Beat The Coach: Top Round 16 picks & PLAY NOW

NBL26 action returns on Wednesday night after a brief one day break, and there are plenty of stars looking to make a big impact in Round 16.

Six teams will hit the court twice this weekend, meaning coaches will have a strong group of stars to choose from for their Beat The Coach teams this week.

After a big performance in Round 14, Damon Lowery slowed back down over the last week and fell to 3,269 coaches.

Will you be able to give Damon another tough battle this week? Find out by building your team for Round 16 of Beat The Coach, presented by Choice Hotels.

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Premium options:
Andrew Andrews – Cairns Taipans ($305,000)
John Brown III – South East Melbourne Phoenix ($282,000)
Xavier Cooks – Sydney Kings ($331,900)
Kendric Davis – Sydney Kings ($456,500)
Matthew Dellavedova – Sydney Kings ($231,800)
Milton Doyle – Melbourne United ($249,000)
Owen Foxwell – South East Melbourne Phoenix ($248,100)
Sam Froling – Illawarra Hawks ($306,500)
Tyler Harvey – Illawarra Hawks ($247,600)
Jordan Hunter – South East Melbourne Phoenix ($259,300)
Parker Jackson-Cartwright – New Zealand Breakers ($438,100)
Karim Lopez – New Zealand Breakers ($224,400)
JaVale McGee – Illawarra Hawks ($443,900)
Jack McVeigh – Cairns Taipans ($357,400)
Sam Mennenga – New Zealand Breakers ($278,200)
Nathan Sobey – South East Melbourne Phoenix ($423,500)
Sam Waardenburg – Cairns Taipans ($310,300)
Tyson Walker – Melbourne United ($355,200)
- Names listed alphabetically

Despite suffering comfortable losses at the hands of South East Melbourne and Illawarra, Jack McVeigh and Sam Waardenburg finished Round 15 with excellent numbers for the Taipans. McVeigh led the way with 55 SuperCoach points, while Waardenburg scored one point less finishing with 54.

Andrew Andrews supported the pairing well, finishing with 47 SuperCoach points in Round 15 and keeping his average at 26.6 per game for the season.

JaVale McGee was excellent in Illawarra’s two victories, finishing with 38 SuperCoach points in each game for a total of 76. Sam Froling followed up his strong return with two very impressive performances as well, scoring 64 SuperCoach points for the round.

Tyler Harvey had his biggest SuperCoach game since Round 6, scoring 28 of his 43 points for the round against the Cairns Taipans. Coming in cheaper than both Will Hickey and QJ Peterson, and having perhaps the most secure role of the trio, he’s definitely the safest guard pick in Illawarra at the moment.

Melbourne United picked up another loss at the hands of Tasmania in Round 15, and will look to bounce back against Cairns and Sydney this week. Tyson Walker and Milton Doyle were their two strongest SuperCoach performers, with 28 points each for the game. They come into this week as the two strongest United picks.

Karim Lopez was a standout for New Zealand against the Wildcats, finishing with 36 SuperCoach points for the weekend, while star point guard Parker Jackson-Cartwright continued his excellent run of form with another 30 SuperCoach points for the game.

Sam Mennenga scored a little lower than his average of 28.2, netting 22 SuperCoach points for the game, and is a strong chance to get those numbers back up quite quickly.

Nathan Sobey had an unbelievable round for the South East Melbourne Phoenix, scoring 24 more SuperCoach points than any other player in the league and finishing the week on 112. Sobey is in some of the best form of his career, and he’d be a smart one to jump on at $423,500 if you can afford to.

Jordan Hunter, Owen Foxwell, and John Brown III all provided excellent support to Sobey across the week. Hunter led the trio with 68 SuperCoach points, while Foxwell built upon his strong injury return with another 63. Brown managed an impressive 58 SuperCoach points to round out a strong week for the group.

The Sydney Kings backcourt of Kendric Davis and Matthew Dellavedova were both very solid in the side’s two losses last round. Davis had the second highest SuperCoach total of the week, finishing with 88 points, while Dellavedova also scored well with 68 SuperCoach points for the round.

