Snakes catching fire on the road

Adelaide 36ers will face an in-form Cairns this Friday night on Brett Maher Court when the Taipans visit the Entertainment Centre.

The Taipans, fresh off their 94-88 overtime win against Sydney Kings at home on Monday night, have been one of the revelations of NBL23, currently sitting third on the ladder with a 7-3 record.

Led by rejuvenated big man Keanu Pinder, the Taipans have won five of the six games on the road this season.

Adelaide will want to continue their recent good form from their three-game road trip, which netted two wins, 91-86 against Melbourne United and 96-82 over Perth Wildcats.

The new-found defensive focus has sparked the 36ers back to life with a 5-5 record, with Friday night’s game the first of six at home in December.

THE KEY
Keanu Pinder has turned into one of and if not the best centre in the NBL. The NBL22 Most Improved Player is in early consideration for the NBL23 MVP award after taking over the pivot spot on the Snakes roster.

Pinder, who is averaging 17.6 points and 9.8 rebounds per night in NBL23, starred with a game-high 30 points and 13 rebounds as the Taipans ended Syndey Kings’ 17-game winning streak on the road with a 94-88 win in Cairns on Monday night.

Last month, Taipans coach Adam Forde declared Pinder “the best centre in the league”, and the former Adelaide 36er has since increased his impact for the Snakes.

“He’s leading the league in rebounds,” Forde said.

“He leads bigs in all categories when it comes to assists and efficiency.

“We need to stop talking about the player he was and address the player he is.

“Why did we get him in from Adelaide is because what he was good at, even as a small sample size, was super-efficient.

“All we’ve done is expanded that and given him more opportunities, put him in an environment where he can blossom and grow.”

THE SECRET
Cairns have struck gold in their import forward spot with the addition of DJ Hogg for NBL23.

The 207cm swingman, who is averaging 17.6 points and 5.6 rebounds per night, has been doing it all for Cairns and is the perfect frontcourt partner for Pinder.

Hogg can shoot the three-pointer to great effect but can also get his way to the basket.

After struggling all game against the Kings on Monday night, Hogg put the Taipans on his back and willed his side into overtime, Cairns coming back from 14 points down in the final quarter.

"DJ struggled all game and he's a big-time player, and he made the big time shots when it was needed. I felt real confident going into overtime and I felt momentum was in our favour,” Forde said post match.

"There was a point where we looked dead and buried down 14, and I did a standing timeout but not to yell or to cuss.

"It was simply to ask what we want to do right now and if we want to grind this out through one possession at a time, or just go out and take turns. The boys responded and this is the group we recruited for.”

THE FINAL WORD
Off the back of two character building wins, both the 36ers and the Taipans will be heading into Friday night’s with renewed confidence.

Cairns holds no fear on the road and Adelaide will have to reverse a recent trend on Brett Maher Court where the 36ers have lost three of their four matches so far in NBL23.

Pinder will have a point to prove against his former side and will need to be kept in check by Daniel Johnson, Robert Franks and Kai Sotto.

Don’t be surprised if Antonius Cleveland gets the task of nullifying Hogg and captain Mitch McCarron will go head-to-head with Shannon Scott.

Adelaide will be keen to get on a winning streak after last round’s triumph against the Wildcats at RAC Arena and will want to show the home fans their new and improved game style.

DEPTH CHART
Scott | Ayre
Kuol | Antonio
Waardenburg | McCall
Hogg | Deng
Pinder | Mayen