Preview: Round 17 vs Cairns Taipans at Cairns Convention Centre

The Brisbane Bullets will look to bounce back from a tough loss at home to the NZ Breakers earlier in Round 17 when they take on the Taipans in Cairns on Saturday night.

The NBL and Brisbane Bullets will continue to celebrate inclusion and diversity during its inaugural Champion Pride Round.

The Bullets will again be without Jason Cadee, Tanner Krebs and Harry Froling in their second game of the round.

Cairns Taipans vs Brisbane Bullets

When: Saturday, January 28 | 7:00pm AEST

Where: Cairns Convention Centre

Watch: On ESPN via Kayo and Foxtel

LAST TIME MATCHING UP

Last time on court Tyler Johnson put together a huge 32 point performance adding four assists and four steals, but it wasn’t enough to get the Bullets over the line against a hot Taipans outfit.

HUNGRY JACK'S NBL ROUND 14

BRISBANE BULLETS 81 (Johnson 32, Stattmann 10, Cadee 8)

CAIRNS TAIPANS 107 (Waardenburg 24, Hogg 23, Ayre 20) 

BOX SCORE

KEY MATCH UP 

ARON BAYNES VS SAM WAARDENBURG

Last time matching up, the Bullets big men got into foul trouble early and Sam Waardenburg was able to produce a solid performance with 24 points and eight rebounds. Aron Baynes has proven his strength in the paint when the Bullets play through him. In Round 16, Baynes dropped 31 points at 67 per cent in 49 minutes across the two contests as Brisbane found its offensive rhythm. He also grabbed 17 boards across the two games which sets up a great rebounding battle between the two.

TYLER JOHNSON VS TAHJERE MCALL

Tyler Johnson has averaged 23.3ppg and 3 apg across his last three outings for the Bullets and previous to that put up 32 points last time he faced the Taipans. His elite skill set has drawn a lot of attention from opposition defensive units, but he has been able to make tough shots and find his teammates in great positions on the offensive end. Likewise, Tahjere McCall brings alot of energy to his group and has scored in double figures in the Taipans past 16 games. It'll be another fun match up between the two import guards.

ON THE RECORD

Following the Bullets Round 17 game against New Zealand Hostplus Head Coach Greg Vanderjagt addressed the challenge of playing the in form Breakers.

“It was challenging for us, there’s no doubt about it. There’s not an excuse, everybody’s been down on bodies, they’ve had injuries, the travel, the schedule, everybody’s been through it.

“We’ve got to find ways to get it done even though we’re down a couple of key guys.”

Bullets’ guard Nathan Sobey echoed Vanderjagt’s comments.

“Credit to them they played some really good basketball tonight, and they’ve got a lot of depth in their unit,” Sobey said.

“We’ve got to be a lot better on both ends of the floor.”

Sobey also highlighted the significance of Cadee missing the game and how important he is to the group.

“I’ve played here now four seasons and every game he’s been a part of that, so it was a little bit different to not have him run out there with the group,” Sobey said.

“It definitely felt different not just in terms of being next to him with him on the court but in the locker room.”

Despite the absence of Cadee, Krebs and Froling, the Bullets are determined to have multiple players step up and produce better efforts on both ends of the floor against the Taipans.