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Melbourne United vs Cairns Taipans |
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|---|---|---|
2016/17 NBL Season, 14 January 2017 |
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| State Netball and Hockey Centre, Melbourne, Victoria | ||
| Melbourne United | Cairns Taipans | |
| 92 | SCORE | 85 |
| 23 | Q1 | 25 |
| 23 | Q2 | 14 |
| 28 | Q3 | 29 |
| 18 | Q4 | 17 |
Melbourne United will be looking to regain their place in the top four on Saturday when they host the Cairns Taipans who are drifting closer to missing the finals and must turn it around. Join The Roar for live scores of this high stakes match from 7:30pm (AEDT).
United had worked their way into the top four before this round started, but that was short lived as they received a thumping on the roads at the hands of the Adelaide 36ers during the opening match of the round.
While United were competitive for three quarters, their defence completely fell of the rails during the fourth and their offence went missing in action for the club to be outscored 35-14, eventually going down 100-73.
The loss brings to an end a very solid vein of form for United, where they had won three of their last four with relatively new imports Casper Ware and Josh Boone firing and Chris Goulding getting somewhere near his best.
The biggest problem for United is their defence, and one-dimensional offence issues. When they shoot three pointers like they do, it doesn’t bother them but as soon as they go cold it’s as if they have no set plays to run and put up buckets to get back into a contest.
The Taipans, on the other hand, have been hovering around the bottom of the table for much of the last month after a short burst up towards the cusp of the top four.
While they still aren’t many games behind, the nature of the league means they need to start winning – and soon – if they want to feature in the finals.
The cutoff is generally thought to be somewhere in the 13-15 wins mark, and with Cairns having won 8 of 18 so far, the pressure will be on to record at least six from their last ten and maybe more in what is a demanding run home with away games galore.
The Taipans might be coming off a scrappy win over the similarly struggling New Zealand Breakers, but their form doesn’t suggest any great improvement, having lost five of their last seven.
This match will decide the season series between the sides, with the score currently reading Melbourne 2, Cairns 1 with a points differential of two – Cairns in front.
United’s wins against Cairns this year have only been by one and four points, while Cairns beat United by seven.
Essentially, it leaves us in a position where the winner will take the season series and higher spot on the ladder.
Prediction
This is going to be a real battle of contrasting styles. When United are on, they are one of the most exciting teams in the league to watch, yet they are playing the gritty, scrappy and desperate Taipans.
Still, at home, they should find it in them to produce enough offensive runs and pick up the win.
United by 8.
Be sure to join The Roar for live scores of this match from 7:30pm (AEDT) and don’t forget to get involved by leaving a comment in the section below.
Follow Scott on Twitter @sk_pryde