Preview: Brisbane vs Cairns - Round 11, NBL24

Friday, December 15, 2023

Brisbane and Cairns will meet in the third clash between the sides this campaign.

Sunday, December 17 at 4pm AEDT | Nissan Arena

Watch: Live and free on ESPN via Kayo Freebies, 10 Peach and 10 Play | International viewership details
Box scores: Download the free NBL App

Brisbane will hit its home floor in what will be its first appearance since suffering a 35-point loss to Melbourne last week. Derek Rucker said in the aftermath that whoever came up against a reeling United was always likely to get served in that situation.

The Taipans suffered a 29-point loss to New Zealand on Friday night in a game where Adam Forde turned to his bench early. He said he “put the cue in the rack”, as he didn’t see Cairns getting back into the game.

Last time these teams played was just two weeks ago. Brisbane won by five points and were led by Chris Smith’s 17 points off the bench.

Brisbane
68-103 loss to Melbourne
78-77 win over Illawarra
84-79 win over Cairns

Cairns
82-111 loss to New Zealand
116-101 win over Adelaide
83-86 loss to Sydney

All the Bullets
This might be a cop-out, but how the entire Bullets organisation rebounds from their 35-point destruction at the hands of Melbourne United last week is a great litmus test to see just how much that club has changed under Justin Schueller.

In what was Nathan Sobey’s 250^th appearance in the NBL, the Bullets were comprehensively embarrassed by a Melbourne United side out for revenge for its previous game’s defeat to Cairns, but no matter how good the home team was on the day, questions have to be asked of the visitors' performance too.

Brisbane was comprehensively battered and eked out just nine points in the final quarter.

Brisbane has had an entire week to sit and seethe on the disappointing result and prepare for a Cairns side that only played on Friday night.

Expect a tone-setting first quarter from Brisbane – for better or for worse.

“Melbourne United got embarrassed by Cairns last weekend, Dean Vickerman is charged up this year and there is no way he was going to let that happen [again] and unfortunately Brisbane were on the bad end.” – Derek Rucker on Moments That Mattered.

Nathan Sobey during Brisbane's Round 10 loss to Melbourne.

Taran Armstrong
Cairns “put the cue in the rack” early against New Zealand on Friday according to Adam Forde, who believed there was little point in risking injury and fatigue to his stars in a game that was already out of reach, and that offered the Taipans’ backup unit the opportunity to impress.

Taran Armstrong has suffered a stuttering start to his professional career due to a litany of injuries, but the young guard was a serious bright spot for Cairns in what was, in all honesty, a dour day against the Breakers.

He added 15 points on 5-7 shooting and four assists, and offered a glimpse into why he was in NBA Draft calculations earlier this year.

In the pre-season he was described as such a highly-rated talent that he was basically a second Next Star for the Taipans, and if Friday’s game as any indication, he’s starting to deliver on that promise.

“We have players that have good games and then have poor games. Trying to find who our main eight are really is a challenge for us because it changes with the weather.” – Adam Forde following the loss to New Zealand.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Classy move by Taran Armstrong ?<br><br>Catch the action live on ESPN via Kayo ? <a href="https://t.co/yOALWcBhdN">pic.twitter.com/yOALWcBhdN</a></p>— NBL (@NBL) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBL/status/1730509969534140546?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 1, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Nathan Sobey vs Tahjere McCall
Two of the best rim runners in the competition will clash on the wing in the battle for Queensland bragging rights, and while both are coming off performances they won’t be thrilled with, you don’t have to look too far back to find games where they’ve been the best players on the court.

Nathan Sobey had 12 points on 15 shots against Melbourne last week in what should have been a celebration of one of the NBL’s best servants. In his 250^th game, Sobey struggled along with the entire Bullets side.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Nathan Sobey with a HUGE clutch block<br><br>Watch live and free on ESPN via Kayo Freebies | 10 Peach & 10 Play ? <a href="https://t.co/W6Uq7b7XR9">pic.twitter.com/W6Uq7b7XR9</a></p>— NBL (@NBL) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBL/status/1731207269696549039?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 3, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

He hasn’t hit the giddy heights of his early-season form in a few weeks, but he’s still been putting in solid if not spectacular performances as he’s shifted his role to allow teammates to step up into more score-heavy positions.

That being said he’s already surpassed 24 points in a game four times this year and has the ability to torch teams if given the opportunity.

Tahjere McCall would have been hoping to continue the run of form he began to establish in Round 10 this weekend, but struggled to reach the levels he did against the Kings and 36ers last week.

He only had nine points against New Zealand in what was his first game since becoming the first player to have 15 points and 15 assists in a game during the 40-minute era.

Both Sobey and McCall are searching for their best basketball, and whoever finds it will likely win the game for their side.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Tahjere McCall made history in Round 10 ?<br><br>The <a href="https://twitter.com/CairnsTaipans?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@cairnstaipans</a> guard became the first player in the 40-minute era to score at least 15 points and dish 15 assists ?<br><br>Brought to you by <a href="https://twitter.com/HungryJacksAU?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@HungryJacksAU</a> ? <a href="https://t.co/ADZicrOHL8">pic.twitter.com/ADZicrOHL8</a></p>— NBL (@NBL) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBL/status/1734010446322319385?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 11, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>