NBL27 Preview - Round 3 Game 2 vs Cairns Taipans

After a crazy game last night in Hobart, Melbourne United have shifted their focus to the second leg of their first double header of the season. Our boys in blue will face the Cairns Taipans inside John Cain Arena on Saturday night, with hopes of finishing the week with a statement win. 

Despite playing three quarters of basketball that were far from their best yesterday, Head Coach Jacob Chance “loved” how his team fought back in the fourth quarter, and is confident the toughness they showed will carry into Saturday’s contest. 

WHAT’S THE WORD?

The quick turnaround for a double-header can be challenging, both schematically and physically, especially for such a new look roster, but Chance is confident that if his team and coaching staff commit to their core principles, Saturday’s contest will be just like any other Hungry Jack’s NBL27 game, one United is hungry to win. 

“We're in [the] infancy stages of working on our home base and a lot of core principles,” Chance said. 

"We've had nine, 10 weeks together, we’re still figuring each other out, but the non-negotiables and the standards of how we want to play, I was really happy with [those] tonight. If we bring that [same] intent on a back-to-back here against [the Taipans who’re] looking for a win, we'll be in a good spot.

“This league doesn't stop, [it] just keeps coming so we’ve got to respond pretty quick.”

The Taipans, coming off a loss to the New Zealand Breakers down south, are looking to right the ship of their season with a win a little closer to home. 

Ahead of their fifth game in three rounds, Head Coach Adam Forde is optimistic that the three losses they’ve taken so far this season are merely the “darkness before the dawn”, and that some attitude changes may be the solution to their early season woes. 

“This is a group that gets along,” Forde said. 

“But I think we need to be at each other a little bit more. There needs to be a level of  robustness. It's one thing to praise when things are going well, it's another thing to really truly hold each other accountable.

“It's important that we don't throw everything out because then it just shows that we don't back what the playing group is or how our style of play is or or what we want to get done. [We’ve] really got to commit to some of these actions and rotations and how we want to defend [to win].”

WHO’S HOT? WHO’S NOT?

Against the JackJumpers, Joe Ingles demonstrated why he is considered one of the most prolific scoring playmakers that Australia has ever produced. 

The wily veteran was effective at every level; using his physicality to get to the free throw line, cashing in a pair of triples and making the right pass no matter what defensive coverage Tasmania threw at him.

If United hopes to bring their record back to .500 early in the season, Ingles will have to be a part of it.

Defensively, the home team will have to be on their toes on the perimeter. The Cairns Taipans, for better or for worse, shoot the most three pointers in the NBL per game, and have made it their clear offensive identity thus far. 

The team that shoots the second most, are our Throwdown 33 opponents the South East Melbourne Phoenix, a team United held to just 9.8% from beyond the arc in that game. 

If United are looking to grab their second win of the year, they will have to replicate the outside defensive brilliance that they exhibited in the Throwdown a week prior. 

DETAILS 

Who: Melbourne United vs Cairns Taipans

Tip-off: 7:30pm AEST, Saturday October 3, 2026

Where: John Cain Arena, Melbourne

Watch: ESPN via Disney+ and Kayo, 9Now

Tickets: via AXS - click here.