A massive game. NZ are back this year and the Jackson v Wilbekin will be closely watched by all. Two potential MVP's against each other and you could argue whoever wins that matchup has one hand on the MVP trophy.

If I was a Breakers fan I wouldn't miss this one. This deserves to be sold out

This should be a cracker alright.Cairns always matches up well with Perth even when not in finals contention,so a win in NZ would definitely lock them in as a top 4 side.

This will be a big big test for Cairns. Breakers will be be out for redemption after their poor showing against Melbourne last round.

Lots riding on this one, even early in the season. Go 5 and 0 here and people are going to start to have a hard time catching Cairns.

"Expect a big game from Corey Webster"

What are you expecting Mystro - 30+ points?

Webster already having a breakout season. Expecting a bigger game from Jackson and Abercrombie

Webster is playing his :insert number: game for the Breakers (it's some milestone the Media were singing about on tv) and it's at the NSEC where he played most of his ball as a youngster and he's full of confidence since becoming the starting SG.
30 points wouldn't surprise me at all, it just depends on how well Cairns contain him.

TBH Cairns are looking pretty good, they have a pretty good shot at win with their firepower especially if NZ play anything like they did in the United game on Sunday.

We haven't won in NZ for a long time. This will be the toughest game yet, of course i expect the Taipans to win but it won't be easy!

Can't wait!

15-29 3Qtr, yikes, NZ had another crappy start to a quarter, but this time Cairns never had a scoring drought and made them pay cash for it.

Not sure if Redhage or Gliddon ;)

Cairns are legit!

Making the right moves down the stretch and throughly deserve the win, I hope they can go all the way and take the title.

Breakers are a good team that need to find their groove but not as hungry as the Taipans.

Wow , Cairns are the real deal this year. Kinda glad Perth don't play them till round 8.

Cairns wreaking mayhem on the league at the moment. Could be their year this time?

Webster and Jackson too impatient for the Breakers, they need to get more inside-out action offensively and they also need to run more for Abercrombie who's only had 21 shots in 3 games.

Wilbekin was super tonight, teams who don't give him different looks to confuse him are going to pay the price.

Breakers' hard rotations surprised Perth but they are going have to play D with a bit more intelligence from here on in because they're getting cut open at times.

Webster and Jackson too impatient for the Breakers, they need to get more inside-out action offensively and they also need to run more for Abercrombie who's only had 21 shots in 3 games.

Wilbekin was super tonight, teams who don't give him different looks to confuse him are going to pay the price.

Breakers' hard rotations surprised Perth but they are going have to play D with a bit more intelligence from here on in because they're getting cut open.

Year of the Snake

All those Stephen Weigh jokes seem to have dried up recently...

To be honest its Cairns' defence.

That zone defence is giving teams nightmares..the Breakers should have uppedthe ante but were too pedestrian.

That touch foul for flopping was reasonable IMO. He started going back before contact was made. He flopped again on another Webster drive later in the game.

Wilbekin and Loughton pick and roll = buckets. Then with Wilbekin creating and the likes of Loughton, Trigger, Gliddon all across the court you get a good shooter like Weigh free.

Time for me to concede Cairns are legit.

Vukona is a victim of his reputation in previous years. He hasn't adapted to the new focus - his fault not the refs.

The Wolverine Wilbekin stepped up when he was asked to, else he finds the open shooter on the 1st or 2nd pass. Impressive win by the Snakes and they can still get a lot better on the FG% - 0 TO from The Wolverine is just ridiculous.

"Breakers = pretenders, first up big win in Perth was a one off"

Possibly, or they just ran into a red hot well coached team who forced them out of their stuff and controlled the tempo by hitting their shots?

Aaron Fearne is an astute Coach who's put together a very good team who have built a handy lead on the league.
I also wonder if they can keep it up but they have scored some handy scalps already and will be brimming with confidence.

I was holidaying in Cairns just after the end of last season and the Taipans were all in the local rag. Aaron Fearne said some really interesting things in the paper and basically they're all coming true!

Taipans haven't come close to peaking - mentally they have a new focus and a new sports psych making sure they dont over think things (helping Weigh get back to his potential). Torrey is still learning what its like to be a pro - when he fires heaven help the rim. Gliddon has been off on his fg% - but if you watch him, his D and off ball work in O is opening up shots for the others.

There is a risk that the mini break before the Kings next saturday could stall the momentum - but Fearne has admitted he over trained them the last 2 seasons and has changed player management around - the players have responded accordingly. The boys will get a day off or so and then it will be back into it - mental strength is the key from now on as they are the hunted and not the hunter.

Im loving the new Taipans offence, the spreading of the floor at any given time is very San Antonio-ish
and makes it hard to defend Wilbeken off the dribble....beautiful to watch

Fearne has his team playing very mechanical at the moment.

I'd actually say the opposite, skull. They have a few rules in place, but by and large they're playing more freely than ever under Fearne. Intensity level is higher than I've ever seen too; that perimeter coverage is amazing considering they run a zone.

You're right in that they do look a little like San Antonio, but Spurs actually play an instinctive brand of basketball within Pop's parameters.

The freedom in their game is exciting to watch.

They now run plays to score, rather than just running plays because that's what they have to do.

The one fundamental difference is that when the play breaks down, they now have a player who can either score or create a good look for his teammates (Wilbekin).

Wilson and McCamey were hit or miss.

Fearne has obviously learnt from the past few years as they appear to be running more and they seem to have a nice balance between structure and freedom. Apart from that the main difference is Wilbekin.

what i meant by mechanical was they are now "playing with purpose" in their offensive.

It's a very different approach on offence this season. Push the ball, if nothing run simple high ball-screens, spread the floor and see how the defence reacts. It's similar to how they used to finish sets in 2011 and 2012.


Had they done this the past two seasons instead of running a motion offence that didn't suit their personnel at all they mightn't have suffered the ills they did.

The other big difference is their transition defence. Using Burston/Loughton and Tragardh/Young gives them good balance, and having PGs who can defend that situation well certainly makes a difference.