Game Preview: Taipans v Kings

Returning to the road, the Kenfrost Homes Cairns Taipans have touched down in New South Wales for their second game of Round 2 when they face the Sydney Kings.

Whilst the match-up will present Cairns' third game of the season, Sydney will hit the court for their first after facing KK Partizan.

Returning to action, Mawot Mag is set to make his debut against the Kings, with Lachlan Barker continuing to fill the space of Sam Waardenburg.

Where and When

Sunday, September 28 at Qudos Bank Arena, Sydney (2:30pm AEST)

How to Follow

Watch: Live on Channel 10 and ESPN

Live Updates: Taipans X

Stats: Box Score

What’s Already Happened

Round 2 Results

Cairns Taipans (83) v Brisbane Bullets (82)

After bouncing back against their inter-state rivals, Cairns' attention now turns to the Sydney Kings with the Taipans looking to launch onto a winning streak early in the season.

Facing a quick turnaround from Friday night, the squad will look to build upon their tough win against Brisbane with the side quickly adapting to life with Andrew Andrews in it's lineup.

Recording nearly half of the turnovers that they did in Round 1, the guard made an immediate impact after touching down in the Far North only days earlier, whilst Jack McVeigh took no time to settle into his new home.

Falling agonisingly short of a triple-double, the forward reached 19 points, nine rebounds and nine assists on the night, with his performance setting a new career high for assists – previously five assists set in 2023/24.

Joining McVeigh on the court for both his previous and current career highs, Marcus Lee has already shown that his connection with the forward hasn't diminished over time, and will relish the opportunity to face a Sydney lineup also missing two men from their front court.

Needing to defend the dominating Tyrell Harrison and Tohi Smith-Milner on Friday, the primary center that Lee will matchup with will be Tim Soares who has averaged 5.8 points and 4.7 rebounds across his battles with the Taipans, whilst both Keli Leaupepe and Jason Spurgin spend lengthy stints on the sidelines due to injury.

The American will also be eyeing up his visit to Sydney with Lee averaging 7.6 rebounds per game against the Kings across his three seasons in the league – the most he's averaged against any opponent.

Whilst Cairns arrive at Qudos Bank Arena for their third game of their campaign, the Kings will be launching their own season after only participating in early pre-season games against Tasmania, their two NBL Blitz games, and a single game against KK Partizan.

Initially taking care of the JackJumpers in August across both fixtures, Sydney have yet to win another warm up game after falling to both Brisbane and South East in Canberra and to the Serbian giant last week.

Player to Watch

After an impressive debut and only one practice session with his teammates, Andrew Andrews has already shown the calibre that he competes at. Ending his first night with eight points, four dimes and a rebound, the guard is set to grow into his role as a Taipan while he develops a deeper connection with the lineup.

Whilst the American brings nearly a decade of European experience with him, opposite him will be Matthew Dellavedova who will bring nine seasons of NBA experience with him when he enters Qudos Bank Arena on Sunday afternoon. Suiting up for his first regular season game as a King, he's coming of a 10 assist performance against KK Partizan, though only contributed a single point himself with all six of his attempts from the field failing to drop.

What’s Been Said

Taipans Head Coach Adam Forde:

"So, Andrews was amazing. He’s had one practice session. He’s less than 60 hours from when he landed, and he was cramping up at the end. He made some big shots to set himself in, but his basketball to come is going to be brilliant. But, it was important that we had everybody else helping him out and being in those positions, and so we kept it simple with what we want to do playbook wise.

"With the reduced turnovers, I think it's a different style. South East were pressing full court more, and I think we're going to experience that against Sydney on Sunday. So it's really important that we don't want to sit here now and put our feet up and think the job's done. I want the boys to enjoy tonight and go to sleep and get a good night's rest, but wake up knowing that we're facing a very different team on Sunday.

"Sydney have a lot of defensive weapons like Bul that will pick up full court. You know, Delly will get after it full court. Xavier Cooks will get after it full court. So yeah, we don't want to sit here and think 'Oh, great. Like, it's fixed'. There's still things we need to work on, and it was an ugly win."

The Lineups

Taipans

PG – Andrew Andrews / Kyle Adnam / Lachlan Barker

SG – Reyne Smith / Kody Stattmann

SF – Admiral Schofield / Alex Higgins-Titsha

PF – Jack McVeigh / Mawot Mag

C – Marcus Lee / Kyrin Galloway

Kings

PG – Matthew Dellavedova / Shaun Bruce

SG – Kendric Davis / Tyler Robertson

SF – Bul Kuol / Jaylin Galloway / Makuach Maluach

PF – Xavier Cooks / Kouat Noi

C – Tim Soares / Hunter Goodrick

Ins and Outs

Taipans

Ins – Mawot Mag, Lachlan Barker

Outs – Sam Waardenburg (ankle)

Kings

Ins – Hunter Goodrick

Outs – Keli Leaupepe (knee), Jason Spurgin (foot)