Adelaide 36ers vs Cairns Taipans
Category: AFL Online
Where and When: Saturday 8 November, Distinctive Homes Dome, 7.30pm (ACT)
Past Three Head-to-Head
Adelaide 36ers 113-104 Cairns Taipans, Round 21 2008.
Cairns Taipans 105-111 Adelaide 36ers, Round 19 2008.
Adelaide 36ers 98-89 Cairns Taipans, Round 21 2007.
Season Series
First match
Current Standings
36ers 4-5 (seventh), Taipans 5-5 (sixth)
Adelaide has gotten its season back on track with back-to-back wins over the Sydney Spirit and the New Zealand Breakers.
A win tonight will see the 36ers take Cairns’ place in the top six – so there is plenty at stake for both sides.
After an impressive start to the season the Taipans have fallen in a heap – they have lost their past three to slump to sixth place on the NBL ladder.
Cairns is still without guard Stephen Black, who is sidelined with a chronic back injury, so the onus will be on the likes of Martin Cattalini and Darnell Mee to fire while Ian Crosswhite will need to have a big game against in-form Adelaide big men Adam Ballinger and Luke Schenscher.
Ballinger and Schenscher were instrumental in Adelaide’s wins over Sydney and the Breakers and the Taipans will need to find a way of shutting down guard Aaron Bruce so that Schenscher and Ballinger are denied open looks.
The last three clashes between these two sides have been won by the home side – expect the trend to continue on Saturday night with the 36ers boasting the likes of import Mark Tyndale, Ballinger and Schenscher who are all capable of scoring 20-plus points.
With a place in the top six up for grabs you would expect this contest to be close and hard-fought, so my money is on an Adelaide win by 1-10, offering $2.85.