Game Preview: Taipans v Hawks

Flying south for their first matchup of the New Year, the Kenfrost Homes Cairns Taipans will face the Illawarra Hawks on their home court for the only time this season.

After both going down in their respective New Year's Eve fixtures, the Taipans will face the ladder leaders in the first of two consecutive games in New South Wales.

Still missing AK Gak, the Taipans will also be missing Sam Waardenburg who remained in Cairns due to illness with Kody Stattmann lining up for the forward alongside fellow development player Alex Higgins-Titsha. Despite joining the road trip to Illawarra, center Tanner Groves will be a game day decision after also showing similar symptoms.

Where and When

Friday, January 3 at the WIN Entertainment Centre (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 (75) v Illawarra Hawks (87) in Round 5

These two sides haven't seen each other for 10 rounds - and the Taipans will be looking to flip the script on the Hawks after allowing them to swoop in on a late win back in Round 5.

Entering that matchup missing both Taran Armstrong and Tanner Groves, Cairns will once more be missing a piece of their starting unit with Sam Waardenburg’s absence when they face a lineup who favours working inside the paint.

Not only leading the league in shooting efficiency, Illawarra also sit at the top of the table for field goals per game – setting themselves up as the only team to average triple digit scoring across the season.

However, the Hawks rank eighth in the competition for attempts from outside the arc, with the side’s focus lying in crashing the glass – particularly on the offensive end – and setting themselves up for second chance points, all stats that they lead the league in.

Recognising this, the Taipans attempted to outhustle their opponents in their last matchup, leading them to outrebounding the Hawks 52-45 – including doubling their efforts on the offensive boards – but Illawarra’s time spent attacking the rim paid off, handing them a 12-point win.

Over two months later, and the Hawks are a side that are forming strong aspirations for a Championship after going through a nearly undefeated month during December, with their only loss coming on the final day of the year.

On top of needing to outrebound Illawarra once more, the Taipans will need to look for higher efficiency shots to ensure that they keep pace with the fastest side in the league, after struggling to the find bottom of the basket across their most recent games.

However, if they are needing to make a late charge, finding their spots from outside the arc could easily see them find their way back into the action. Lead by Taran Armstrong and Rob Edwards, the Taipans have built a 10 game run across which they’ve hit eight or more triples – the team’s longest streak since the 2022-23 season.

Player to Watch

Last putting up 18 points and 14 boards when facing the Hawks, Pedro Bradshaw will be eyeing up the matchup – especially with the Taipans entering the WIN Entertainment Centre missing several of their larger bodies. Posting the impressive performance in his final game before picking up his ankle injury, the forward has been steadily returning to form – including a 22-point performance in Brisbane, a night when he shot four of seven triples across the night.

Suiting up opposite him, Bradshaw will need to manage the Hawk’s Wani Swaka Lo Buluk. Whilst rarely making major contributions on the offensive end, the forward is known for his defensive intensity and for restricting any MVP candidates that Illawarra face. However, Swaka Lo Buluk has only averaged 22 minutes per game this season, affording the Cairns forward to wait for the perfect opportunity to pounce.

What’s Been Said

Taipans Head Coach Adam Forde:

“We’re obviously disappointed – it was a good turnout, and the fans were fantastic and packed the place out for New Year’s Eve – and we had a great week leading into it, but everything was just a bit of a grind.

“I've said it for a couple of weeks is a row, but this is us in the thick of it. We're still trying to unlock some key areas in the lineup, and we'll just keep working away until we get it."

Hawks Head Coach Justin Tatum:

“We've had five really tough wins – every game out here is pretty tough. We wanted to have an undefeated record in December, but I'd rather be undefeated in March, and this month has given us life and hope in practice and within the group to say 'Hey, we are one of the best teams in the league'.

"We got complacent. We've talked about it, and we've talked to our guys about short term memory – they know – and hopefully it doesn't happen again against Cairns.

"I don't focus on any individuals, we know Cairns has really good scorers and guys who can play because they're professionals, but the whole team is the focus – we don't want their momentum going. If one guy is scoring 25-30 points and everybody else has single digits, we're good, but if their whole team is feeling good and gets glowing then we're in trouble."

The Lineups

Taipans

PG – Taran Armstrong / Jackson Makoi / Kyle Adnam

SG – Rob Edwards / Jonah Antonio

SF – Pedro Bradshaw / Alex Higgins-Titsha

PF – Kyrin Galloway / Kody Stattmann

C – Tanner Groves / Dillon Stith

Hawks

PG – Trey Kell III / Will Hickey / Kobe McDowell-White

SG – Tyler Harvey / Hyunjung Lee

SF – Wani Swaka Lo Buluk / Todd Blanchfield / Daniel Grida

PF – Mason Peatling / Darius Days / Luca Yates

C – Sam Froling / Lachlan Olbrich

Ins and Outs 

Taipans

Game day decision – Tanner Groves (illness)

Ins – Alex Higgins-Titsha, Kody Stattmann

Outs – Sam Waardenburg (illness), AK Gak (knee)

Hawks

No changes