The Cairns Taipans were disappointing last season for a side that promised plenty, but unfortunately for the club now representing all of northern Queensland, the prospects don’t look much better in 2016-17.
The Taipans finished in a lowly sixth position after falling from form slump to form slump during the season.
Despite showing promise at different points throughout the season, they just couldn’t string enough consistent performances together to get over the top of teams like the Adelaide 36ers, New Zealand Breakers and Illawarra Hawks and qualify for the finals.
The biggest problem for Cairns was gelling on offence – more on this shortly – so moving on from their imports Markel Starks and Torrey Craig, who simply never got it together, appears to be a good move for the club.
At the same time, their recruitment drive for the upcoming season hasn’t been the strongest.
With no Townsville Crocodiles in the competition this season, the Taipans are the only team left in northern Queensland, and so their performances and attendances are imperative for the success of the NBL.
Despite all the naysayers, including the bookmakers who have inserted Cairns as the red-hot favourites for the wooden spoon, the Taipans actually beat the ridiculously strong Melbourne United squad in the pre-season.
Whether that will mean anything come the start of the season is another question completely, but it’s a positive sign for the Taipans.
Squad
Travis Trice (import), Jarrad Weeks, Anthony Fisher (development), Cameron Gliddon, Damon Heuir, Mitch McCarron, Stephen Weigh, Mark Worthington, Ashley Constable (development), Fuquan Edwin (import), Alex Loughton, Tevin Jackson (development), Nate Jawai, Nnanna Egwu (import)
Ins: Travis Trice, Jarrad Weeks, Anthony Fisher, Mitch McCarron, Ashley Constable, Fuquan Edwin, Tevin Jackson, Nate Jawai, Nnanna Egwu
Outs: Markel Starks, Torrey Craig, Matt Burston, Shaun Bruce, Cameron Tragardh, Jack White
Retained: Cameron Gliddon, Damon Heuir, Stephen Weigh, Mark Worthington, Alex Loughton
Depth Chart
| Starter | Interchange 1 | Interchange 2 | |
| Point guard | Travis Trice | Jarrad Weeks | Anthony Fisher |
| Shooting guard | Cameron Gliddon | Damon Heuir | Mitch McCarron |
| Small forward | Stephen Weigh | Mark Worthington | Ashley Constable |
| Power forward | Fuquan Edwin | Alex Loughton | Tevin Jackson |
| Centre | Nate Jawai | Nnanna Egwu |
The Taipans’ squad for the 2016-17 season is a very difficult one to read. They have plenty of depth, but it doesn’t exactly seem like the sort of depth they should be after if they want to improve on last year’s performance.
They have retained five players from that squad. While Cameron Gliddon was the Taipans’ best player last season, averaging over 13 points per game, like the rest of the squad he was inconsistent.
The experience he brings is critical, though, although it’s yet to be seen if the same can be said for Stephen Weigh. He had a terrible season last year, shooting the ball dreadfully for the most part and adding very little on the glass or with his passing.
Both Alex Loughton and Mark Worthington added to Cairns’ talent, but they were also inconsistent and, as age catches up with them, it’s hard to see them having a better season than the one they just produced.
The one retained player who does bring some hope for the side is Damon Heuir and it seems to follow a bit of a trend with their recruitment.
While Heuir was the last player signed to complete the squad, at just 25-years of age he has plenty of potential. The way the Taipans are treating things, it almost feels like this is a re-building year already.
They have hung onto the guys that can provide experience, or ‘put old heads on young shoulders’ so to speak, and have also signed three development players who will hopefully form the core of the Cairns squad moving forward.
The one signing who is a little confusing to say the least is Nathan Jawai. While he will bring a stack of experience to the Taipans, with plenty of youth running around, including their imports, he won’t fit in with their game style.
The Taipans should really be expected to get out and attempt to run the floor as often as possible which just doesn’t suit the biggest player in the league.
Furthermore, they let go of Matt Burston to accommodate him, and having Jawai on the floor means Alex Loughton isn’t going to have the same sort of combination with his other paint man.
While the signing allows Jawai to return home, it does little more than that for the Taipans and you’d imagine Perth were only too happy to offload him after a season that was disappointing by his standards.
To make matters worse, Jawai is now injured and expected to miss what is going to be a critical first three weeks of the season.
The Taipans’ imports are reasonably promising, led by the extravagant Travis Trice. He might have gone undrafted in the NBA at the start of the 2015-16 season, but Trice put up some very impressive numbers, including 15 points and six assists in the NBA D-League. Taipans fans can only hope he doesn’t go the same way as Markel Starks.
The other two imports, Nnanna Egwu and Fuquan Edwin, are both big men, which only makes the signing of Jawai all the more confusing.
Similar to Trice, they both went undrafted but will be in for big seasons at Cairns, where they will have increased roles to fill.
Edwin is known for his defence and ended up playing in Europe last season before coming to the Taipans. While defence is something Cairns probably won’t struggle with, he is going to be able to lock down the inside, and his fast movement will counter the slow Jawai and provide a menacing defensive combination in the paint, forcing teams to take their chances and shoot over the likes of Gliddon and Trice from deep.
Despite the doom and gloom for Cairns, there are plenty of good players in their squad and if it gels, they could really cause a surprise.
