Preview: Cairns vs Adelaide - Round 15, NBL24

Friday, January 12, 2024

Can the Taipans stop Adelaide's late-season run to the Play-In? This is a must win for both teams.

Saturday, January 13 at 5:30pm AEDT | Cairns Convention Centre

Watch: Live on ESPN via Kayo | International viewership details
Box scores: Download the free NBL App

Cairns will wear its blackout kit for the Taipans' annual charity game.

The Taipans have slumped to ninth on the ladder following a poor run of form and the resurgence of both Illawarra and New Zealand.

Adam Forde was happy with the week between games following the side’s Round 14 loss to Tasmania, and believes he found out about the true character of his group in the defeat to the JackJumpers.

Adelaide registered a second straight win for just the second time this season with its 12-point win over Sydney on Thursday night.

Former Kings captain Brad Rosen praised how hard the 36ers have played in their past two games, and says Trey Kell and DJ Vasiljevic have been crucial to the team’s competitiveness.

Cairns
86-103 loss to Tasmania
95-78 win over Melbourne
82-101 loss to Sydney

Adelaide
95-82 win over Sydney
100-96 win over Melbourne
84-91 loss to Illawarra

Taran Armstrong
Cairns rookie Taran Armstrong posted a season-high 18 points in the Taipans’ last time out loss against Tasmania and – for a short while at least – was on double-double watch.

Despite putting in the best individual performance of his short career so far, the draft prospect has maintained displeasure at his own perceived inability to pull all parts of his game together for an all-around, holistic point guard performance.

Armstrong has dealt with the ups and downs of any player adapting to professional basketball, and those struggles have only been exacerbated by consistent injury issues at the start of the campaign, but he looks to be finding more and more comfort within Adam Forde’s system with every passing week.

His level of potential saw Armstrong touted as almost a Next Star, and while he’s not lived up to his own expectations so far this campaign, if he can pull together more performances like the second half against Tasmania he’ll continue to establish himself as one of Australian basketball’s most promising floor generals.

“The thing about me is I’m never satisfied, I never think I’m the finished product. There are so many layers to my game I still think are untouched. I’ve yet to put together a performance where I do everything I’m capable of doing … a large part of that is on me and I need to be able to figure out and learn to play with everything I’m capable of doing. The second half was a little bit like that … but I need to be able to do that the whole time.” – Taran Armstrong following the loss to Tasmania.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Taran Armstong is getting FANCY with it ?<br><br>Catch all the action live on ESPN via Kayo ? <a href="https://t.co/EfYQcEwthU">pic.twitter.com/EfYQcEwthU</a></p>— NBL (@NBL) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBL/status/1743546060516041097?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 6, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Sunday Dech
It’s not too long ago that Sunday Dech found himself totally out of Adelaide’s rotation, but after putting his head down and working his way back into Scott Ninnis’ plans, Dech is looking like an indispensable part of Adelaide’s rotation.

The no frills defensive stalwart was tasked with slowing down Chris Goulding in Adelaide’s Round 14 win over Melbourne, and then Jaylen Adams in the 36ers’ Round 15 opener against the Kings.

Since his days as a development player at Perth, Dech has been known as a versatile and lengthy defender, but what was most impressive about his performance against the Kings was his ability to impact the offensive end.

His 13 points was just the fifth time he’s passed double-digits in the scoring column – and his season-high of 15 also, incidentally, came against the Kings.

Since the appointment of Ninnis, Dech has been professional in his approach to earning his place back in Adelaide’s rotation – and it’s paying dividends for both player and club at the present time.

“Kyrin Galloway and Sunday both came in and gave us a big spark off the bench … Sunday with his good perimeter defence and making everything tough, I give a lot of credit to those guys. Their minutes fluctuate but they came in tonight and were huge for that.” – Trey Kell following the win over Sydney.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Sunday Dech from so far back we should call him Saturday ?<br><br>Catch the action live on ESPN via Kayo ? <a href="https://t.co/Q1QsG3GgCo">pic.twitter.com/Q1QsG3GgCo</a></p>— NBL (@NBL) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBL/status/1720734451271954940?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 4, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Tahjere McCall vs Trey Kell III
Both Tahj McCall and Trey Kell have established themselves as the likely leading triple-double threats in the NBL this season and, in fact, Kell is the only player to have registered the feat in NBL24.

McCall has endured a couple of quieter games since his historic 15-point, 15-assist performance in Cairns’ Round 10 win over Adelaide, but he’s largely been a well-rounded offensive influence in what has been a tough stretch for the Taipans.

In fact, he’s been basically a sole shining light in dismal recent losses to Sydney (19 points) and Tasmania (17 points).

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">McCall Magic ?<br><br>Star guard Tahjere McCall dazzled in the <a href="https://twitter.com/CairnsTaipans?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@cairnstaipans</a>’ Round 13 win against the ladder-leading <a href="https://twitter.com/MelbUnited?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@melbunited</a> ?<br><br>Catch McCall in action tonight at 5:30pm AEDT, live on ESPN via Kayo ? <a href="https://t.co/Zu0qaNEGEx">pic.twitter.com/Zu0qaNEGEx</a></p>— NBL (@NBL) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBL/status/1743452645229306232?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 6, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Kell’s emergence as one of the most impactful players in the NBL is the perfect example of water always finding its level.

He struggled for form and fitness at South East Melbourne last season, and he’s in the midst of a purple patch that is proving those who questioned his signing to Adelaide wrong.

Since Scott Ninnis established Kell as one of the 36ers’ primary ball-handlers he’s been in genuine All-NBL form, and his 27-point Foot Locker Player of the Game performance against Sydney on Thursday night is the latest in a string of good showings from the 27-year-old.

While there have been games this season where both McCall and Kell have played well but still lost, their sides tend not to win when either of them have quiet games. This will be a fun and well-rounded offensive battle from two of the most watchable players in the NBL.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">You just cannot give Trey Kell a runway to the rim ?<br><br>Catch the action live on ESPN via Kayo ? <a href="https://t.co/GPc09oAzxN">pic.twitter.com/GPc09oAzxN</a></p>— NBL (@NBL) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBL/status/1745381781132456407?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 11, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>