Cairns Taipans NBL25 Preview: Forde Factory ready to ignite the Snakes

Cairns Taipans NBL25 Preview: Can Forde get the young core going?

The Cairns Taipans come into the NBL25 season with a lot of fresh names and players. Most importantly for many supporters though, keeping Taran Armstrong going into this upcoming season is the biggest win. They are a team that you think you can write off each season, but for whatever reason the Adam Forde Factory of development somehow finds a way to threaten the top teams. How do they go in NBL25 though, that is the real question.

The NBL24 season had it all for the Taipans, a trip to the states to take on some NBA teams in the preseason, some major falling outs with star players and coach and the inability to completely lock down their rotation at all in NBL24. They would finish the season in eighth place with a record of 12-16 sitting just outside of the finals picture.

They had some major improvers from a younger player stand point with Taran Armstrong developing well over the season. Armstrong was dubbed the leader and future of this franchise going forward and it was a lot to put on him so early especially in his first professional basketball season. After a slow start and some injuries, he really found his feet and showed what he can produce for the Taipans as their point guard and future captain.

Another younger player they would have been happy with was Bul Kuol. His increased defensive development and ability to score was pivotal in the Taipans being able to compete with some of the best teams and best players as well. The only part of his game that needed to change throughout the season was the inability to not have multiple fouls in the first half or sometimes even first quarter. He would often have 2 or 3 fouls before the conclusion of the first quarter and would have to sit for the rest of the first half or early in the second half.

Looking at an overall team performance though, a disappointing factor was the inability to have a consistent rotation flowing. This was highlighted in particular with what our Basketball Expert Josh Higgins has called “The Big Man Merry-Go-Round”. The lack of consistency in their rotation was a major reason as to why they didn’t have a lot of success at all.

Players like Sam Waardenburg, Sam Mennega, Josh Roberts and Akoldah Gak, all struggled to really establish themselves due to this problem. Each would have great games and patches but as soon as their performance dropped they would be ripped off the court and replaced by another player in the Merry-Go-Round and their confidence would take a huge hit which for young players it can take a while for it to get back.

Most of these issues can be resolved very quickly and with a high player turnover in the offseason of NBL25 it seems as like they have targeted a different model and style of gameplay. It will be interesting to see if they can improve their record and play more consistent basketball which could result in a finals birth for the small market, Cairns Taipans.

What is the identity of the Taipans in NBL25?

Now looking at the NBL25 season it will be interesting to see if they have adjusted and fixed some of the needs that they need to address before the start of the season. But before we do let’s look at who the Taipans have lost during the offseason.

The first player to touch on is the popular guard Tahjere McCall. McCall a NBL star for the Taipans has been a key player for the team over the past couple of seasons and was key to them having some success in the regular season in NBL25. He would close the season out with averages of 17 PPG, 5.3 APG and 4.8 RPG. He would start the season injuries for the Snakes and would also miss a couple of games as well due to the birth of his daughter but what he could produce on the court not many could try. McCall and Forde had a very strong relationship with McCall even coaching some NBL preseason games and from a far their relationship seemed unbreakable.

Fast forward to the end of the NBL24 season and McCall was benched, barely given minutes and there were multiple reports that McCall and Forde had, had a major falling out resulting in words been exchanged and the two parties would not look to extend McCalls deal going forward. This is such a big loss for the Snakes because with them being such a small franchise and market, holding onto someone as talented and capable as McCall to not only play great basketball but to help lead a team going forward is priority number one. It will be interesting to see how they do fill the void left behind by McCall in NBL25.

The next player to touch on is dominant point guard and best friend of McCall, Patrick Miller. Miller brought over originally to help develop Taran Armstrong and take some of the pressure off of the first year professional, quickly stamped his authority and earned the starting job. Miller would close the season out with averages of 19.1 PPG, 5.7 APG and 3.9 RPG. His ability to be able to hit tough mid range shots, body his way into the paint because of his size and be a very strong leader for this team last season, all point to how much he will be missed both on and off the court in NBL25.

As the Taipans lost quite a few names this offseason the last one we are going to mention and discuss is exciting shooting guard, Bul Kuol. Kuol an aggressive defender and knock down scorer is seen as the biggest loss by some due to the fact that he is a local player. It is very hard to replace top local talent in the NBL and it is realistically how you can keep your lineup consistent from season to season. Kuol put up averages of 12.7 PPG, 1.7 APG and 3.1 RPG. He will be sorely missed by all at Cairns and it will be interesting to see how they replace him and his play on both sides of the court.

The rebuild is well and truly on its way for Cairns

Now looking to what they have gained ahead of the NBL25 season, it is really interesting to see the direction they are taking. Bringing in 3 new imports and multiple other local players it will be interesting to see how they gel and improve on the court from the start to the end of the season. Now who is new to the Snake Pit?

First and foremost is Rob Edwards or as he is known by many “The Microwave”. Some nickname right but this is a guy who can explode very quickly and stay hot for long periods of time, hence the nickname. Edwards most recently played for the Delaware Blue Coats which is the Philadelphia 76ers afflicted G League team. He has NBA experience and has been a great contributor for all of those teams, he will come into Cairns ready for some success and will have the leadership and experience to be able to make an impact for the Taipans. He averaged 8.6 PPG, 2.6 RPG and 1.3 APG in his most recent season, it will be very interesting to see how he can help this team turn it around in NBL25.

The next import in which the Snakes have signed was excited big man Tanner Groves. Groves was the first import signing for the Taipans and excited Adam Forde from the start with Forde calling Groves the “Pitbull” and is excited for the inside post play of the athletic big man. Groves has just completed his first professional season after a stellar four years in college for Eastern Washington and the Oklahoma Sooners, he would wrap his career up with impressive stats of 11.6 PPG, 5.8 RPG and 1.6 APG. Groves will come into this fresh season with high expectations and being a fresh import to the professional basketball world, it will be interesting to see how he performs in one of the toughest leagues.

The last player to touch on is their final import Pedro Bradshaw. The former Indiana Pacer and Mad Ant will join the Taipans with some experience and scoring ability. He has played over 100 games in both competitions and will come over to the NBL with his last seasons averages of 8.4 PPG and has shot over 40% from behind the arc in his past couple of seasons. He is a great locker room guy from all reports and will be ready and willing to do whatever, whenever for this team. It really does seem like a great signing and one that Snakes fans should be very happy to have join them.

As a whole it seems like the Taipans have done a great job this offseason trying to replace the voids in which they have lost this past off season. It will be very interesting to see how they go in NBL25, can they be a top team or will they struggle in NBL25? All these questions will be answered and for the Taipans supports there is a major level of optimism and excitement.

Players who’s snakes tails have been cut and have left:

Bul Kuol, Lat Mayen, Sam Mennenga, Patrick Miller, Tahjere McCall, Josh Roberts, Bobi Klintman & Lachlan Anderson.

Who have they gained to the snake pit:

Tanner Groves, Rob Edwards, Pedro Bradshaw, Kyrin Galloway, Kyle Adnam, Dillon Stith & Kody Stattmann.

The Basketball Fix NBL 25 Offseason Grades:

Josh Higgins: B-

Jeremy Darke: B+

Ryan Tucker: C+

The NBL25 season brings a fresh perspective for Snakes fans and will be one that will be interesting for the Taipans, will they rise or will they fall even further? All will be answered and a lot more this season, is the Forde Factory open for business or losing momentum?