Preview: Cairns v Adelaide (Round 17)

When: 7.30pm (AEDT), Monday 30 January, 2023
Where: Cairns Convention Centre
Broadcast: ESPN; Kayo; Foxtel, Sky NZ
LIVE SCORES & STATS

Who won last time?

Cairns 86 (Scott 31, McCall 19, Hogg 13) d Adelaide 83 (Cleveland 16, Clark 15, Drmic 14) – Round 13 at Cairns Convention Centre

Adelaide walked into Cairns on a four-game winning streak and, after a back-and-forth opening 25 minutes, burst clear thanks to an Anthony Drmic, Daniel Johnson and Hyrum Harris-inspired run. When Ian Clark drained his second triple their lead was 18 early in the fourth, but their New Year’s celebration ended there. Shannon Scott and DJ Hogg combined for 21 points in the final seven minutes and the Snakes secured one of the great comeback victories, ending their two-game losing skid and launching a six-game run.

What happened last game?

The Taipans ended another two-game slide on Saturday against Brisbane, surviving multiple challenges and overcoming a drubbing around the rim to prevail and keep a game clear of New Zealand in second spot. Adelaide simply had to beat United last Saturday to stay in the playoff race, but despite another hot offensive night from Robert Franks they couldn’t get it done, leaking 55 points after half-time as Melbourne’s hot perimeter trio ran riot.

What’s working?

Suffocating the Sixers – In the last four minutes of two clashes between these teams the losing side has burped up a combined 12 turnovers, sparking the 36ers’ memorable 18-4 game-ending run to win the first clash and Cairns’ 26-5 burst to claim the second. It’s Cairns’ pressure that has had the biggest impact overall, though, forcing Adelaide into 38 cough-ups in two games to lead points from turnovers 50-27 in a season series tied 1-1 and 161-161.

Crashing in Cairns – Adelaide’s seemingly unassailable Round 13 lead was set up by a masterclass on the glass, collecting 76 per cent at the defensive end and 13 o-boards at 33 per cent. Across the two games, CJ Bruton’s men lead the rebounding percentages 56-44 and are +14 on second chance points, with Antonius Cleveland, Robert Franks, Johnson and Harris pulling in 19 offensive boards to the Taipans’ 16 as an entire team.

What needs stopping?

Ian Clark bricks – It seemed bringing in Clark would be a mid-season masterpiece for Adelaide as it was for the Kings. In his opening three games he drained 9/15 from the arc as the Sixers went 2-1, with their only loss the heartbreaker in Cairns. Since then, however, his lack of match fitness has caught up, making a wayward 2/20 from deep as the 36ers slipped from playoff contention. Can he rediscover his stroke to add some pride to the season?

Robert Franks – The 36ers may have lost five on the bounce, but Franks has lost none of his, averaging 22.4ppg on 24/32 shooting inside (75%) and 14/31 outside (45%), to go with 7.4rpg and 2.6apg in that span. Those are Superman-like numbers, but Cairns are his kryptonite, holding the sharpshooting American to 12ppg on 6/28 shooting (21%) – including 3/17 inside (18%) – and forcing eight turnovers compared to five dimes.

Who’s missing key men?

Keanu Pinder remains sidelined for Cairns with a fractured orbital socket, while Adelaide are expected to be at full strength.

Who’s matching up?

DJ Hogg v Robert Franks – A big part of Cairns’ success against Robo has been their ability to disrupt the 36ers’ offence and limit quality supply. With Mitch McCarron and Clark both back in the line-up, and full week to prepare, will he get off the chain this time? He’ll have to work at the other end with Hogg at power forward in place of Pinder, DJ spinning 19.4ppg and 3.2apg in the Snakes’ past seven contests, landing 3.2 triples at 41 per cent.

Tahjere McCall v Antonius Cleveland – AC fouling out in 14 minutes against Melbourne was the death knell on Adelaide’s season and he’ll be looking to make a statement against Cairns, whom he averages 19.5ppg at 55 per cent against. McCall has racked up 21.5ppg at 50 per cent on the 36ers, and with his past six producing 19.0ppg, 6.5rpg, 2.7apg and 1.7 steals, whether he or Cleveland can produce the most game-changing plays could be pivotal.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">We love watching <a href="https://twitter.com/ac_uno1?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ac_uno1</a>.<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WeAreSixers?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#WeAreSixers</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/SwoopTheHoop?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#SwoopTheHoop</a> <a href="https://t.co/YHoRBl0g46">pic.twitter.com/YHoRBl0g46</a></p>&mdash; Adelaide 36ers (@Adelaide36ers) <a href="https://twitter.com/Adelaide36ers/status/1618103871976488960?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 25, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Who’s saying what?

The Lakeland Magic produced a storied turnaround to claim the 2021 NBA G-League title.

