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NBA

TRUSTING the process is finally starting to pay off for Ben Simmons and the Philadelphia 76ers and they are now on the third line of NBA championship betting at $10. Golden State Warriors ($2.10) and Houston Rockets ($2.60) remain clear favourites to beat, but there has been an avalanche for the 76ers over the past week. The Cleveland Cavaliers have been the big drifters and they are now out to $12 behind the Toronto Raptors at $11. Adelaide’s own Joe Ingles and the Utah Jazz are at $26.

AFL

NORTH Melbourne forward Ben Brown has emerged as a genuine Coleman Medal chance after another big game on the weekend. Brown, the nephew of Collingwood premiership player James Manson, bagged four goals against Hawthorn to bring his season tally to 19 and he is now one goal clear of Swans superstar Lance Franklin. Brown was available at Coleman Medal odds of $11 with Ladbrokes at the start of the season but has been backed into $3 and is now a joint favourite with Franklin. Franklin has been nudged from $2.50 out to $3 following the news he has a heel injury — ironically, sustained in his eightgoal spree in the opening round win against West Coast — and will miss tomorrow’s clash against Geelong. Dan Hannebery is also out injured for that game and it’s had Geelong shorten from $1.62 into $1.40. The line is now 16.5 points after being 7.5 points earlier in the week. Maybe the biggest news of the week is that Richmond’s big win over Melbourne on Anzac Day Eve has led to the Tigers becoming the outright flag favourite with Ladbrokes. They are now into $5.50 and it is the first time that they have been premiership favourites in the modern era. Adelaide is on the second line of betting at $6.50 along with the Swans, while the Giants are at $7 and the Cats are out to $8.50.

A-LEAGUE

THERE has been plenty of support for Melbourne City ahead of tonight’s semi-final against the Newcastle Jets. After opening at $2.80 City has been backed into the $2.50 favourite with Ladbrokes to get the win in regulation time. The Jets have eased from $2.20 out to $2.60. The Jets haven’t been in great form of late — barring that meaningless 8-2 win over the bottom-placed Central Coast Mariners in the last round of the season — and they lost their three meetings prior to that. Melbourne City, on the other hand, looks to be peaking at the right time. It has Bruno Fornaroli back to full fitness and easily swept aside Brisbane 2-0 last week. City has also beaten the Jets twice this season. In the other game, Sydney FC ($1.75) is the red-hot favourite to beat Melbourne Victory ($4.40) tomorrow night. The Sky Blues have already beaten the Victory three times this season and it would be something of a shock if Sydney didn’t qualify for its fifth grand final.

SUPER NETBALL

THIS is set to be an incredibly open Super Netball season and there are four teams under $5 to win the championship. Collingwood, Giants Netball and the Sunshine Coast Lightning are all on the first line of betting at $4, closely followed by the Melbourne Vixens at $4.50. The competition kicks off with the Melbourne derby and it’s the Magpies ($1.72) who are the favourites to beat the Vixens ($2.10) with Ladbrokes. On Sunday, West Coast Fever ($1.33) is expected to beat the Adelaide Thunderbirds ($3.25), while Giants Netball ($2.10) takes on the Sunshine Coast Lightning ($1.72) in what could be a grand final preview. The round wraps up with the NSW Swifts ($3.15) taking on the Queensland Firebirds ($1.35) on Sunday afternoon.