How to watch & talking points: Cairns v Melbourne

Cairns Taipans v Melbourne United
Saturday, October 31, 7.30pm AEDT
Cairns Convention Centre

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How to watch

Watch every NBL27 game live on ESPN, and Saturday hoops on 9Go! and 9Now.

>> How to watch ESPN

Tickets

>> Ticketing information

How to follow & live scores

Live scores, stats, breaking news and game highlights are available via the free NBL App.

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Rosters

Cairns

Depth chart:
PG: J.Brown (IP) / Paul (NS) / Bruce / Nunn (DP)
SG: J.Galloway / Smith / L.McVeigh (DP)
SF: Lewis (IP) / W.Brown / Dech (out)
PF: J.McVeigh / K.Galloway / Williamson (NRP)
C: Pinder / Bolden / Yates (DP)

Melbourne

Depth chart:
PG: Anthony (IP) / Ili / D'Angelo (DP) / Macdonald (NRP) (out)
SG: Goulding / Wilson / Hynes (DP) / Shelley (NRP)
SF: Travers / Ingles / Machar / Fa'ale (DP)
PF: Waardenburg / Bowen / Bradtke (DP)
C: Oduro (IP) / Krslovic

Missing in action

Cairns

Sunday Dech - Hamstring - Round 8

Melbourne

Sean Macdonald - ACL - Season

>> View full injury list

Talking points

Bogey team

Some teams just match up better against certain opponents than others, and that is exactly the problem the Cairns Taipans cause Melbourne United.

Whether it is a game style or a mental edge, the Taipans seem to rise to the occasion every time they play United.

Their first battle this season looked like United would buck that trend; however, Cairns came over the top in the fourth quarter and ran out double-digit winners.

Cole’s world

Cole Anthony has been one of the stories of the NBL27 season so far, and for good reason, with such a high-profile talent hitting the hardwood for his first season in Australia.

While he showed flashes of his brilliance through the first few games, he put it all together in United’s last win over Sydney and was simply a level above.

Whether it was scoring, rebounding or finding teammates, Anthony’s performance against the Kings showed just why he was a first-round NBA pick.