Preview: Adelaide vs Cairns - Round 17, NBL24

Friday, January 26, 2024

A defeat for either Adelaide or Cairns could spell disaster in their respective hunts for a top six position.

Saturday, January 27 at 5:30pm AEDT | Adelaide Entertainment Centre

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

ESPN’s Olgun Uluc has reported the Adelaide 36ers are working on contract extensions for key local pair Isaac Humphries and DJ Vasiljevic.

Derek Rucker believes this remainder of this season should be an ‘audition’ for Trey Kell III to convince the 36ers he deserves a new deal.

Cairns coach Adam Forde was fined $1,000 for breaching the Basketball Australia Code of Conduct for comments made following the Taipans’ Round 16 win over Illawarra.

Isaac Humphries led the 36ers to a 10-point win with 28 points when these teams met just two weeks ago.

Adelaide
96-89 win over Illawarra
110-85 win over South East Melbourne
101-111 loss to Cairns

Cairns
84-102 loss to Brisbane
93-92 win over Illawarra
111-101 win over Adelaide

Trey Kell III
With the reports from Olgun Uluc that Adelaide has sat down to hash out new deals with Isaac Humphries and DJ Vasiljevic, questions begin to arise around just how much of the current roster they want to keep.

There is plenty of water to cross under the bridge before the start of NBL25, namely in regards to whether the 36ers retain Scott Ninnis at the helm or elect to appoint a new head coach.

The NBL as a product has benefitted from Trey Kell III’s recent production explosion, and Derek Rucker not only asserted that these last five games could be an audition of sorts for the import, but also that he’s been one of the form players of the competition.

Kell showed glimpses of this level of play in his debut campaign with South East Melbourne, and is now delivering on the promise that was shackled by injury issues throughout his first 18 months in the competition.

It may have taken him some time to adjust, but Kell has been a star in the wider landscape of the competition in the second half of this season. He looks to have adapted to the level and style of the NBL, so it remains to be seen if he can keep the good times rolling.

“I saw potential in him when he was with South East Melbourne, when a lot of people knocked him I felt he could be a very good player in this league. This run he’s on now isn’t enough for me to put him in some esteemed category ... he’s on a little four or five game audition now to get a two-year deal provided that’s something he’s interested in.” – Derek Rucker on NBL Now.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Trey Kell III is cooking ?‍?<br><br>He's up to 21 points halfway through the third quarter ??<br><br>Catch the action live on ESPN via Kayo ? <a href="https://t.co/Pn2UljBZID">pic.twitter.com/Pn2UljBZID</a></p>— NBL (@NBL) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBL/status/1748649795390972076?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 20, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Taran Armstrong
Cairns’ clash with Brisbane looked all but over at half-time. The Taipans entered the main break with just 40 points and on the wrong side of a 21-point deficit, but they came out in the second half and made the Bullets work to take home the win.

Following the loss Taran Armstrong alluded to the fact the Taipans have done that on multiple occasions this season, but at this point of the campaign honourable losses aren’t going to cut it.

The rookie guard has been immense at times in the NBL24 season, and he’s shown flashes of why there is genuine NBA interest in his skillset as a young point guard, but like most other young players are – especially in their first season as a professional – he’s been inconsistent.

He started in the defeat to Brisbane and registered a solid nine points, five rebounds and two assists, but if Cairns is to end the regular season in a top six spot, someone needs to elevate their game to another level for the Taipans.

There are a handful of candidates on this young and emerging squad, but Armstrong seems the most likely. Can he rise to the occasion?

“As a player you never really think the game is done. There’s always opportunity, especially with us, we’ve done it a number of times this season where we’ve turned around and made games that weren’t close a real contest at the end. I never really lost faith that we were capable of bringing it back.” – Taran Armstrong following the loss to Brisbane.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Taran Armstrong with the hoop and harm ?<br><br>Watch live and free on ESPN via Kayo Freebies | 10 Peach & 10 Play ? <a href="https://t.co/5G2EfvULxb">pic.twitter.com/5G2EfvULxb</a></p>— NBL (@NBL) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBL/status/1721018447100784846?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 5, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Scott Ninnis vs Adam Forde
As the NBL24 season begins to draw to a close, every game must now be treated like a make-or-break game for basically every team in the competition – but it can be argued that that rings most true for both Adelaide and Cairns.

South East Melbourne’s surprise Thursday night win over Sydney has pushed Adelaide back to the bottom of the ladder, while Illawarra’s victory over Perth has made the Taipans’ current position of sixth place far less safe than it was just 48 hours ago.

Should Adelaide lose here it could almost be curtains for the 36ers’ season, and while their late-season fightback has been immense, they’ve left themselves with little to no room for error across their final five games.

The Hawks and Breakers are both breathing down Cairns’ neck in seventh and eighth place respectively, and that Lat Mayen game-winner against Illawarra is starting to look even more important than it did at the time.

And so, the question becomes simply this. Which coach can mastermind a much-needed win that could flip the script once again on this incredible race towards the Finals?

The 36ers have won four of the last five games they’ve played against Cairns at the Adelaide Entertainment Centre, however that solitary victory for the Taipans came in Round 10 of this season.

Gettyimages 1929385511
Nick Marshall and Patrick Miller.