JUST two games remain in Round 5 of the National Basketball League (NBL) schedule after COVID-19 protocols forced clashes to be postponed. The Cairns Taipans originally were planning on hosting New Zealand Breakers at home on New Year’s Eve, but will now take on Perth Wildcats following the Wildcats’ clash with Adelaide 36ers being postponed. The 36ers contest with Brisbane Bullets was also postponed, leaving the Tasmania JackJumpers and Melbourne United as the only original fixture still in place.

Friday, December 31 @ 8:00pm
Cairns Convention Centre

In the first match of a six-week road trip, Perth Wildcats travel to Cairns to take on the Taipans after five straight home clashes. The Wildcats have neatly piled up four wins from those five games, with the likes of Bryce Cotton and Victor Law putting on a clinic. The Taipans will certainly have their work cut out for them, and have played less games than any other team in the league, with just three thus far. Two of those games – both the wins – have come at home, which holds them in good stead for this clash.

Ex-Bullet Law has put up 24.4 points per game, the only player with more points per game than reigning Most Valuable Player (MVP) Cotton (23.6). Law also has 7.2 rebounds to Cotton’s 4.0, though unsurprisingly Cotton is far ahead of any other Top 10 scorer in distributing, with 4.4 assists per game. Speaking of assists, Tahjere McCall has produced an equal league-high six assists per game for the Taipans, also managing 16.3 points and 7.0 rebounds per match. Cairns big man Stephen Zimmerman is also leading the league for rebounds with 11.67 per match (and 12.33 points making it a double-double average).

Saturday, January 1 @ 5:30pm
MyState Bank Arena

Both coming off good wins, Tasmania JackJumpers will need to be at their best in order to stop a red-hot Melbourne United. The visitors were able to dismantle Sydney Kings and keep them to single-digit points in the final quarter of that game, whilst the JackJumpers proved a class above the winless New Zealand Breakers. Both sides have talented back courters, though the depth at United is insane. Caleb Agada is one of the most in-form players in the NBL currently, putting up 18.4 points and 7.0 rebounds, nailing 2.6 triples per game. Though if we are talking triples, none do it better than Chris Goulding, averaging five per game on his way to 18 points per match, deadly from beyond the arc.

Though not always as consistent as one might expect a player to be straight out of the NBA, Matthew Dellavedova has been the perfect playmaker in the back court. The talented Australian guard has averaged the third most assists in the competition (5.4 per game) and is able to feed the likes of Agada and Goulding. For Tasmania, Josh Magette has dished off more dimes than anyone else this season with 36 – at six per game – to complement his 14 points per match. Ex-Bullet Will Magnay and high-flying guard Josh Adams are eye-catching every game, and could be crucial if the JackJumpers are to cause an upset.