Game Preview: Taipans v JackJumpers

With the roster closing in on full strength, Round 11 marks the perfect time for the Taipans to strike into their quest to make a run into the second half of the season. First venturing into MyState Bank Arena – Cairns’ most successful road trip in the league – before walking into John Cain Arena – the site of their Round 3 defeat of league leaders Melbourne United – it will be a big weekend for the Taipans.

They'll welcome back both Pedro Bradshaw and Kyrin Galloway for the double header with Cairns hoping to field their original starting five for the second time since Round 3, however they'll also be missing key piece AK Gak who suffered significant bone bruising last week against the Kings.

Where and When

Thursday, 5 December at MyState Bank Arena, Hobart (6:30pm AEST)

How to Follow

Watch: Live on ESPN

Live Updates: Taipans X

Stats: Box Score

What’s Already Happened

Their Last Battle: Cairns Taipans (90) v Tasmania JackJumpers (78) in Round 3

Entering the second half of the season sitting on the bottom of the ladder, the Taipans will be looking to emulate the start of their 2022-23 semi-finals bound side – a side which faced the exact same three fixtures to start their season as Cairns does now.

First off is a road trip to Tasmania, which ended in a comfortable 22-point victory back in 2022, and has been a happy hunting ground for the Taipans since the JackJumpers joined the league.

Winning 60% of their games at MyState Bank Arena, it’s also been a high-scoring venue for Cairns who average 90 points per game at the venue – a key considering that the Taipans have won every game this season when they’ve reached 90 points at the end of regulation.

After missing a month due to injury, Taran Armstrong has exploded back onto the scene across the past few games. Initially returning in Round 8, the guard put up seven assists with five rebounds in his second game back, before exploding last weekend with 28 points, three rebounds, one assist and two steals.

Gotta stay on him 😤

Taran drains the triple!

📲 @cairnstaipans | 📺 @espn pic.twitter.com/7HqpAL4qc1

— Cairns Taipans (@CairnsTaipans) November 29, 2024

Facing the Taipans are the JackJumpers, who opened the season unable to string wins together. Prior to Round 8 the Tasmanians had only won one game at a time, but since have strung three wins together in their quest to rise off the bottom of the ladder and into play-in contention.

Whilst the Taipans have had their own fourth quarter struggles, the JackJumpers rank last in the league for closing out the final quarter and have only won three of their 14 fourth quarters – with their worst display being a nine-point quarter to close out their matchup with the Kings.

Ticking the scoreboard over has also been a problem for the Tasmanians, who despite restricting their opponents to the lowest totals across the league have also put up the lowest totals. The JackJumpers sit at the bottom of nearly every scoring statistic – with points in the paint and second chance points being the key standouts – highlighting the missing piece of Jack McVeigh and his scoring abilities.

Without their leading scorer from last season, Milton Doyle has stepped up to keep the JackJumpers competitive. The American has led their efforts on the defensive end and has put up over 30 points multiple times, however, has had issues with consistency and recently has struggled to pass 10 points.

Player to Watch

With Tasmania already struggling to score the basketball, it will be an interesting challenge for Jonah Antonio to see how few he can restrict them to. The guard will be lining up opposite Jordon Crawford and Milton Doyle, who on average combine for 29.7 points – 37% of the JackJumper’s scoring.

Antonio has entered this season with a newfound focus – dominating the defensive end – and recently finished a night after guard MVP contender Parker Jackson-Cartwright by restricting him to his quietest night of the season whilst not committing a single foul.

THE BLOCK ➡️ THE BUCKET

Jonah getting it done on both ends of the floor!

📲 @cairnstaipans | 📺 @espn pic.twitter.com/yv9NxeEwys

— Cairns Taipans (@CairnsTaipans) November 16, 2024

What’s Been Said

Taipans Head Coach Adam Forde:

"There's a few ins, a few outs, but the plan is that we'll go back to our starting lineup for the weekend.

"Pedro's recovery went really well – the benefit of a young body that's relatively injury free is that the bounce back was sooner than anticipated. The FIBA break helped and it allowed us to get some one-on-one time and some recovery time for him, but it looks like he'll be good with no minutes restrictions.

"It's hotter and more humid in Cairns at the moment and the weather has really kicked in this week, so it can set the energy, but I can't fault the guys. They bring it every day, and there's a real plan of attack that we want to get through."

Taipans center Tanner Groves:

"Obviously I lost a little momentum being injured, but it's great to be back and happy to be back with the team for the road double – it should be good.

"Our first game was against Tasmania where we actually had our full starting five, so going into their place and finally with full health - it's good to have our full starting five back, and I'm looking forward to getting down there and competing.

"We're still competing, we're still hungry. Although the ladder doesn't show it, we're still in the fight and we're still going."

The Lineups

Taipans

PG – Taran Armstrong / Jackson Makoi / Kyle Adnam

SG – Rob Edwards / Jonah Antonio

SF – Pedro Bradshaw / Alex Higgins-Titsha

PF – Sam Waardenburg / Dillon Stith

C – Tanner Groves / Kyrin Galloway

JackJumpers

PG – Jordan Crawford / Sean Macdonald

SG – Milton Doyle / Craig Sword

SF – Clint Steindl / Anthony Drmic

PF – Reuben Te Rangi / Majok Deng / Fabijan Krslovic

C – Will Magnay / Gorjok Gak

Ins and Outs 

Taipans

Ins – Pedro Bradshaw, Kyrin Galloway, Alex Higgins-Titsha

Outs – AK Gak, Deshon Taylor

JackJumpers

Ins and Outs – N/A