Xavier Cooks finished with 42 SuperCoach points after missing almost all of the second game against South East Melbourne with an injury concern. If he’s at full health in Round 16, he should still score well.

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Budget-friendly picks:
Biwali Bayles – Illawarra Hawks ($106,100)
Kyle Bowen – Melbourne United ($147,500)
Shaun Bruce – Sydney Kings ($78,700)
Ian Clark – South East Melbourne Phoenix ($157,800)
Carlin Davison – New Zealand Breakers ($141,900)
Jaylin Galloway – Sydney Kings ($161,800)
Kyrin Galloway – Cairns Taipans ($176,100)
Angus Glover – South East Melbourne Phoenix ($164,100)
Chris Goulding – Melbourne United ($180,100)
Mojave King – Cairns Taipans ($146,100)
Marcus Lee – Cairns Taipans ($165,400)
Makuach Maluach – Sydney Kings ($123,900)
DJ Mitchell – South East Melbourne Phoenix ($93,500)
Kouat Noi – Sydney Kings ($193,500)
Mason Peatling – Illawarra Hawks ($161,500)
Wani Swaka Lo Buluk – Illawarra Hawks ($156,000)
Tai Webster – New Zealand Breakers ($171,900)
- Names listed alphabetically

Mojave King returned to form in Round 15 with his two strongest games in several weeks, finishing with 35 SuperCoach points for the week. Kyrin Galloway continued his solid run with another 34 SuperCoach points, keeping his average at 16.5 per game for the season, while Marcus Lee had two quiet nights but remains a strong budget pick at centre spot with an average of 18.6 SuperCoach points per game.

Biwali Bayles has been afforded more responsibility for the Hawks, taking advantage of a minutes increase and scoring 31 SuperCoach points in Round 15. Mason Peatling also impacted, with 32 SuperCoach points of his own for the week.

Wani Swaka Lo Buluk only managed 13 SuperCoach points for the round but has maintained his role and scored 11 of those in the second game of the week. He should bounce back with a better score in Round 16.

Chris Goulding’s price has dropped into extremely affordable territory, now sitting at $180,100. He only managed 12 SuperCoach points against Tasmania, but we know exactly what the United legend is capable of when he turns it on.

Kyle Bowen contributed well against the JackJumpers, finishing with 22 SuperCoach points for the night.

Tai Webster impressed for the Breakers against the Wildcats with 27 SuperCoach points, his biggest total of the season. Carlin Davison was also impactful, bringing his average up to 12.1 with an 18 point SuperCoach effort.

Angus Glover and DJ Mitchell both redeemed their quieter nights against Cairns with a pair of excellent scoring performances in Sydney. Glover ended the round on 37 SuperCoach points, while Mitchell scored 22 of his 23 SuperCoach points in the second outing.

Ian Clark still hasn’t fully kicked into gear, but managed two more decent performances totalling 19 SuperCoach points for the round. We’re still backing him to make a big leap in the coming games.

Makuach Maluach had two very strong performances for the Sydney Kings, finishing with 30 SuperCoach points for the round, while Jaylin Galloway contributed well with another 22 SuperCoach points added to his season tally.

Kouat Noi only played in one of Sydney’s two games for the week and scored 15 SuperCoach points. He should build upon that total playing in both Round 16 games.

At just $78,700, Shaun Bruce enters Round 16 as a terrific budget option following his biggest double game week total of the season. He finished with 24 SuperCoach points for the round.

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Tempting single-game choices:
Bryce Cotton – Adelaide 36ers ($535,700)
Will Magnay – Tasmania JackJumpers ($279,000)
- Names listed alphabetically

Bryce Cotton’s price tag is certainly hefty, but with an average of 47.8 SuperCoach points for the season, the scoring potential speaks for itself. Dropping under 40 points just once since the 36ers Round 11 game against Brisbane, the consistency has been very impressive as well.

Will Magnay is a much friendlier option for the budget at just $279,000, and he comes off the back of 87 SuperCoach points for the round thanks to a career best performance. His 27 point double double against Melbourne United saw him net 56 SuperCoach points, and he’ll be taking plenty of momentum into their Round 16 matchup against the 36ers.

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