How to watch & talking points: Perth v Cairns

Perth Wildcats v Cairns Taipans
Sunday, November 8, 5pm AEDT
RAC Arena

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How to watch

Watch every NBL27 game live on ESPN.

>> 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

Perth

Depth chart:
PG: Rillie (DP) / Sam (DP) / Knight (IP) (out) / Whitt (NRP) (out)
SG: Pepper / Dell'Orso / Kopa (DP)
SF: Windler (IP) / Huefner / Nielsen (DP) (out)
PF: Doolittle (IP) / Higgins-Titsha / Wagstaff
C: Brandt / Lual-Acuil Jr. (out)

Cairns

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

Missing in action

Perth

Brandon Knight - Soreness - Round 9
Jo Lual-Acuil Jr. - Calf - Round 11
Blake Nielsen - ACL - Season
Jimmy Whitt - Personal reasons - TBC

Cairns

Walter Brown - Ankle - Round 9
Sunday Dech - Hamstring - Test
Jaylin Galloway - Back - Round 14

>> View full injury list

Talking points

Someone needs to win

Both teams come into this fascinating clash in desperate need of a win.

The Wildcats are in the middle of their worst stretch of NBL27, having lost their past three games, while Cairns have dropped their last two, to Melbourne and Illawarra.

Both sides currently sit at .500, but the winner will claim a spot in the top four at the end of the round.

Home stand coming to an end

The Wildcats play 11 of their first 13 games at RAC Arena this season.

Their three-game losing streak is alarming, but so is the fact that they’re only 5-5 with such a home-heavy schedule.

Sure, injuries have played a part, but John Rillie’s side needs to bank wins early. Otherwise, they’re making the back half of the season extremely hard on themselves.