Game Preview: Taipans v Breakers

The Kenfrost Homes Cairns Taipans play their final game of the season against the New Zealand Breakers.

Headlined by an exciting backcourt matchup between premier point guards Andrew Andrews and Parker Jackson-Cartwright with the crown for season assist leader up for grabs.

Breakers star duo Sam Mennenga and Karim López return to the lineup, while Head Coach Adam Forde will mark his 150th game for the club.

‍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

Recent Results
Melbourne United (92) v Cairns Taipans (93)
Cairns Taipans (88) v Brisbane Bullets (83)

New Zealand Breakers (106) v Illawarra Hawks (95)
Adelaide 36ers (92) v New Zealand Breakers (89)

There was major news before the opening tip-off against United, with Taipans marquee McVeigh and the club mutually agreeing for the Australian Boomer to opt into the second year of his two-year contract.

Jack McVeigh poured in 25 points and almost dragged Cairns home late, but the Kenfrost Homes Cairns Taipans fell 89-85 to Melbourne United at the Cairns Convention Centre last Thursday night in their final home game of the season.

Cairns set the tone early through Reyne Smith, who hit a first-quarter three then turned a steal into a breakaway score, while Andrew Andrews found Marcus Lee for a pair of dunks as the sides were level 19-19 at quarter-time.

Smith’s back-to-back triples helped the Taipans edge ahead in the second term and Lee anchored the paint at both ends, but United stayed within touch behind Milton Doyle’s steady scoring off the bench as Cairns took a 46-40 lead into halftime.

The game tightened after the break and went down to the wire, with Tasmanian guard Lachlan Barker providing a spark in the fourth quarter with tough makes, but Melbourne executed in the final moments and costly turnovers allowed the travelling side to close it out.

McVeigh finished with 25 points, eight rebounds and four assists. His former championship teammate Doyle matched him with 25 points and three rebounds for United, Smith added 11 points with a trio of threes and three steals and Barker chipped in 10 points on 4-5 shooting with three assists and a steal.

Explosive guard Mojave King finished with 13 points and two blocks, while Andrews racked up nine points, nine rebounds and seven assists and Lee added 10 points and eight rebounds.

Last Time They Met

In Round 17 during HoopsFest, the Taipans fell 104-86 to the New Zealand Breakers at RAC Arena.

New Zealand set the tone early behind former Taipan and Breakers big man Sam Mennenga, taking a 26-21 lead at quarter-time.

Cairns answered in a big way in the second term as Mojave King and Admiral Schofield caught fire to keep the Snakes within touch, but the Breakers carried a 55-51 advantage into the main break.

Cairns continued to fight, even after Head Coach Adam Forde was ejected midway through the second quarter, leaving Lead Assistant Will Lopez to steer the ship, but the Breakers’ control and shot-making held firm down the stretch.

The game swung early in the third quarter when New Zealand ripped off nine straight points to create breathing room and close out the game 104-86.

King and Schofield led Cairns with 19 points apiece, Andrew Andrews had 15 and Jack McVeigh finished with 13 points, eight rebounds and eight assists.

Mennenga starred for New Zealand with 28 points, Brockington added 24 and Jackson-Cartwright delivered 17 points, 10 assists and five steals, with Karim López posting 16 points and 11 rebounds.

‍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) and Rob Baker II (knee) have all been ruled out.

Breakers guard Tai Webster suffered a calf strain at training and will be a game-time decision.

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.”

Lineups

‍Taipans

PG – Andrew Andrews / Lachlan Barker / Kyle Adnam

SG – Mojave King / Kody Stattmann / Reyne Smith

SF – Jack McVeigh

PF – Kyrin Galloway / Admiral Schofield

C – Marcus Lee / Jed Richardson‍

Breakers

PG – Parker Jackson-Cartwright / Taylor Britt

SG – Tai Webster / Reuben Te Rangi / Tukaha Cooper

SF – Sean Bairstow / Carlin Davison / Max Darling

PF – Karim López / Jack Andrew