doolittle’s massive 49-SuperCoach point display against Brisbane played a big part in his 75-point finish for the week as he continues to star for the fourth-placed side.

Elijah Pepper had another terrific round finishing with 65 SuperCoach points, while Jo Lual-Acuil Jr. was his influential self, garnering 55 SuperCoach points for the week.

Nathan Sobey starred for the South East Melbourne Phoenix with 38 SuperCoach points against the JackJumpers. John Brown III’s numbers regressed slightly, with his 21 SuperCoach point total dropping his average to 28.0, while Owen Foxwell finished with 20 SuperCoach points and continues to support Sobey well.

Kendric Davis had more SuperCoach points than any other player this week, finishing with a massive total of 108. He was supported brilliantly by Xavier Cooks and Tim Soares who finished with 60 and 47 SuperCoach points respectively, while Jaylin Galloway’s strong run continued as he finished with 35.

Tasmania big man Majok Deng was sensational against the Phoenix with a 49-point SuperCoach performance. Josh Bannan and Tyger Campbell continued their solid runs as well with 26 and 25 SuperCoach points respectively.

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Budget-friendly picks:
Akech Aliir – South East Melbourne Phoenix ($116,000)
Alex Ducas – Brisbane Bullets ($140,400)
Angus Glover – South East Melbourne Phoenix ($175,900)
Anthony Drmic – Tasmania JackJumpers ($98,900)
DJ Vasiljevic – Adelaide 36ers ($131,100)
Dontae Russo-Nance – Perth Wildcats ($97,200)
Fabijan Krslovic – Melbourne United ($127,600)
Ian Clark – South East Melbourne Phoenix ($193,900)
Jesse Wagstaff – Perth Wildcats ($96,600)
Johny Narkle – Illawarra Hawks ($60,700)
Kouat Noi – Sydney Kings ($163,100)
Kyle Bowen – Melbourne United ($67,700)
Makuach Maluach – Sydney Kings ($168,600)
Marcus Lee – Cairns Taipans ($152,200)
Nicholas Stoddart – Tasmania JackJumpers ($82,200)
Reuben Te Rangi – New Zealand Breakers ($134,600)
Reyne Smith – Cairns Taipans ($120,200)
Rob Loe – New Zealand Breakers ($165,500)
Sam Froling – Illawarra Hawks ($193,600)
Tanner Krebs – Melbourne United ($144,500)
Todd Blanchfield – Illawarra Hawks ($136,200)
Wani Swaka Lo Buluk – Illawarra Hawks ($153,500)
- Names listed alphabetically

DJ Vasiljevic was excellent off the bench against New Zealand, finishing with 24 SuperCoach points, and will be crucial for the 36ers again this weekend as they aim to avoid a play-in encounter.

Alex Ducas scored 11 SuperCoach points against the Wildcats and continues to be a strong budget choice at just $140,400 given his high scoring ceiling.

Marcus Lee and Reyne Smith had excellent games for the Cairns Taipans against Melbourne, with the big man scoring 31 SuperCoach points against his old side, and the sharpshooter scoring 24 SuperCoach points.

Sam Froling has had some excellent scoring night, but his price has now dipped into very affordable territory as he comes into the final round at $193,600. The big man scored 38 SuperCoach points last round.

Wani Swaka Lo Buluk and Todd Blanchfield continue to take advantage of the minutes they have been getting, scoring 30 and 27 SuperCoach points respectively, while Johny Narkle has enjoyed a huge role increase, scoring 20 SuperCoach points and coming into Round 22 at just $60,700.

Fabijan Krslovic had an excellent weekend for Melbourne United, scoring 33 SuperCoach points, while Tanner Krebs and Kyle Bowen both continue to be contribute well with 28 and 25 SuperCoach points respectively.

Taking on more responsibility with the absence of a few star big men, Rob Loe and Reuben Te Rangi were both strong once again. Loe scored 24 SuperCoach points against Adelaide, while Te Rangi finished with 20.

Dontae Russo-Nance and Jesse Wagstaff played strong roles for the Perth Wildcats across the round and finished with 35 and 29 SuperCoach points respectively.

Akech Aliir and Angus Glover played huge roles in South East Melbourne’s victory, finishing with 34 and 32 SuperCoach points respectively, while Ian Clark continued his solid run with 24 SuperCoach points for the night.

Makuach Maluach and Kouat Noi contributed well for the Sydney Kings as they have all season. Maluach finished with 39 SuperCoach points, while Noi garnered 33.

Tasmania’s stars did much of the heavy lifting against the Phoenix, however Anthony Drmic and Nicholas Stoddart both played solid games with 14 SuperCoach points each, and come into Round 22 at under $100,000.

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