Game Preview: Taipans v 36ers

Embarking on a road double-header, the Kenfrost Homes Cairns Taipans have flown into South Australia to face the Adelaide 36ers.

It will the Taipans’ second time lining up against the 36ers, with Adelaide entering Round 6 one spot above them on the ladder.

Cairns’ stint without two of their starters is set to continue, with Tanner Groves having his timeline extended, and Taran Armstrong not expected to rejoin the lineup across the upcoming weeks. To replace them, development players Alex Higgins-Titsha and Kody Stattmann have made the trip. 

Where and When

Friday, October 25 at the Adelaide Entertainment Centre, Adelaide (6:30pm AEST)

How to Follow

Watch: Live on ESPN

Live Updates: Taipans X

Stats: Box Score

What’s Already Happened

Their Last Battle: Cairns Taipans (101) v Adelaide 36ers (97) in Round 2

After both sides returned from HoopsFest without a win to open their seasons, it was an intense back and forth battle in the tropics, with the Taipans prevailing by four points in a close finish.

Exploding into the game was Cairns guard Rob Edwards, who hit 70% of his shots to reach 31 points – at the time the most points scored in a game across the league.

The import wasn’t the only Taipan struggling to miss, with the locals shooting 53% from the field and 51% from deep, which helped them build a lead in the final quarter that Adelaide wouldn’t be able to catch.

Continuing their focus on rebounding will be a key point for Cairns, after coming off a dominating night on the glass when they faced Illawarra on Saturday night – winning the contest 52-45, with 16 offensive rebounds.

This was a flip to the last time they faced the 36ers, who comfortably won the rebounding contest that night despite the loss and cleaned up 17 of their own offensive rebounds.

Containing Montrezl Harrell will be a crucial point for this mission, with the forward currently ranked second in the league for rebounding, with an average of 9.9 per game.

This will be a daunting task for the Taipans, with Tanner Groves once more sitting out the contest with his calf injury. However, the center only played seven minutes in their last encounter after entering the game bruised, with Sam Waardenburg stepping up to restrict Harrell’s efforts on the boards.

Looking to capitalise on the absence of Groves will be AK Gak, who has seen a dramatic increase in minutes since the center picked up his injury. Rising to average 26.6 minutes, 10.8 points and 8.5 rebounds across the past four games, the forward will be wanting to continue his form as he lines up opposite his former teammate – Lat Mayen.

Stepping onto their home court for the fourth time this season, Adelaide will be looking to maintain their undefeated streak at the Adelaide Entertainment Centre this season. However, two of their three opponents are sitting at the bottom of the ladder, with the outlier being the third placed Sydney Kings.

Despite taking the fewest field goal attempts across the league, the 36ers have chosen their shots carefully to make the most of their chances – averaging 90.1 points per game at 46.5%, ranked second in the league for both stats.

Player to Watch

With Cairns’ starting center facing more time on the sideline, Sam Waardenburg is set to continue his stint out of his natural power forward position. However, the former Next Generation Award winner is excelling in the role, and was one rebound away from consecutive double-doubles across his last two games, and leads the team in most stats categories.

He'll face Montrezl Harrell once more, with the forward averaging 16.6 points and 9.9 rebounds per game after deciding to extend his stay in Adelaide. The former NBA Sixth Man of the Year was restricted to five rebounds in his last appearance against the Taipans – his lowest since joining the NBL – with Cairns capitalising on any time that he spent off the court on their way to the win.

What’s Been Said

Taipans Head Coach Adam Forde:

“We’re in the same boat that we were last week, and the definition of insanity is to do that same thing and expect a different result. But for us we have to double down on sticking to that process.

“I’ll give the guys credit as I’ve got them operating on a slightly higher level of tension, and for the most part they’ve stepped up to it.

“We have two games on the road, and there’s nothing better than a bit of team bonding away from family and friends, where it’s just you and 10 other dudes on the court against some hostile territory.”

Taipans forward Sam Waardenburg:

“Obviously someone like Tanner who’s such a big piece to the puzzle, it’s always going to be tough with him out. He’s such a loud voice for us, but the guys have been great in stepping up.

“But we’ve just got to lock into the scout as they’re a different team to the last time we played them. They now have Montrezl in the starting lineup and they’ll be playing him a lot more, so we’ve just got to lock in and be ready for it.”

The Lineups

Taipans

PG – Kyle Adnam / Jackson Makoi

SG – Rob Edwards / Jonah Antonio

SF – Pedro Bradshaw / Alex Higgins-Titsha

PF – AK Gak / Kyrin Galloway / Kody Stattmann

C – Sam Waardenburg / Dillon Stith

36ers

PG – Kendric Davis / Jason Cadee / Keanu Rasmussen

SG – Dejan Vasiljevic / Sunday Dech

SF – Lat Mayen / Nick Marshall / Jacob Rigoni

PF – Montrezl Harrell / Jarrell Martin

C – Isaac Humphries / Beb Griscit

Ins and Outs 

Taipans

Ins - Alex Higgins-Titsha, Kody Stattmann

Outs – Taran Armstrong (ankle), Tanner Groves (calf)

36ers

No changes