Game Preview: Kings v Taipans

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‍Where and When

Thursday, 19 February at Eventfinda Stadium, Auckland (4:30pm AEST)‍

How to Follow

Watch: Live on ESPN

Live Updates: Taipans X

Stats: Box Score‍

What’s Already Happened

Last Time They Met

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‍Jackson-Cartwright v Andrews

Two of the premier floor generals of the competition will lock horns, with Portland playmaker Andrew Andrews facing off against Breakers point guard Parker Jackson-Cartwright. 

Both sit equal-first and third on the assist leaderboard with 36ers superstar Bryce Cotton, with Andrews averaging 7.6 assists and Jackson-Cartwright averaging 7.4 assists.

Andrews has recorded double digit assists in seven games this season, while he has recorded less than five assists in only four of his 30 games this season. 

Jackson-Cartwright has recorded double digit assists in eight games this season, with a season-high 17 assists against Illawarra in Round 4, a new modern NBL assists record. 

The Breakers guard has a career average of 7.9 assists per game against Cairns, the most against any opponent.

King v Kiwi Contingent

Tall Blacks guard Mojave King will go head-to-head with his national team teammates in the Breakers’ Kiwi contingent Sam Mennenga, Taylor Britt, Max Darling and Carlin Davidson (Izayah Le’Afa injured).

King had 19 points, five rebounds and four assists against the Breakers in his last matchup against them. ‍

Karim Returns

Keep your eyes on Karim López (leg) who will return for the clash, averaging 11.8 points and 6.1 rebounds, the 18-year old is one of the more exciting talents in the world, looming as a potential lottery pick in the upcoming NBA draft.

Izaiah Brockington (hip flexor), Izayah Le’Afa (foot), Tai Webster (calf) and Rob Baker II (knee) have all been ruled out.

Coming off a big week for Jack McVeigh, the Australian Boomer opted into the second year of his two-year contract before taking out the Club’s MVP and Members’ Choice MVP. 

The relentless scorer has scored 20 or more points in 16 games this season, averaging 21.8 points (fifth in the league), 6.3 rebounds and 4.0 assists while shooting 51 per cent from the field and 37.4 per cent from three.

Taipans Head Coach Adam Forde:

“Massive (news) for the club with Jack McVeigh re-signing. When you scale in comparison to last season’s timeline, the big domino to fall (with McVeigh signing) was late July. To have that piece signed in February this season, it’s great for multiple reasons. Having a marquee level player like Jack return, with the season that we had, it’s huge for the club and the community.”

“It’s important to construct the right pieces around Jack. We can go to market early and aggressively on the local contingent. When we have arguably one of the best players in the league and he’s a four man (forward). We can build around that.”