In a result that few would of picked outside of North Queensland, the Cairns Taipans have beaten the Tasmania JackJumpers 106-84 at MyState Bank Arena.
Cairns coach Adam Forde talked about a fresh and entertaining brand of Taipan basketball in NBL23, but few would of predicted this game in their season opener.
After the JackJumpers led by as many as 10 in the opening quarter, the Taipans got on level terms by halftime before exploding offensivly in the third quarter to the tune of 39 points. Handing the visitors a 20 point lead with a quarter to play. Tasmania tried desperately to cut down the lead, but the difference was too much with Cairns cruusing to victory at MyState Bank Arena and open thier season in spectacular fashion
Embed from Getty Images1st half
The game started with both sides playing fast paced and frantic basketball, with both sides struggling to hang onto the ball. Jack McVeigh and Keanu Pinder traded foul shots in the opening minutes while the teams settled into their offensive structures.
With a vocal crowd behind them Tasmania went on a 10-0 run including back-to back threes from Rashard Kelly and Jarred Weeks. With the home side having the momentum they took 23-15 quarter time lead.
Cairns reigned in the Jackjumpers early in the 2nd quarter, including a 3-point play from NBL debutant Sam Waardenberg. But the Jackjumpers continued to fire from outside, with threes from Magette, Milton Doyle and Sean Macdonald to once again take a double digit lead. But that’s where Tasmanias dominanceended, as Cairns continually found ways to score.
Led by Marok Deng’s16 points off the bench in the first half, they dropped 33 points in the quarter to snatch the lead in the closing minute.
However, Tasmania had the final say of the half thanks to Fab Krisolvic. The big man found himself to be leading the JJ’s scoring at half time with 11, thanks to 5 points in the closing 10 seconds, capped off by a three on the buzzer to give them the 50-48 edge.
Embed from Getty Images2nd half
Cairns were only warming up in the second quarter as the third quarter saw their shooters take advantage of some loose defense from Tasmania. Cairns were doing with ease insiadend out, able find the open man for outside shots and drive inside and get to the foul line. At times the game resembled a three point shooting clinic, with Kuol, Deng, DJ Hogg and Shannon Scott all hitting multiple threes for the quarter, blowing the game wide open on a 39-17 third quarter performance and lead by 20 going into the final quarter.
Tasmania has had some great come backs in games last season, but this was a monumenal task ahead of them. But with the crowd willing them on, they started the final quarter strong and were able to get multiple stops on the defenisve end and cut down the lead. They held the Taipans to just two points while bringing the gap to just 10 points with Rashard Kelly doing the damage on this inside and MacDonald hitting two from outside for three.
Embed from Getty ImagesBut this as close as they got, as Cairns put away the three point shot and attacked around the rim. They got to the foul line, as they had all night, and were able to keep the lead in double figures until the end.
TASMANIA JACKJUMPERS 84 (Kelly 15, Krslovic 13, Doyle 13)
CAIRNS TAIPANS 106 (Deng 26, Hogg 17, Pinder 16)
What they said
“You gotta embrace the struggle, our defence is obviously nowhere near where it was last season for whatever the reasons may be.” Coach Scott Roth said.
“I think 29 times in South East [Melbourne] and 32 times tonight they went to the foul line, so thats just a recipe for disaster and its just undisplined defense across the board and will have to be work in progress,” he said.
Guard Matt Kenyon agreed, saying that the defense is “just a little disjointed, I think the communication, everyone being on the same page. We talk about five guys being on a string and right now individually it feels like we’re guarding one-on-one.”
Key stats
Similar to the game against South East Melbourne, there was a big discrepency in foul shots, Cairns getting to the line 32 times compared to Tasmania’s 7. Out of Tasmania’s 14 attempts, 7 were from Mcveigh.
Speaking of McVeigh, he struggled to have his usual offensive impact in the game, as he was held back by some strong Cairns defence. He only had 6 field goal attempts, including just one from outside. Tasmania will need to find ways to get him involved, as their offence at times struggled to find a consistant scorer.
Overall
It wasn’t quite the home opener that the sell out crowd expected, but it a reality check that teams are ready for the JackJumpers this season.
Two losses to open the season isn’t idea, but Scott Roth stating post game “the season is a marathon not a sprint”.
The new imports Doyle and Kelly are fitting in well, and the team looked better with them on the floor. However the team defense is lacking compared to what we were used to seeing last season, and with limited offesive firepower, the defense will need to improve for them to compete for finals this season.
Up next
The assignments don’t get much easier, but the team has a few days break before heading to Auckland for an away game against the New Zealand Breakers. The Breakers have had limited ability to play games at home in the past two seasons due to COVID travel restrictions, so a home opener in week two will be a monumental occasion for them. However the JackJumpers will be looking to spoil the homecoming party on Friday night.
