KEY POINTS:
Harbour Heat will be rooting for cross-town rivals Auckland Stars when they take on Waikato Pistons in Auckland tonight as the NZNBL enters what promises to be a fascinating final round of the regular season.
The inconsistent Stars should be motivated by the prospect of going into the
playoffs with a win over a contending team under their belts but they will finish the regular season in sixth regardless of the result. In an intriguing twist, they may well be better off if they lose tonight.
A Stars win would open the door for the Heat to claim second place in their final game against Taranaki in New Plymouth on Saturday. That scenario would send the Stars to Waikato for a sudden-death playoff match.
But should the Stars lose tonight, they will likely face Harbour - a team they have comfortably beaten twice this season - in that playoff.
Wellington Saints (14-4) have already clinched the regular season title but defending champions Nelson and Hawkes Bay are also jostling for position as the playoffs loom.
After a blazing start to the season, the Pistons looked odds-on for a top-two finish but the wheels have well and truly fallen off their campaign in recent weeks.
The early season title favourites slumped to back-to-back defeats to also-rans Manawatu and Canterbury in round 12. That opened the door for the Heat (11-6), who duly went to Te Awamutu last week and tagged a third loss on the Pistons. Crucially, their eight-point margin of victory was enough to give the Heat the season split over the Pistons by a single point.
The Pistons (12-5) can still close out second place with a win tonight but if they slip up, the Heat are poised to pounce. At stake is a bye for the first round of the play-offs and home advantage for a sudden-death semi in the second round.
The Heat may be eyeing second but they are not yet secure in third, with Nelson (10-6) able to squeeze ahead of them if they slip up in Taranaki on Saturday night.
The Giants will first need to get the better of Hawkes Bay (10-7) in Taradale tomorrow night. Having lost the split to the Heat, the Hawks can finish no higher than fourth, a position they will claim if they beat Nelson by 12 points or more.
THE RUN IN
Tonight: Auckland Stars v Waikato Pistons, Auckland 7.30pm
Friday: Bay Hawks v Nelson Giants, Taradale 7pm
Saturday: Taranaki v Harbour Heat, New Plymouth 7pm; Manawatu Jets v Nelson Giants, Palmerston North 6pm; Canterbury Rams v Otago Nuggets, Christchurch 7.30pm