Game Preview: Taipans v United

The Kenfrost Homes Cairns Taipans will wrap up their road double header in Victoria, where they'll visit Melbourne United for the second time this season.

Seeking a fifth straight win against last season's grand finalists, the Taipans will be entering John Cain Arena looking to prove that they can still win despite heavily undermanned.

On top of the injuries of Taran Armstrong and Tanner Groves, Pedro Bradshaw will be entering the fixture as a game time decision. However, United are also missing men, with Shea Ili sidelined for the matchup and Matthew Dellavedova also a game time decision.

Where and When

Sunday, October 27 at John Cain Arena, Melbourne (3:30pm AEST)

How to Follow

Watch: Live on 10 Bold and ESPN

Live Updates: Taipans X

Stats: Box Score

What’s Already Happened

Their Last Battle: Cairns Taipans (101) v Melbourne United (88) in Round 3

After going undefeated against United last season, Taipans Head Coach Adam Forde was quick to dismiss any talk of the streak continuing due to his new look squad. 

However, Cairns were able to outshoot the Victorians on their way to a 13-point win – the biggest of their season so far which catapulted them into fourth on the ladder.

Fast forward three rounds, and the Taipans have struggled to find momentum as the season has continued. Missing two of their starters due to injuries, Cairns will view Sunday’s fixture as not only a chance to extend their streak against United, but also as a chance to find their winning ways again.

It will be a very optimistic view for them, after narrowly falling to the Adelaide 36ers on Friday night. Suffering more casualties throughout the contest, the Taipans were able to shoot the lights out – finishing the first half with 11 made threes.

Contributing three of those shots was Kyrin Galloway, who leads the league in efficiency from behind the arc.

Shooting from deep at 55%, the forward leads a trio of Taipans in shooting efficiency – with Rob Edwards and Sam Waardenburg joining him in the top 10 most efficient three-point shooters across the league. It will be something that United will struggle to match, with Ian Clark being their only player in the top 25.

Also playing their first Round 6 fixture undermanned was Melbourne United, who were able to claw their way to a late win against the Illawarra Hawks on Thursday night.

Despite suiting up, Matthew Dellavedova didn’t appear on court due to issues with his ankle in the leadup to the game, with Flynn Cameron taking advantage of the extended court time that he saw.

Putting up a career-high 18 points with four rebounds and four assists, the guard could continue to see more time if the NBA veteran is unable to take to the court for the matchup.

Also missing from the Melbourne lineup is Shea Ili, with the reigning NBL Best Defensive Player playing a key role in the league’s best defensive team – a team who will need to prioritise shutting down the Taipans’ shooters without him.

Player to Watch

After catching fire early in the season, Rob Edwards quickly caught the attention of the opposition defences who worked hard to restrict his looks. Despite Adelaide attempting to do the same, the guard was able to capitalise on his chances and put up 27 points - his best performance since Round 2.

Leaving with 23 points to his name during his last trip to Melbourne, he'll likely face a lineup more focused on limiting his chances - however it's also a lineup that is potentially missing two of their key guards.

What’s Been Said

Taipans Head Coach Adam Forde:

“There’s something cool about a team bonding experience, to come into a hostile environment, knowing we’re down a few bodies, knowing we’ve got our backs against the wall, and that just adds to the spirit of the group.

"I know that Melbourne are hurting as well - I know Ili is out, and there might be a question mark on Delly.

"We're going to go in there a little bit lighter, but the kind of fun thing about this team is that no one is expecting much from us, so we can just go out there and hoop."

United Head Coach Dean Vickerman:

"I think we just tried to give it real role clarity today, about what we needed from everyone. We had 10 players, and everyone just knew what they needed to do.

"Delly was pretty close and he worked out in the shoot around today, and he was pretty close to face Illawarra.

"From what I understand that could accelerate really quickly and get better, or it could hang around a little bit, so we'll see after travel if he's a good chance to play."

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

United

PG – Ian Clark / Flynn Cameron / Joel Foxwell

SG – Matthew Dellavedova / Campbell Blogg

SF – Chris Goulding / Tanner Krebs

PF – Jack White / Kyle Bowen / Tom Koppens

C – Marcus Lee / Rob Loe / Akech Aliir

Ins and Outs 

Taipans

Game time decision - Pedro Bradshaw (ankle)

Ins - Alex Higgins-Titsha, Kody Stattmann

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

United

Game time decision – Matthew Dellavedova (ankle)

Outs - Shea Ili (calf)