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R5 Preview: Cairns Taipans vs Perth Wildcats
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Friday, December 31, 2021
Tahjere McCall and the Snakes are ready for a huge New Year's Eve match-up with Bryce Cotton and the 'Cats.
When: 8pm (AEDT), Friday 31 December, 2021
Where: Cairns Convention Centre
Broadcast: ESPN; Kayo; Sky Sports NZ
Who won last time?
Perth 90 (Cotton 31, Law 14, Zunic 13) d Cairns 67 (Noi 17, McCall 16, Zimmerman 14) - Round 1, RAC Arena, Perth
Remember how Bryce Cotton struggled on opening night against Brisbane? Well that wasn’t going to happen twice in a row, the MVP with 31 points to blow the Snakes away two nights later. However, the 23-point margin was somewhat deceptive, Cairns leading most of the first half and being within eight early in the final term as new imports Stephen Zimmerman and Tahjere McCall impressed. However, their late-game scoring woes will need to be rectified.
What happened last start?
The Taipans showed exactly what type of team they can be, playing with enormous intensity to dismantle the 36ers, their steal and assist numbers through the roof as they put on a clinic of defensive pressure and free-moving, open-court offence. Perhaps most notable was eight Snakes scoring five or more points as Adam Forde’s men shared the load.
Perth put on an offensive clinic of their own last round, posting 101 for the game and 80 after quarter-time as Cotton and Vic Law ran rampant against the JackJumpers. While they produced quality numbers inside and out, defensively they leaked against the previously struggling Tasmanians, so expect a strong response at that end of the floor in Cairns.
Who’s in form?
Majok Deng – When Majok goes 5/7 from long range, Cairns will be a tough team to beat. His first two games this season delivered a total of just 10 points on 1/5 from range, and more so than any Taipan, the team need him aggressively taking what the offence gives.
Vic Law – Following his 32-point mauling of Tassie, Law now leads the NBL in scoring with 24.2ppg at 53 per cent, and a deadly 16/33 from range. McCall and Cairns kept him to just 10 shots in Round 1, but can they repeat that while paying due respect to Cotton?
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">VIC + BRYCE = VICE and you'd better believe they're twice as nice ??<br><br>Vic Law 24.2 PPG<br>Bryce Cotton 23.6 PPG<br><br>Could this be the most lethal 1-2 punch the league has ever seen? <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NBL22?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NBL22</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/PerthWildcats?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@PerthWildcats</a> <a href="https://t.co/hlwF46Q1OF">pic.twitter.com/hlwF46Q1OF</a></p>— The NBL (@NBL) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBL/status/1473163035984359426?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 21, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Who needs to be?
Stephen Zimmerman – No one can question the way big Zimm throws his frame at the boards, but it’s the finesse to match that is vital for Cairns. After shooting 8/20 in his opening two games – all but one of which were from within the charge circle – the Taipans centre found his touch against Adelaide, draining 8/11 from all parts of the floor.
Kevin White & Kyle Zunic – Cairns found their defensive identity last round, their perimeter crew with 10 steals between them. Coach Forde may try to force Cotton to do the ball-handling to wear him out, so White and Zunic must break the denial and handle the pressure with poise, while Mitch Norton will give a few minutes of support upon return.
Who’s statting up?
- In their opening two games, Cairns pinched 11 steals in total and were -7 on points from turnovers. Against Adelaide they had 14 steals and were +8 on PFTs
- The Taipans had 29 assists on 36 made field goals and 10 free throws against the Sixers. In their opening two games combined they had 28 assists on 47 made shots and 29 free-throw hits
- In Round 1, Perth forced the Snakes into 21 turnovers, with 15 coming in the final 25 minutes as the Wildcats outscored the visitors 70-39
- After quarter-time against Tassie, Perth gave up 68 points at 45 per cent from the field. Over the rest of the season they’ve conceded 17.9 points per quarter at 40 per cent
Who’s matching up?
Tahjere McCall v Bryce Cotton – McCall mightn’t be able to hit threes at the moment, but he is doing just about everything else, leading Cairns in points, assists and steals while ranking second in rebounds and third in blocks. More than that, his heart-and-soul leadership is inspiring his teammates, enabling them to weather the storm of Scott Machado’s absence.
