How to watch and talking points: Cairns v New Zealand

Cairns Taipans v New Zealand Breakers
Saturday November 22, 5:30 p.m. AEDT
Cairns Convention Center

How to watch‍

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Tickets

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Discussion points

Battle of desperate teams
With the FIBA ​​break upon us, Cairns and New Zealand will desperately need to inject some momentum into the next section of Hungry Jack’s NBL season.

Currently, Cairns and New Zealand occupy last and second-to-last place in the standings respectively, knowing how important each victory is to maintain their chances in the final.

One thing that bodes well for New Zealand is the fact that they have won the last six matches against the Taipans, who are 1-7 at home in NBL26.

More heroics with McVeigh?
In his final game, Cairns superstar Jack McVeigh scored a career-high 39 points as the Taipans pushed the 36ers all the way on Sunday, before ultimately losing in overtime.

The Australian Boomer currently contributes 18.8 points per game, which is just under 25 percent of Cairns’ 80.4 points per game (the lowest mark in the league).

Although Mojave King has been solid of late for Adam Forde’s side, it seems vital, if the Taipans are to have any chance of winning, that McVeigh has another huge offensive night, averaging 22 points per game in Cairns’ three wins.

What they say

Cairns coach Adam Forde on his team’s home match against New Zealand:
“New Zealand is very well balanced.

“[Sam] Mennenga is a serious three-point threat, while [Parker] Jackson-Cartwright is arguably one of the best point guards in the league.

“Everyone between those two in the lineup fills their role.

“There are more and more of them and we want to make sure we don’t take anyone lightly.

“[Not to mention] We haven’t won at home in a while, we really need to make sure we’re focused for the full 40 minutes and not just play half of basketball thinking that’s going to be enough.”

Breakers coach Petteri Koponen on the importance of playing the full 40 minutes:
“A basketball match lasts 40 minutes and in that, there will be races [which we need to deal with better].

“In every game there are always aspects that you think you could have done differently.

“It’s these little moments that define the big picture and the outcome of the matches.”

Missing

Cairns
Alex Higgins-Titsha – Wrist – Season
Kody Stattmann – Hamstrings – Day 10
Kyle Adnam – Knee – Day 10
Reyne Smith – Foot – Day 10
Sam Waardenburg – Ankle – December‍

New Zealand
No injuries reported.

>> See the full list of injuries