Preview: Round 6 Game 2 v Cairns Taipans

Melbourne United returned to John Cairn Arena after almost a year away on Saturday night and now they’re back at home once again, taking on the Cairns Taipans on Monday night.

After Melbourne’s Round 5 encounter against Cairns was postponed, these two teams will battle it out once again and history shows that when United take on the Taipans, it’s a game not to be missed.

Having suffered a nail-biting loss to Perth on Saturday night, Melbourne will be looking to bounce back in a big way in this match-up and get back on the winners list.

PLAYER TO WATCH

Sam McDaniel produced one of the best games of his career on Saturday night and showed that he can be relied upon to help manage the loss of Chris Goulding and Shea Ili. With both of those players out, there are more minutes to go around for Melbourne’s guards.

McDaniel took advantage of that on Saturday night.

McDaniel played just under 17 minutes and finished with 10 points on 75% shooting from the field and played some great defence too. Having guarded Bryce Cotton at times on Saturday night, McDaniel will have to deal with another dangerous point guard in this match-up, Scott Machado.

Look for McDaniel to continue to shoulder a bigger load – on both ends of the court – as Melbourne navigates a busy stretch of games with some key players missing.

KEY MATCH UP

There will be key battles all over the court, but you can’t go past the match-up between Jock Landale and Cam Oliver. When these two guys get going, they are unstoppable and incredibly fun to watch.

When United claimed a nail-biting two-point win over the Taipans back in Round 2, both big men were impressive. Oliver finished with a double-double of 17 points, 13 rebounds and 2 steals, while Landale led United home with 19 points, 7 rebounds and 2 blocks.

Landale was a monster on both ends of the court in the loss to Perth on Saturday night, finishing with 20 points, 10 rebounds, 4 assists and 1 steal.

Oliver and Landale are world-class players, so sit back and enjoy the battle as they go head-to-head once again.

THE OTHER GUYS

The Taipans tipped off the NBL Cup against the Illawarra Hawks on Saturday afternoon and produced a big second half to come away with a 101-96 win. Machado was electric with 31 points, 8 rebounds and 6 assists as the Taipans improved their record to 3-6.

It all starts with Machado and Oliver for the Taipans, with the star pairing capable of great things. Machado can dish out assists with the best of them, while Oliver can throw down a thunderous dunk at any moment.

Those two lead Cairns, but there are three other key players all averaging over 10 points per game. Kouat Noi (12.4 points per game), Majok Deng (11.6 points) and Mirko Djeric (11.5 points) all bring great energy to the Taipans and are ready to contribute from the opening tip.

GAME INFO

The NBL Cup
Date: Monday 22 February
Times: Illawarra Hawks v New Zealand Breakers - 5:30pm, Melbourne United v Adelaide 36ers - 7:30pn.
Where: John Cain Arena, Melbourne.
Tickets: $10 tickets available here
Watch: ESPN and SBS On Demand.