The question is who will McCall guard on Friday? In Round 1 he subdued the red-hot Law, but Cotton got loose. Bul Kuol has won coach Forde’s trust with his defensive intensity, giving a second weapon to throw at Law or Cotton. At the other end, which Wildcat can defend McCall, whose length and athleticism makes him impossible to keep out of the lane.
Who’s talking the talk?
For Cairns Taipans surprise packet Bul Kuol, basketball is not a complicated game. He’s not getting caught up in trying to fill Scott Machado’s enormous shoes.
“My job is simple, it’s just come in and give my team energy on the defensive end,” he said.
“Nobody can fill Scotty’s shoes, he’s the best point guard in the league, but for me it’s just come in and give my team energy on the defensive end.”
In the past two games, the Taipans rookie has led the shutdown of Tasmania’s star imports and star 36ers point man Mitch McCarron.
“I've been ecstatic with the assignments he’s had two weeks in a row,” coach Forde said.
“We put him on Adams and Magette last week to be disruptive to be up-and-in, and tonight he took the responsibility of Macca who’s one of the best Australian point guards … so very happy with Bul and the way he goes about business.”
While Kuol has been a pleasant surprise for Taipans fans, his coach has shared in that joy too.
“We recruited Bul as a shooter,” Forde said.
“His whole collegiate career at Cal Baptist and Detroit Mercy he was a great three-point shooter … in his final year at Detroit Mercy his school zoned a lot, so it was bit of a gamble in a sense to know what he was going to be like defensively.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">How good's the no-look pass from Bul Kuol? ?<br><br>About as good as the dunk from Majok Deng ? <a href="https://t.co/sGPQGULATN">pic.twitter.com/sGPQGULATN</a></p>— Cairns Taipans (@CairnsTaipans) <a href="https://twitter.com/CairnsTaipans/status/1472135634659667973?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 18, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Right now he is just one of many Taipans filling a role to put their team on a two-game winning streak.
“This is the identity we’re trying to build that we started with back in August,” Forde said.
“With the guys that we brought in, our identity as a collective is trying to make sure it’s not just going to be one or two individuals who get it done.
“Now it’s great when they have an outstanding performance and they can get us over the line, but for the most part the majority of the season’s going to be won and lost by how our team plays.”
Perth’s identity has long been about defence, but in their last start against the JackJumpers they won a shootout and strayed from their established values.
“I don’t think we were great defensively. You’ve got to give credit to Tasmania, they really did a number on us in the second half with their offence,” coach Scott Morrison said.
“I told the team after the game we shot 50-40-100, but we want to be able to win games when we shoot 20-20-60 and I don’t think that would have been the case tonight giving up 83 points.
“Credit to Tasmania, they gave us a lot of good film to watch and were going to have to really pick up our defence.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Adams from the arc! We look refreshed to start the 2nd half. Let's go boys? <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/FEARTHESTING?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#FEARTHESTING</a> <a href="https://t.co/lPVw1pTUUy">pic.twitter.com/lPVw1pTUUy</a></p>— Tasmania JackJumpers ? (@JackJumpers) <a href="https://twitter.com/JackJumpers/status/1472471542990659589?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 19, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
The Wildcats are coming off a 12-game lay-off, which Morrison described as “a good thing” for his injury-hit squad “given all the wear and tear we've had the last few weeks”.
But have no doubt, once the fixture was adjusted and Snakes were on the menu, Morrison’s men watched plenty of “good film” of Tahjere McCall.
The do-it-all guard on the court has been a do-it-all leader for Forde’s Taipans, emerging as the find of the NBL season to date.
“It’s great that we can look to him to set the bar,” Forde said.
“There are different types of leaders. Some are leaders off the court, some are a leaders that get everyone around the house and cook them up dinner, be that social aspect to keep the morale high, there are some leaders who are coaches in the making.
“Then you get Tahj who’s a leader in a lot of those areas, and he’s a leader on the court. He doesn’t have to say too much, there’s been instances already where I’ve been trying to articulate at half-time what I want it to be, drawing on the whiteboard or showing clips, whatever it might be, then Tahj just nails it in six words or less.”
That combination of basketball smarts, pure passion and elite athleticism is making Cairns a tough team to beat, and it will be desperately needed against Cotton and Co, but there is something the Taipans love even more about their new teammate, as highlighted by his 10 assists against Adelaide to fill the hole left by Machado.
“He's a great teammate and a great human being,” Forde said.