R8 Preview: Adelaide 36ers v Cairns Taipans

When: 5.30pm (AEDT), Saturday 6 March

Where: John Cain Arena, Melbourne

Broadcast: SBS Viceland; Sky Sports NZ; SBS On Demand; Twitch

The last time

Cairns 99 (Oliver 31, Newbill 17, Deng 12, Machado 12) d Adelaide 80 (Johnson 14, McVeigh 13, Griffin 11) – February 8, 2020, Adelaide Entertainment Centre 

The Taipans were gearing up for their playoff push and the 36ers were crying out for the season to end in what would be the end of the Joey Wright era, and as a result the Snakes were far too good winning by 19 points even though they were on the road. The win meant Cairns had won four straight and nine of the last 10 while it was the last home game for Wright in Adelaide and for the 36ers of the season. Cam Oliver dominated with 31 points and 11 rebounds with good support from DJ Newbill, Majok Deng and Scott Machado. Daniel Johnson had 14 points for Adelaide and Jack McVeigh 13.

The now

The Cairns Taipans and Adelaide 36ers came into Thursday night at the NBL Cup needing to bounce back from heavy losses. The Sixers were better but dearly missed Isaac Humphries while the Snakes got what they were after with a strong bounce back victory.

The 36ers have now lost three games in-a-row for the first time this season and five of their past six to currently hold a 6-8 record overall in #NBL21 and 1-4 in the NBL Cup with 10.5 points to their credit from the 35 that have been on offer across their five matches.

Adding to their pain is the absence of imposing centre and MVP fancy Isaac Humphries. They fought hard without him against the Illawarra Hawks on Thursday night, but were overrun in the finish to lose by nine points. There were encouraging signs with Tony Crocker delivering his best NBL performance with 23 points while Jack McVeigh was the one who ultimately stepped up most in the absence of Humphries, but that's a huge downsize for the team just in terms of their physical stature on the floor.

Meanwhile, the Taipans were on their second significant losing streak already of the season heading into their clash with the Sydney Kings on Thursday night. Having lost six straight earlier in the season before bouncing back with a home win against New Zealand and starting the NBL Cup beating the Illawarra Hawks, the Snakes went down to Melbourne United, Perth Wildcats and Brisbane Bullets. The last two of those were by 20 points apiece so Cairns had to respond strongly against the Kings.

And they certainly did to come away with the 96-92 victory and there was a lot to like in the performance especially in the fact that Scott Machado and Cam Oliver received the support from others they've been needing all season. Nate Jawai delivered a season-best 22 points in 15 minutes, Fabijan Krslovic a career-best 15 points and 10 rebounds while Mirko Djeric hit four triples on his way to 12 points.

That win improved the Taipans to a 4-9 record overall this season and to be 2-3 at the NBL Cup with 13 points to their credit from a possible 35.

The stats

- Cairns has played 18 NBL games since last taking on Adelaide with the Taipans struggling to a 5-13 record to close the rest of last season and starting this one. Meanwhile the 36ers have played 15 games since last taking on the Snakes and have amassed a 6-9 record in that time.

- The 36ers did deliver an improved performance on Thursday despite the eventual loss and that was on the back of winning the opening quarter 27-21. That was the first time the Sixers have been in front at quarter-time in their last nine matches.

- It was either a case of finishing at the rim or from beyond the arc for Cairns against Sydney on Thursday night. The Taipans shot 37/69 overall for 53 per cent and 10/27 at 37 per cent from three-point range but they went 1/2 in between the paint and three-point line.

- Daniel Johnson moves to equal third on the all-time games played list on Saturday in his 290th appearance which sees him join Mike McKay on that number. He enjoyed playing the Taipans last season with a career-best 38 points along the way while three of his four highest-scoring career games have been against the Snakes.

The key men

Keanu Pinder – It might seem strange to say for a player in his first NBL season and who is averaging 2.2 points and 2.9 rebounds a game, but so much now rests on his shoulders with the Adelaide 36ers without Isaac Humphries. He will again move into the starting centre role despite being undersized and he just has to give more than the three points, one rebound and one block in 14 minutes he had Thursday against Illawarra. And it has nothing to do with putting up numbers. Firstly they need more minutes from him so he can't be a liability on the floor by getting lost, coughing up poor fouls or being careless with the ball. He just needs to play his role, be a presence defensively, fight for rebounds and just be a good energy guy to take the pressure off Daniel Johnson a little.

