Round 11 Preview v Cairns Taipans

To say the Adelaide 36ers are up against it heading to Cairns on Sunday would be a great understatement on a four-game losing slide and missing three key players, but what better time to show what character this group possesses.

The 36ers take on the Cairns Taipans at Cairns Pop-Up Arena on Sunday on a four-game losing streak and with Isaac Humphries, Josh Giddey and Keanu Pinder all having been ruled out of the game.

That's the bad news. Somewhat offsetting that is that the Taipans are on their own five-game losing slide coming into the clash, and they too are without regular starters Kouat Noi and Majok Deng through injury.

So with both teams short on manpower and missing key starting players, and on losing streaks, it's desperation stakes come Sunday and both teams will be looking for some new faces to stand up and make a statement to get their team over the line.

The last meeting took place during the NBL Cup in Melbourne and remains their lone meeting so far in #NBL21 with both Cairns and Adelaide having spent most of their early parts of the season with a string of home matches.

It appeared coming into the game everything was pointing in favour of the Taipans. They were coming off a win against the Kings where Nate Jawai had his most dominant performance of the season with the Sixers minus Isaac Humphries. 

But that's not how it turned out and on the back of dominant games from Daniel Johnson and Sunday Dech, the 36ers ran away with the game late to claim the 10-point win to snap what was a three-game losing streak at the time.

Having already put up his career-high of 38 points against Cairns last season, Johnson had another night out against the Snakes with 30 points, nine rebounds and two assists on 10/18 shooting from the field and 9/10 from the foul line. 

Dech was solid offensively with nine points but his defence on Scott Machado was stifling. He also had five rebounds, two steals and a block while hounding Machado into nine points on 3/9 shooting. 

Jack McVeigh came up big again for Adelaide as that makeshift four man with 14 points, three rebounds and two assists.

There wasn’t a lot to crow about for the Taipans but Fabijan Krslovic impressed again with 12 points and five rebounds while Mojave King showed glimpses of what he can do with 11 points on three triples and a big dunk. 

But with Cam Oliver, Machado, Mirko Djeric, Kouat Noi and Jawai combining for only 36 points on 14/39 shooting the Snakes were always facing an uphill grind.

DJ'S CORNER – PLAYER COLUMN VOLUME 6 

SIXERS BATTLE HARD AGAINST COTTON'S PERTH BRILLIANCE 

LOTS TO LIKE FROM SIXERS DESPITE THE HEARTBREAK 

Since that meeting at the NBL Cup between the two, the Taipans have lost four more matches including the last two in Melbourne against the New Zealand Breakers and South East Melbourne Phoenix, and then last week on the road to Perth and Sydney in the space of three days on opposite sides of the country. 

That leaves the Snakes on a five-game losing streak with a 4-14 record coming into Sunday's game.

Adelaide, meanwhile, has lost all four of its matches since that win over the Taipans. 

There were two to close the NBL Cup against the Brisbane Bullets and Wildcats, and then last week back in Melbourne in overtime against the South East Melbourne Phoenix and then on Monday night over in Perth. 

That has the 36ers on a four-game losing slide and a 7-12 overall record this season.

Not only are both the Taipans and 36ers on losing runs, but they are down on key players for Sunday's game too. Majok Deng is still recovering from an ankle injury for Cairns and he's now joined on the sidelines by Kouat Noi who is expected to miss up to 12 weeks with a knee injury.

Meanwhile, Adelaide remains without starting centre Isaac Humphries with his foot injury while Josh Giddey remains sidelined with a foot complaint and Humphries' replacement in the starting line-up Keanu Pinder will also miss the game on Sunday through illness.

Adelaide guard Sunday Dech had a superb game last time out against Cairns including shutting down Machado. He feels like the 36ers are playing better than a four-game losing streak suggests, and hopes they get some reward for effort on Sunday.

"It is frustrating because at the end of the day what we're judged on is the wins and losses, but we can't lose sight of the processes where we're at as a unit and what we are trying to achieve in the back end of this season, and beyond," Dech said. 

"We're definitely taking the positives out of the narrow losses we've had, and feel like we are getting that little bit closer each time. Once you get one, the confidence is up and you can start rolling so we're just looking for that one and hopefully that comes on Sunday for us."

Former championship winning star and head coach Scott Ninnis sees this is as a must-win game for the 36ers against the Taipans, and he's expecting players like Daniel Dillon to make the most of their increased opportunity.

"Obviously Josh Giddey won't play in this game against Cairns but once again I think that just gives people opportunity so the Daniel Dillons of this world go into the game knowing you are going to play extended minutes," Ninnis said on his Sixers Fix podcast.

"From a player point of view when you know that and especially as someone who hasn’t been getting regular minutes, that can give you a bit of confidence knowing you'll have an opportunity to go out there and make a difference. 

"I like our chances and I think it's a must-win game so we have to go up there regardless of who we have in the line-up and make sure we come away with a win in this one. It's such a long season and such a weird year in so many ways that anything can happen. 

"We can still get our season back on track and I like our chances against Cairns, I really do. They've had their issues as well so I think we go up there with a lot of confidence and I'm looking forward to seeing that game on Sunday afternoon and hopefully seeing another win."

HUNGRY JACK'S 2021 NBL SEASON – ROUND 11

ADELAIDE 36ERS v CAIRNS TAIPANS
Cairns Pop-Up Arena, Sunday 4.30pm ACDT

Broadcast – SBS Viceland, SBS on Demand, NBL TV, Twitch