Hawkeye - Hawks v Cairns Taipans R1 Preview

THE INFO

When: 7.30pm (AEDT), Monday 18 January

Where: Cairns Pop-up Arena

Broadcast: ESPN, SBS On Demand and Twitch

Last Time They Met: Cairns 90 (Newbill 20, Oliver 17, Deng 12, Machado 12) d The Hawks 75 (Boone 19, Froling 13, Blanchfield 12), Round 18, 2019/20, Cairns Convention Centre

THE PRELUDE

There aren’t too many better feelings than winning on the road, although staying undefeated is probably up there as well.

The Hawks will attempt to do both tonight as they tackle the Taipans in the final fixture of Round 1 of the 2020-21 NBL season in Cairns.

Both sides are coming off last start wins – The Hawks blunting the Bullets in Brisbane while Cairns edged past the Kings to open their account.

Coach Brian Goorjian has spent the last few days singing the praises of young guns Emmett Naar (17pts, 5reb, 5ast) and Sam Froling (19pts, 4reb) after the pair were instrumental in The Hawks opening night win, with Goorjian claiming the best is still to come from the young duo.

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In what must be a worrying sign for Taipans coach Mike Kelly, several of The Hawks signature signings were well held by the Bullets, making the victory even more impressive.

Cairns is shooting for a record equaling nine straight home NBL victories, while The Hawks are looking to notch back-to-back wins for the first time since February 2019.

THE MATCH UP

Justin Simon v Scott Machado

Justin Simon promised two things when he arrived in Wollongong for the upcoming NBL season – a defensive mindset and a team first mentality.

The season may only be one game old but already ‘The Disruptor’ is delivering in spades, putting together one of the best opening night performances the league has ever seen.

Simon had 13 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists and 5 steals in just 26 minutes of action and was awarded the NBL’s Bunnings Trade Player of the Game award.

As a reward, he faces a likely matchup with Taipans dynamo and 2019-20 NBL MVP Runner Up Scott Machado.

Machado enters the game coming off a handy 17 points, 7 boards and 8 assist performance against the Kings, but will likely face a stiffer task on Monday night.

Simon successfully smothered NBL superstar Bryce Cotton in a recent preseason game and after his exploits in The Hawks season opener - this dual promises to be must see TV.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">One hell of a game from <a href="https://twitter.com/simon_Says_so?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@simon_says_so</a> earns him our <a href="https://twitter.com/citymotorsgroup?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@citymotorsgroup</a> ‘Spark of the Game’ Hawk Nation ?<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/IllawarraProud?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#IllawarraProud</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/FlyAsOne?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#FlyAsOne</a> <a href="https://t.co/UUZn0P1Fqt">pic.twitter.com/UUZn0P1Fqt</a></p>— Hawks Basketball (@thehawks) <a href="https://twitter.com/thehawks/status/1350675167144337408?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 17, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

THE SPOTLIGHT

Cam Bairstow – the former Boomer could have been forgiven for wanting to ease his way into opening night after a forgettable and frustrating preseason campaign (Bairstow didn’t take part in any of The Hawks preseason games).

Instead he launched into his role like a duck to water. Yes, there was some rust. And yes, he’ll be better for the run. But in perhaps a scary sight for the rest of the league, Bairstow almost registered a double double (9 points, 9 rebounds) before fouling out late in the game.

Coach Goorjian has said Bairstow is integral to The Hawks success in 2021, so as the rhythm and timing that has made him such a special talent for so many years returns, look out for bigger and better moments for Bairstow as the season unfolds.

Justinian Jessup – the silky smooth sharpshooter ran into early foul trouble against the Bullets (2 fouls in opening 2 minutes), which saw him spend a big portion of the first half biding his time on the bench.

Fans had to wait until midway through the third quarter for The Hawks Next Star to register his first bucket as a Hawk, but he soon dropped a trademark three ball as he fought threw some dogged defensive efforts from a determined Bullets side.

The preseason star was clearly a marked man in his first NBL game, and although it wouldn’t have been the debut performance the Golden State Warriors draftee was hoping for, you can’t keep a good man down for long. Look for Jessup to bounce back tonight in an exciting matchup with one of the better back courts in the NBL.

THE MASTERCOACH

Brian Goorjian on the Taipans prospects this season…

I was not surprised to see them in the top echelon of teams last season. Along with Melbourne United, they are the best team I have seen play so far this season. They have one of the best import tandems I think I’ve ever seen in the NBL (Scott Machado and Cam Oliver), they work so well off one another and are energetic, dynamic and flat out great.

On what it’ll take to defeat Cairns…

Unlike Brisbane, the Taipans like to play quick and on the fast break. They play really well in transition and shoot the three well. We’re gonna have to defend really well and try and slow them down if we’re gonna have a chance. I’ve already spoken about it a bit this week but we’ll need contributions from a lot of players if we want to be successful tonight.

On Emmett Naar’s breakout game against the Bullets…

I mean last season was almost tragic for Naar. You had LaMelo Ball doing his thing which was great for him, but it meant Naar was buried on the bench. We’ve been drilling it into him all preseason that this is his time, this is his opportunity and he’s going to play a lot. It was so great to see him dominate and we basically ran the pick and roll through him for the entire fourth quarter.

On the career night for Sam Froling against Brisbane…

Sam is a really interesting one. He’s just turned 21, he’s almost seven feet tall and those big guys take a little longer to develop. It’s important he feels comfortable on the floor because he’s gonna get a lot of opportunity this year. I’m always looking at things with my national coach eye as well, and as far as playing for Australia, this kid has got what it takes.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Slammin <a href="https://twitter.com/sfrol13?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@sfrol13</a> had a breakout night on Saturday - netting 19 points in his first career start. <br><br>Here is every bucket from the second year big man ahead of Game 2 against the Taipans tonight.<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/IllawarraProud?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#IllawarraProud</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/FlyAsOne?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#FlyAsOne</a> <a href="https://t.co/1TospGOYBE">pic.twitter.com/1TospGOYBE</a></p>— Hawks Basketball (@thehawks) <a href="https://twitter.com/thehawks/status/1350980457970675713?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 18, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>