Nate Jawai – Quite simply without Isaac Humphries the 36ers have no potential answers for him if he comes close to reproducing what he delivered on Thursday against the Kings. He delivered 22 points, six rebounds and three assists in only 15 minutes of court time. He went 6/8 from the field and Sydney could do nothing to stop him when he caught the ball in the block. He was on song in a way only he can be and it was high highest-scoring NBL appearance since February 2017. Now obviously the 36ers will try to make it hard for the Taipans to use him by exploiting him defensively, but if he is able to stay on the floor for extended minutes and catch the ball where he wants it, the Sixers quite simply have nobody physically that can do anything about stopping him. 

The quotes

Adelaide coach Conner Henry was happier with what he saw from his team against Illawarra on Thursday night despite never being satisfied with a loss, and he hopes to now see further improvement against Cairns on Saturday.

"We tried to play a little faster and tried to get a few more wide pin downs, a lot more action going at the basket and a little bit more rim pressure. We had two really good training days about what we wanted to do offensively and I thought as a result we were a lot better at that end," Henry said.

"I thought there was a good effort on the defensive end and there was probably 10 possessions or so on the offensive end where we didn’t get the job done, and that was the game. We took care of the ball but look, we're down there's no making excuses though. 

"We've lost our starting centre so we have to play a certain way and I thought we addressed that these last few days. We got some rest and some really good training sessions. We put in a good effort out there but offensive we just didn’t get it done."

Sixers rookie and NBL Next Star Josh Giddey is the youngest player in the NBL on a full contract at age 18, but continues to fight hard and show exciting signs, and he felt like the 36ers took a step forward on Thursday as well despite the loss in the end.

"It's tough obviously because Isaac is such a key piece for us inside both defensively and offensively. We had guys step up and Jack McVeigh was awesome at the four spot giving us some big plays on both ends," Giddey said. 

"It is tough without Isaac but he's out so that's the reality we have to deal with and learn to play through it. I think we were good for 85 or 90 per cent of that match but we let them break it open early in the fourth quarter. I think if we can clean up in that area that we'll be good."

The effort areas were all impressive for Cairns against Sydney starting with the strong rebounding showing while the offence clicked well too, and now coach Mike Kelly is hoping to see more of the same if not even more of the impressive play for longer on Saturday against Adelaide.

"There was great effort and I think for the most part we tried to stick to the plan. They are a very gifted offensive team and they play hard, but it was a little bit of a circus out there for a little while," Kelly said. 

"But then I was happy with how we steadied. It was a good first half where we played good basketball that was cleaner. Then it was a bit of a mess in the middle and then the guys finished with some big plays."

The Kings had no answer for Nate Jawai on Thursday and he was instrumental in the eventual win for the Taipans. Now the chance presents for Jawai to deliver more of the same against an Adelaide 36ers team on Saturday that is without their own centre Isaac Humphries.

That will likely mean the Sixers have to use either Keanu Pinder or Daniel Johnson to guard him, and Jawai will like his chances and Kelly will have no trouble backing him in after what he produced against the Kings.

"Nate was clutch for us. I loved the spirit that he came out to play with and it translated to getting buckets so that's a good combination. He has been good and rounding into form, and he was really big and we wouldn’t have won without his great contribution," Kelly said.

"Nate has been a great teammate all year and this was his time to shine. He is always a great target for us and then when he got rolling, the guys felt great about it and we tried to run some simple stuff to get some looks for him, and he made hay."

Kelly has never had any trouble throwing Fabijan Krslovic into any situation because he always knows he'll get his full effort, and he is now keen to see that continue on Saturday against the Adelaide 36ers.

"Fab was really good and he got us going. He put us in the right direction in that first half and I don’t know how many offensive rebounds he had, but he was really alive and active," Kelly said.

"He always plays smart but he made big plays and made some shots, and rebounded the ball really well. I expect big things from Fab and in that game he was outstanding."