Cairns would struggle to make the play-offs and face a likely bottom two finish was the narrative on the Taipans coming into the season.
Every NBL pundit predicting another season of frustration and mediocrity in Far North Queensland.
Starting the season with only one win from contest, it seemed everyone was right on the money.
Fast forward two months and the Cairns Taipans seem unlikely to miss the NBL play-offs, but they could quite seriously contend for the NBL Championship.
With the best form in the league right now, notching up wins in eleven of their previous fifteen games to currently sit third with thirteen wins, ten losses. They have already won more than double the amount of last season’s disaster under Mike Kelly.
The Taipans are now a recognizable force in this competition, gone is the stigma of ‘pushovers, easy-beats, laughing stock of the league’, they are a forced to be reckoned with. They have some of the great talents this competition has to offer. Cam Oliver, DJ Newbill and Scott Machado are all in the prime of their careers, playing unbelievably well together.
The strength which the Snakes possess is the sum of their parts. While Oliver, Newbill and Machado can (and have) taken over games at will this season, they also have a deep bench which features players like Nathan Jawai, Majok Deng and Mirko Jeric who in unique ways ie. Jawai’s size, Deng’s length and Jeric’s shooting ability generate mismatches every night.
DJ Newbill averages 19.6 points-per-game from 33 minutes on the court, Cameron Oliver is second in the league for rebounds (9.17) and third for blocks (1.65). Scott Machado averages 7.9 assists and 1.5 steals, he is Cairns most important component and would have to be in conversation for league MVP at season’s end. Throw in the likes of Majok Deng who is in career best form along with Mirko Djeric who has been hitting the scoreboard lately, and Nathan Jawai who continues to be the heart and soul of the club.
This team finally has heart and soul, they play for each other and want to succeed together. The real test though, comes in play-offs, and against the seasoned veterans of Perth and Sydney, will they stand up when it truly matters? They have the potential, that has been proven in wins against quality opposition of the Sydney Kings, Perth Wildcats and Melbourne United this season… but finals are a different ball-game altogether.
With just five games remaining, they face South East Melbourne, Illawarra, Adelaide, Melbourne and Brisbane, with only one of those games at home.
This is a testing schedule, if they get through this and make the top four, they will have proven they’re deserving to be there. Illawarra is a seriously dangerous one, their bogey team has beaten them on all three occasions this season, but with so much on the line… surely they get this one. They then should, in theory, be expected to beat South East Melbourne, Brisbane Adelaide and Brisbane which in itself should be enough to get them there.
Suppose they finish third, they would likely play Perth in the Semi Final series, who is to say they can’t win? They’ve beaten the Wildcats on their territory already this season… time will tell.
Even the most tragic of basketball fans love a good underdog story, this could be the greatest in Australian hoops history. The Cairns Taipans to this day, are still the only club without a championship in their trophy cabinet… outside of the Phoenix, who are yet to play a full season in the league.
There is plenty of basketball still to be played for Mike Kelly’s men, and there is no time to get complacent, but the Taipans must be congratulated on their campaign thus far. They have already proven many people wrong, but the job isn’t done yet, just how far could they go?
Could this be the season they finally bring a trophy home? Could the underdog trio of Cam Oliver, DJ Newbill and Scott Machado hypothetically beat the likes of Andrew Bogut, Caspar Ware and Jae-Sean Tate or Bryce Cotton, Miles Plumlee and Terrico White on the biggest of stages?
This will be a very interesting play-off series.
Dan is a self-confessed Aussie hoops tragic from Adelaide, South Australia. He is a young sports broadcaster and journalist with a passion for the NBL and Australian Boomers. Also hosts his own sports podcast; Amato's 5th Quarter.
