Game Preview: Taipans v Kings

Returning to New South Wales for a consecutive road game in the state, the Kenfrost Homes Cairns Taipans will look to back up their epic win in Illawarra when they face the Sydney Kings.

Arriving at Qudos Bank Arena for their second game there this season, the Taipans will be taking to the court over a week after their thrilling win against the Hawks. They’ll face a Kings lineup who will be suiting up for their second game of the round, after falling to Melbourne United on Thursday night.

Missing both Keli Leaupepe and Jaylin Galloway who are spending extended stints on the sidelines, Cairns will be pleased to welcome AK Gak and Sam Waardenburg back as they return to action, while Jackson Makoi will be unavailable. 

Where and When

Sunday, January 12 at Qudos Bank Arena (3:30pm AEST)

How to Follow

Watch: Live on ESPN and 10 Bold

Live Updates: Taipans X

Stats: Box Score

What’s Already Happened

Their Last Battle: Cairns Taipans (75) v Sydney Kings (81) in Round 10

Last time these sides met was at the Cairns Convention Centre in late November, and it was a close matchup with neither team able to stretch the margin past seven points.

Leaning on their imports, Sydney were able to take over in the second half – utilising a 7-0 to open the second half to snatch the lead from their hosts. With Xavier Cooks the only other Kings player to reach double digits, the team shot the ball at 26% with only five makes.

Despite being a dominant force on the glass, Sydney were unable to showcase their talent with the Taipans out-hustling them – ending the contest with a 55-41 rebounding count and 23 offensive boards. The Kings also lost that battle against Melbourne on Thursday.

Trailing from tip-off until the final buzzer with the margin sitting at double digits for most of the night – with two separate 16-2 runs not enough to secure a late win – the Kings were unable to overcome the extra chances that United generated through their work on the glass.

For the Taipans, they suit up for their first game since their win in Illawarra and welcome their lineup at full force for just the second time this season. The only other game that Taipans have enjoyed at full strength was the Round 3 win against Tasmania.

Missing both AK Gak and Sam Waardenburg for Round 15 – with Tanner Groves also being a game day decision – Cairns were still able to outscore the Hawks on their homecourt, with the Taipans passing the triple digit mark for only the fourth time this season. 

Led by Taran Armstrong and Rob Edwards who combined for 56 points, 10 rebounds, six assists and four steals, Cairns put up a 40-minute era club record of 40 points in the third quarter to grab the lead after a dominant start by the Hawks.

Capitalising on their opponent’s turnovers, the Taipans were able to pile on the points quickly, whilst also ensuring that they drew fouls frequently throughout the contest to ensure that they capitalized by pushing Illawarra into the bonus – a tactic that they’ll look to repeat in Sydney.

Player to Watch

Returning to active duty, Sam Waardenburg will be looking to continue his strong form in what has been his best NBL season to date. Averaging 14.5 points, 6.8 rebounds, 3.3 assists and just shy of a block per game, the New Zealander is the second ranked forward across the league for assists per game – only trailing Xavier Cooks.

When the two forwards clash, it will be their eighth matchup in the NBL – including the three game Semi-Finals series in 2023. Despite looking for more efficient shots, Cooks has not been able to dominate the scoring against the Taipan with the King struggling to score from outside the arc – only sinking three triples in over 220 minutes of action against Cairns. Meanwhile, Waardenburg has leaning into his ability to shoot the outside ball – nearly averaging two makes against Sydney.

What’s Been Said

Taipans Head Coach Adam Forde:

"The mood has always been good. The thing with this group is that we’ve had some good results, we’ve had some bad results, we’ve had some close results, and we’ve had some blowouts. But the guys remain consistent knowing that it is a process and that it’s day to day.

"We don’t try and get too far ahead of ourselves and knowing that a lot of the demons that we’ve inflicted this season in the fourth quarter still reared their head against Illawarra – we still had some shots that were wide open that should have gone in, and we still missed layups.

"But this time they got over that hurdle, and they trusted it a little bit more which was good, and hopefully it just provides a little bit of belief, but the important thing is the day-to-day remains the same."

Taipans guard Rob Edwards:

"Hitting that shot, it felt good – it felt like that’s what we were supposed to do, we went out there and did what we were supposed to do.

"I didn’t even see the shot in the moment – I was on the floor – but I did see that it went in, and I was like 'Oh, yeah, bet', then 'Next play'. I was hyped for a bit as they called a timeout, but then it was the next play.

"We still had to get a stop – Taran got the stop – then we ended up going to the free throw line and that was a crazy sequence. That was probably one of the craziest games I have been a part of, but it felt good.

"I like to get shots up and I like to hoop, so whenever we scrimmage like this, it’s what I love and what I come to practice for. No shade at the other drills, but I like to play fives and that’s what we did today, that’s what the game is and what the game is going to be on Sunday – it’s five on five."

The Lineups

Taipans

PG – Taran Armstrong / Kyle Adnam

SG – Rob Edwards / Jonah Antonio

SF – Pedro Bradshaw / Kyrin Galloway

PF – Sam Waardenburg / AK Gak

C – Tanner Groves / Dillon Stith

Kings

PG – Shaun Bruce / Izayah Le’afa / Tyler Robertson

SG – Jaylen Adams / Bul Kuol / Makuach Maluach

SF – Alex Toohey / Klairus Amir

PF – Xavier Cooks / Kouat Noi / Henry Lau

C – Cam Oliver / Jason Spurgin

Ins and Outs 

Taipans

Ins – Sam Waardenburg, AK Gak

Outs – Jackson Makoi, Alex Higgins-Titsha

Kings

Outs – Keli Leaupepe (hamstring), Jaylin Galloway (shoulder)