Crocs came ready to play, Cairns didn't. The Taipans were lucky to be so close at half-time but Townsville blew them away after that.

Norton and Jett dominated the backcourt, Samhan worked his way into a nice game even though his jumper wasn't going, and Steindl and Kay both had quality games.

Only Worthington, Gliddon and Weigh put up anything of a fight for Cairns, was definitely a sad end to a sad season for them.

I was watching this game, took a look here, saw there was no game starting thread, asked myself "is this game worthy of one?" and decided it wasn't.
Pretty uninspiring contest IMO, sadly.

Both teams obviously had their ups and downs, along with the Kings, the Crocs and perhaps to a lesser extent the Tiapans have been disappointing to their fans ending up out of the finals race.

Someone has to miss out, then we have this situation of games at or near the end that don't really matter in the scheme of things, but they do matter in other respects.

Every team that misses out on finals, even in a few days when we find out is the '6ers or Breakers are out, these teams have an early opportunity to do a little sole searching and start preparations for improvement (for next Season).

Players and coaches will want to show what they have and everyone is under the microscope, so while most fans see these games are irrelevant, they are an opportunity for some.

Yes, players are getting older, some are possibly close to retiring or being replaced, so now we turn to potential changes, roster spots and new imports being proposed...

It would be great to keep the NBL interest alive, sort of like the AFL or NRL, where off season is still holding our conversation on next season, I just hope both these teams survive and stay strong!

At the start of the season I was getting myself used to the idea that it was the Crocs last season in the NBL.
Now ... I've at least got some hope that they might see another season.

I'd be very interested to hear from Townsville people what the vibe is like with regards to the team and the NBL in general, and how/if it has changed over the last 6-12 months.

"Was this such a nothing game that no one even started the thread?"

This was a disappointing end to the season for the Taipans, who were basically in the hunt right up until the game before this one.

The Crocs for me were great to watch when they were making their big come-backs and winning games they were complete underdogs in. Some of the best memories of 2016, even considering the 'Madball' stuff with Conklin.

I liked them this season more than previously, but they obviously have some issues to resolve, consistency is one of them and appealing to their market is another.

The NBL needs to consolidate, then move to about a 10 team competition IMHO, if we can achieve this without too much blood being shed we can look towards some awesome years of hoops ahead of us...

Apparently the Crocs have put their numbers together for next season and presented them to the NBL. I haven't heard anything about the league's response, although the floating of the three-import idea might suggest they're preparing for a nine-team comp next season?

I don't necessarily think there is a correlation between those thoughts, at least I hope not!

I was playing last night so couldn't watch the game.....or post here :P