Basketball On The Internet.

AS every sports fan already would be well aware, COVID-19 and its variants are wreaking havoc everywhere, leagues such as our NBL struggling to keep ahead of it all, but hopeful this weekend and early next week its rescheduled games will result in at least five matches. 

Fingers are well-and-truly crossed Cairns-Sydney happens on Saturday, followed by Adelaide at Illawarra, and Brisbane hosting New Zealand on Sunday.

The Queensland derby on Tuesday, with Brisbane at Cairns, followed by the two protagonists of the Doomsday Double - Adelaide and Perth - going head-to-head on Wednesday would conclude a fairly exciting round.

This is how the latest version of the schedule looks:

                                                Cairns Taipans v Sydney Kings
                                                Saturday January 8, 8pm AEDT
                                                Cairns Convention Centre
                                                ESPN via Kayo and Foxtel

Illawarra Hawks v Adelaide 36ers
Sunday January 9, 1pm AEDT
WIN Entertainment Centre
10 Peach, Kayo Freebies

                                        Brisbane Bullets v New Zealand Breakers
                                        Sunday January 9, 3pm AEDT
                                        Nissan Arena
                                        10 Peach, Kayo Freebies

Cairns Taipans v Brisbane Bullets
Tuesday January 11, 7:30pm AEDT
Cairns Convention Centre
ESPN via Kayo and Foxtel

                                                  Adelaide 36ers v Perth Wildcats
                                                  Wednesday January 12, 7:30pm AEDT
                                                  Adelaide Entertainment Centre
                                                  ESPN via Kayo and Foxtel

Not just fingers, maybe even toes should be crossed the NBL can get through this particular round without any further issues.

To tip it all off, if the Taipans can suit anywhere near their best team - e.g. Tahjere McCall is back for one - I would be tipping a victory over Adam Forde's previous oufit, the Sydney Kings.

There is that caveat of course, whereas there won't be any such requirement at Wollongong where Illawarra should beat Adelaide.

The 36ers will be desperate for a solid showing after their humiliating defeat in Cairns and have had to wait a long time for a shot at redemption.

Only the return of Sunday Dech and the replacement of imports Todd Withers and Dusty Hannahs can make the Sixers relevant. And all three of those aren't happening.

Brisbane in the past has been just sufficiently flakey enough to lose a home game to a battling outfit such as New Zealand right now. 

Still chasing their first win of the season, New Zealand might be worth a bet as the round's "roughie" but the Bullets have to start as favourites.

Again, just who the Taipans are able to suit against Brisbane later in the round will play a huge role in determining the outcome. I like them for a home upset. It's that or a reality check.

Perth now at full potency and raring to go should have the better of Adelaide at home. When they first met, rival imports Vic Law (37 points) and Todd Withers (7 points) basically showed up the big difference between these two clubs.