- Video
-
Club Roar
Captured a great grassroots sporting moment? We want to see it!Content Collections
The Roar Community
- Join
- Login
Scores updated regularly. REFRESH NOW
Cairns Taipans vs Adelaide 36ers |
||
|---|---|---|
2016/17 NBL Season, 12 December 2016 |
||
| Cairns Convention Centre, Cairns, QLD | ||
| Cairns Taipans | Adelaide 36ers | |
| 83 | SCORE | 96 |
| 20 | Q1 | 23 |
| 27 | Q2 | 19 |
| 14 | Q3 | 32 |
| 22 | Q4 | 22 |
The Cairns Taipans have fallen to their second consecutive defeat, slumping to the bottom of the table as they lost by 13 points at home to the Adelaide 36ers.
Daniel Johnson was massive with 27 points and eight rebounds, handing the 36ers their fifth straight win.
Cairns Taipans 83
Adelaide 36ers 96
The Cairns Taipans will be looking to move back into the top four of the NBL on Monday night when they host the high-flying Adelaide 36ers aiming to improve their standing near the top in what should be a battle of contrasting game plans. Join The Roar for live scores and coverage from 7:30pm (AEDT).
The Taipans might be sitting in seventh position on the NBL ladder, but that means absolutely nothing in this insane season where a win would move them all the way up to fourth, just ahead of the Perth Wildcats.
When you consider the Wildcats themselves came into this round on the bottom of the table it shows you exactly how volatile the ladder is.
Position counts for nothing, though, and it’s all about the on-court play as the only way to assess teams at this point of the season.
Cairns have been defensively sound over the first half of the season and many of their wins have come in grinding games where the scores have ended up low.
They were well on the way to showing that against the Sydney Kings on Friday night in what is a home double-header for the club, but in the end couldn’t control the Kings in the last quarter.
When Cairns have scored more than 80 points they are yet to lose a game this season, but all that could be about to change due to the 36ers crazy attack.
It wasn’t so long ago Adelaide looked like the worst team in the competition by a considerable margin and were sitting bottom of the table.
They have found a way to turn all that on its head, sitting in second place now and moving to within inches of the Sydney Kings at the top of the table.
A loss here could bring all that crashing down for Adelaide, so they will be keen to continue their run of form which includes a ten-point victory over the New Zealand Breakers this weekend where they cracked the century.
The 36ers’ biggest problem remains their defence, holding the worst record in the competition and regularly giving up too many points.
With Jerome Randle firing, this match comes down to the Adelaide offence against the Cairns defence, but also which of the clubs can stand up at the other end of the court.
In the season series, which it feels like could help decide if one of these sides make the playoffs, the 36ers have a 1-0 lead after beating the Taipans by 16 points at home, back in Round 3.
Prediction
This is a tough game to work out, but the Taipans’ offence should rise more than the 36ers’ defence at one of the toughest places to win in the NBL and they will pick up a crucial win.
Taipans by 3.
Be sure to join The Roar for live coverage of Monday night NBL from 7:30pm (AEDT) and don’t forget to drop a comment in the section below.
Follow Scott on Twitter @sk_pryde