After losing five of their opening nine, they found form and a recipe for success, claiming eight of their final nine contests behind a high-energy style that combined pressure defence with free-wheeling offence.

“I watched a lot of the Lakeland Magic season when they won the championship, saw how they went about it and thought we could replicate that similar style here,” Cairns coach Adam Forde said.

Leading the way with his all-court style was a swingman named Tahjere McCall, while spreading the floor was a forward named DJ Hogg.

The roster featured a deep bunch of other versatile athletes, including Robert Franks, with six players averaging between 8.9 and 13.9ppg.

That philosophy can clearly be seen in Forde’s roster with the likes of Majok Deng, Bul Kuol, Sam Waardenburg and Keanu Pinder all multi-positional players.

Six Taipans are averaging double-figures, while Majok Deng and Ben Ayre have providing huge bench boosts when needed.

“The guys we've brought in, it’s working for us, even with the bodies we've had out of the line-up, other individuals have come in and stepped up in their absence,” Forde said after his team defeated Brisbane on Saturday.

“I really went at the bench at half-time and Jook stepped up for us, Ben stepped up for us, that’s what was really important. We’re going to keep relying on those guys to keep bringing it.”

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Deng is FEELING it from beyond the arc ?<br><br>? <a href="https://twitter.com/MajokDeng13?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@MajokDeng13</a> | ? <a href="https://twitter.com/espn?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@espn</a> <a href="https://t.co/HxKjZyz2qU">pic.twitter.com/HxKjZyz2qU</a></p>&mdash; Cairns Taipans (@CairnsTaipans) <a href="https://twitter.com/CairnsTaipans/status/1619285049513480192?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 28, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Now two more wins will lock in the club’s third-ever top two finish in 25 years of trying, which brings home-court advantage in the semi-finals and a chance to mend some ailing bodies.

“We’re the walking wounded at the moment. If we can limp over the finish line it’s not that big a deal if we've got that bit more time to rest and recover if we stay top two,” Forde said.

“These games are really important and that’s what we’re gunning for.”

Forde isn’t taking anything for granted though, knowing how evenly-matched and similar in style the Taipans and Adelaide are.

“The two games we’ve played, we went to their joint and were up 19 and lost, then they came here and found themselves up 18 and lost,” he said.

“The game we've played against them have been big momentum swings, so it’s hard to gauge what the plan is, knowing who knows what the first quarter, second quarter third quarter we’ll have.

“It's a hard one to call just because it’s two teams that love to play five-out and shoot the ball.”

It’s that ability to play with five genuine shooters that has made Cairns even more dangerous without Keanu Pinder, going 7-0 without their star big despite his outstanding form.

“A lot of it is predicated on how they play and their playing style,” Sixers guard Sunday Dech said.

“They've proven all year they don't need star players to win their games, they went on a six-game winning streak without him.

“We're conscious of that, guys will step up and at the end of the day it's about taking care of our processes and getting that right.”

Adelaide can’t afford to repeat the sloppiness with the ball that has fed the Snakes 25.0ppg from turnovers in this season series, and Dech is confident his group is good to go.

“A lot of guys have been able to rest little niggles and get back to basics,” he said.

“We know we have three games left, at the end of the day we treat every game just as important as any other.

“We've been really locked in on it, the last couple of practices have been good, they've been a bit chippy and that's what we need.

“For us this week, the focus is just executing and staying on top of the little things.”

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">See you all on Feb 3.<br><br>Tickets - <a href="https://t.co/XgvKWYaE2m">https://t.co/XgvKWYaE2m</a><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WeAreSixers?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#WeAreSixers</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/SwoopTheHoop?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#SwoopTheHoop</a> <a href="https://t.co/c6Jk0Yql4v">pic.twitter.com/c6Jk0Yql4v</a></p>&mdash; Adelaide 36ers (@Adelaide36ers) <a href="https://twitter.com/Adelaide36ers/status/1618766488898510848?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 27, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

While the 36ers’ 4-8 away record is a big reason for their current predicament, they’ve lost at the death in Cairns, New Zealand, South East Melbourne and Brisbane, showing how close they’ve been to telling a very different NBL23 tale.

It will be a test of character on Monday night though, the Taipans having much more to play for and their crowds growing in number and volume as the season goes on, relishing their team’s success after a horror NBL22 that delivered just five home wins.

“That was the commitment and the promise we made, we said it’s going to be better, were going to put a better product on the floor,” coach Forde said.

“I feel like we’re living up to our end of the bargain and they're repaying us by filling it out and being loud.”

McCall is confident it will be jammed to the rafters on Monday night.

“I’ll trust our fans will do that, they’ve been amazing all year, you hear them on the court so much, it gives you so much energy it makes you want to play hard and compete,” he said.

“They pay their hard-earned money to come and watch us and support us so you want to give them a great game.

“Hopefully we can pack it out, I think we will, and we can give them something good to watch.”