A pair of upsets on Thursday night has set up a mouth-watering clash between the Taipans and the Wildcats on Sunday. It’s do-or-die for both clubs vying for the fourth and final spot in the NBL23 semi-finals.
Jake Smit previews the Taipans vs Wildcats crucial play-in battle below and brings you his best bet. And make sure to check out our NBL Tips page regularly to find our best bets for every finals game in NBL23!
Cairns Taipans vs Perth Wildcats Preview & Betting Tips
Sunday Feb 12, 2pm AEDT, Cairns Convention Centre
The Cairns Convention Centre will host another play-in game on Sunday, but this time it’s do-or-die for their beloved Taipans. They will take on the Wildcats in the first of two games on February 12.
The Taipans had their chance to win their way through to a semi-final matchup with the Breakers when they played the JackJumpers on Thursday night. It wasn’t to be, so now they must beat the Wildcats to earn a shot at the defending champion Kings in the semi-finals.
For the Wildcats, they won their win or go home game against the Phoenix on Thursday night and are now only one win away from making it back to the semi-finals despite finishing the regular season in sixth place.
This will be the fourth meeting between these teams this season and interestingly, the away team has won every game to date. The Wildcats won their first two meetings by 29 and 22 points in Cairns, and the Taipans got some revenge in their most recent battle with a 13-point win in Perth only nine days ago.
Their loss on February 3 at RAC Arena almost cost the Wildcats their season. Bryce Cotton and TaShawn Thomas were superb when combining for 51 points, but the rest of the roster could only chip in for an additional 20, which made the task of winning virtually impossible.
The Taipans had a nice even team contribution in that game. They had seven guys score 8+ points and the highest scorer was Bul Kuol with just 15. It’s also important to note that both Tahjere McCall and Keanu Pinder, arguably the Taipans best two players, were both on the sidelines that night - making the win all the more impressive. Unfortunately, both guys have also been ruled out for Sunday's game.
Kuol will play an important role on both sides of the ball in their upcoming battle, and will be primary player tasked with slowing down Bryce Cotton. Limiting Cotton’s impact will undoubtedly be the Snakes main focus, especially after seeing him torch the Phoenix on Thursday with 20 fourth-quarter points in a typical heroic Cotton performance.
Although they lost the regular season series 2-1, the Snakes match up well against the Wildcats on the defensive end, and I believe their recent 84-71 win is a more accurate representation of what we’ll see on Sunday.
The Snakes also have the advantage of not having to travel at all over the past week, and having fresher bodies can certainly play a part down the stretch in this one.
With that said, I love the value of the home side winning and earning their spot in the semi-finals.
Cairns Taipans
$1.95 (1.5 Units)
