NBL Round #3

It’s only the early stages of the 2015/16 NBL season and the Adelaide 36ers and Cairns Taipans are two teams that we have not seen the best of yet, but they have a history of bringing the best out of each other.

There is no consistency in the recent form lines of these teams when it comes to head-to-head clashes. Both teams have been runners-up in the last two years indicating a competitive streak that is at the highest level.

Even though Cairns are the most recent Grand Finalists, Adelaide had the better of them in the last two meetings, including a thrilling overtime win in Queensland.

The Taipans won 14 of their last 17 regular season games last year to dominate the table, but two of those three losses were to the 36ers.

A lot of the current struggles that both teams are currently suffering are originating at the offensive end.

It is unusual to notice that a Joey Wright coached team is having problems scoring. After leading the League in scoring for the past two seasons, the 36ers currently rank seventh, at 77.0 points per game which is 15 percent decrease from the last two years.

The club has recognised their offensive struggles and this week made the call to replace injured Kenyon McNeail with European veteran scoring guard Jerome Randall, although he is not expected to be ready for this game.

Both Adelaide imports were their biggest strugglers from long range with McNeail and Ebi Ere combining for 7-from-28 at just 25 per cent.

Cairns have never been a high scoring side, but have also never averaged 18 points less than the highest scoring team, and have never been the worst three-point shooting team.

The Taipans have shot just 18-from-71 (25.4 per cent) from long range with Alex Loughton, Torrey Craig and Mark Worthington the worst offenders with a combined 4-from-26 (15.3 per cent).

One man will we not see anywhere near the three-point line is Taipans forward Cameron Tragardh who celebrates his 300^th NBL game in this match after missing the first two games due to a calf injury.

This will be the first game for Adelaide speedster Nathan Sobey against his former club. The Warrnambool junior is still finding his feet in the 36ers line-up but has already set new career-highs in scoring in his first three games.

One of the greatest statistical anomalies last season was the form of Torrey Craig against Adelaide. The athletic Cairns forward averaged 7.2 points against all the other teams but an incredible 20.5 points in four games against the 36ers with scores of 19, 19, 28 and 16.

Prediction : Cairns Taipans