Sixers ready to fire against Taipans

A new-look Adelaide 36ers will host Cairns Taipans this Saturday night on Brett Maher Court with a fresh focus.

Under interim head coach Scott Ninnis, who was announced on Wednesday, the 36ers will face a Cairns side in form and hot from a big road win against Melbourne United.

The Taipans are a young, dynamic and athletic group which have shown they can defeat the best in the competition and will battle a 36ers side hungry to make a statement.

Cairns are coming off a thrillg 86-83 loss to Sydney Kings on their home floor on Thursday night and Saturday night’s match will be the first meeting of the two sides this NBL24 season as the 36ers turn into Nightwing for one-night only as part of the DC Multiverse Round.

THE KEY
Taipans import point guard Patrick Miller has been a shining light in North Queensland this season, and was the reason Cairns trumped Melbourne United 115-103 at John Cain Arena last Sunday.

Miller scored 32 points and dished 10 assists, becoming the first player in Taipans history to record a 30-point, 10-assist double on the road.

The 185cm point guard has been averaging 19.2 points, 6.2 assists and 3.8 rebounds per night so far this NBL24 season and has become the key component to running the Cairns attack.

Expect a showdown with 36ers captain Mitch McCarron to start the game Saturday night, but don’t be surprised if Sunday Dech and even Alex Starling spend time negating the Taipans’ main man.

Miller added another 22 points with seven assists in the loss to the Kings and he looms large as the main man in the outcome of this contest.

THE SECRET
Josh Roberts literally came from nowhere last round to become a matchwinner against United.

The import power forward has spent much of the NBL24 season stuck to head coach Adam Forde’s bench, but was released into the starting five in Melbourne and produced the goods, scoring 22 points on 90 per cent shooting and adding five rebounds.

Roberts, who played 27 minutes against United, had a previous best court time of just nine minutes and the 205cm forward looked like he belongs in the league after more than holding his own against the Melbourne frontcourt.

He is strong around the hoop and coach Forde has rewarded his strong play, expect Jacob Wiley to get the initial match-up with Roberts, but it remains to be seen if he will be in the starting line-up.

Roberts only saw eight minutes against the Kings, but expect more time from the import power forward if Forde wants to go to a small ball line-up.

DEPTH CHART
PG: Miller / Armstrong / Mudronja
SG: McCall / Antonio 
SF: Kuol / Mayen
PF: Waardenburg / Klintman
C: Mennenga / Roberts / Gak

FINAL WORD
Expect a fresh look from an Adelaide side who will be coached by Ninnis for the first time in this NBL24 campaign.

Adelaide must make a statement after last round’s results and the 36ers, in their Nightwing jerseys, will aim to get back to their winning ways.

Isaac Humphries and Wiley have been dominating the paint so far this season and the inside battle looms as a huge advantage for the 36ers.

If the Taipans play their small ball line-up, expect Wiley to spend time at centre and increased court time for Trentyn Flowers and Nick Marshall.

Trey Kell will go head-to-head with Taipans guard Taj McCall, while DJ Vasiljevic will look to get back to his hot scoring ways, but Forde will send Bul Kuol to the two-time NBL champion for the entire 40 minutes.