Schedule
| Round | Date | Time (AEDT) | Opponent | Venue |
| 1 | Sat Oct 8 | 9:30 PM | Perth Wildcats | Perth Arena |
| 2 | Sat Oct 15 | 7:30 PM | Sydney Kings | Qudos Bank Arena |
| 3 | Sat Oct 21 | 7:30 PM | Adelaide 36ers | Titanium Security Arena |
| 4 | Thu Oct 27 | 7:30 PM | Melbourne United | Cairns Convention Centre |
| 4 | Sun Oct 30 | 7:00 PM | Illawarra Hawks | WIN Entertainment Centre |
| 5 | Sat Nov 5 | 7:30 PM | Sydney Kings | Cairns Convention Centre |
| 5 | Mon Nov 7 | 7:30 PM | Sydney Kings | Qudos Bank Arena |
| 6 | Fri Nov 11 | 5:30 PM | New Zealand Breakers | Vector Arena |
| 6 | Sun Nov 13 | TBC | Brisbane Bullets | Cairns Convention Centre |
| 7 | Fri Nov 18 | 7:30 PM | Melbourne United | Hisense Arena |
| 8 | Sun Nov 27 | TBC | New Zealand Breakers | Cairns Convention Centre |
| 9 | Sat Dec 3 | 5:30 PM | Brisbane Bullets | Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre |
| 10 | Fri Dec 9 | 7:30 PM | Sydney Kings | Cairns Convention Centre |
| 10 | Mon Dec 12 | 7:30 PM | Adelaide 36ers | Cairns Convention Centre |
| 11 | Sat Dec 17 | 5:30 PM | Illawarra Hawks | Cairns Convention Centre |
| 13 | Thu Dec 29 | 7:30 PM | Melbourne United | Cairns Convention Centre |
| 13 | Sat Dec 31 | 7:30 PM | Brisbane Bullets | Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre |
| 14 | Fri Jan 6 | 7:30 PM | New Zealand Breakers | Cairns Convention Centre |
| 15 | Sat Jan 14 | 7:30 PM | Melbourne United | State Netball and Hockey Centre |
| 15 | Mon Jan 16 | 7:30 PM | Perth Wildcats | Cairns Convention Centre |
| 16 | Fri Jan 20 | 9:30 PM | Perth Wildcats | Perth Arena |
| 16 | Sun Jan 22 | TBC | Illawarra Hawks | Cairns Convention Centre |
| 17 | Thu Jan 26 | 5:30 PM | New Zealand Breakers | North Shore Events Centre |
| 17 | Sun Jan 29 | 7:00 PM | Brisbane Bullets | Cairns Convention Centre |
| 18 | Fri Feb 3 | 7:30 PM | Illawarra Hawks | WIN Entertainment Centre |
| 18 | Sun Feb 5 | TBC | Perth Wildcats | Cairns Convention Centre |
| 19 | Fri Feb 9 | 7:30 PM | Adelaide 36ers | Cairns Convention Centre |
| 19 | Sat Feb 11 | 7:30 PM | Adelaide 36ers | Titanium Security Arena |
No matter what you think about the Taipans squad, there’s no doubt their draw for the season is an absolute nightmare.
Their season could be done and dusted by the time we are seven rounds in. That might be less than halfway through, but with a squad expected to struggle, turning things around from then may be near on impossible.
Over the first seven weeks of the competition, the Taipans only play ten games which gives them no chance to build any semblance of momentum for the season ahead.
Of those ten games only three – yep, three – are at home. It shows just how difficult the battle will be for Cairns.
What makes it tougher is that it’s not a short road trip for them to get around the country; their nearest away game is Brisbane which is a two-hour flight.
While New Zealand and Perth have it worse in terms of travel time, they don’t have the terrible draw that Cairns do to get the season going.
Cairns do play six of their following eight at home, and while it might give themselves a chance to turn their form around, the season is another question.
Whether Cairns will come out of the first seven rounds in a decent position can probably be assessed once they have completed just two games. Perth and Sydney are going to be among the top teams in the competition this season, so if the Taipans compete with them on the road, they will be set for some positive times ahead.
It’s hard to see that happening, though.
Prediction
The Taipans’ roster looks underdone, their draw is the toughest in the competition, and their prospects for the season are not good.
In such a close competition, every little bit of difference in the sides must be assessed, and it’s hard to see the Taipans being anywhere near the finals.
In saying that – and I’m tipping them for last spot on the table – they may not have that bad of a season, such will be the closeness of this competition.
You can just about throw a blanket over every team bar the top few this season, so don’t be surprised if this prediction is wrong, but it has all the makings of a tough road ahead for Cairns.
Prediction:Wooden Spoon. It’s going to be a long season.
Tomorrow, we check out the prospects of the Adelaide 36ers.
Follow Scott on Twitter @sk_pryde
News from on and off court around the NBL.
Mitch McCarron's captain's knock and a dominant second-half performance have guided the Adelaide 36ers to a 83-57 thumping of the Cairns Taipans.
The Cairns Taipans' NBL season is still alive with an important 73-69 win at home over Queensland rivals Brisbane.
The Cairns Taipans have snapped a three-game NBL losing streak with a clinical 102-94 road victory over Brisbane in the first Queensland derby of…
While they’re not the be-all and end-all like they used to be in the NBL, imports still have the ability to make or break…
Let's look at how the Taipans performed this season. DJ Newbill - 9/10 At the end of the season, Newbill was awarded the NBL…
