NBL playoffs The schedule Wednesday — Southland Sharks v Tauranga Whai, Invercargill, 7pm Thursday — Wellington Saints v Otago Nuggets, Porirua, 7pm Saturday — Auckland Tuatara v lowest-ranked qualifier, Auckland, 3pm Sunday — Canterbury Rams v highest-ranked qualifier, Christchurch, 6pm August 9 — Final The National Basketball League playoffs tip off Wednesday night with the Southland Sharks hosting the Tauranga Whai. The Otago Nuggets are in action on Thursday night. They will travel through to the capital to play the Wellington Saints, who won the title in 2025. The top two ranked teams — the Auckland Tuatara and Canterbury Rams — have secured direct entry into the semifinals this weekend and will host the winners of the playoff games. The Tuatara have the extra advantage of playing the lowest-ranked qualifier courtesy of finishing on top of the standings at the end of the round-robin phase. The final is scheduled for August 9. That is the nuts and bolts; now for the Xs and Os. The Sharks will start as favourites against the Whai. They set the benchmark for much of the season. They lost two of their first three, but then strung together nine consecutive wins. They got that run under way with a 106-84 win against the Whai in Invercargill. Caleb Asberry poured in 29 points. The Whai were not at full strength for that one. They were missing Reuben Te Rangi and Jordan Ngatai, who bring so much experience to the Whai line-up. They did play in the rematch in Tauranga and the game was more evenly contested. The Sharks posted a 102-96 win. Asberry starred again, knocking down 31 points. Asberry averages 20.1 points a game. But the Sharks spread the scoring pretty evenly. Former Nuggets captain Sam Timmins is averaging 11 rebounds and 19 points. He is in the hunt for the rebounding title and the Whai will be hard-pressed to keep the big centre quiet. He captained the Nuggets during their title run in 2022 and is an inspiring figure. The Sharks have plenty of strike power outside those two players. Keylan Boone (17.14 points) can have some big scoring nights, while Rylan Jones (16.15 points) and Brayden Inger (14.0) are very capable. The Sharks are coming off a heavy 119-94 loss to the Saints in their final round-robin game. That probably means nothing in the grand scheme of the playoffs. The Whai recorded back-to-back losses against the Saints earlier this month, but have won their last two games. One of those came against an understrength Nuggets team. It was a monster win and largely irrelevant given the Nuggets rested their starting five. But it was a reminder how dangerous Te Rangi can be when he finds his range. Taine Murray is another major scoring threat. He poured in 44 points against the Saints recently. Ngatai, Anzac Rissetto and Nicholas Stoddart complete a very useful starting five. This game could be a lot closer than their form suggests. If the Sharks win, they will play Canterbury in the semifinal. But if the Whai get through, they will play the Tuatara.
