How the Cairns Taipans built a contender no one saw coming
The Taipans were disregarded by most ahead of the season, but a young roster tailored to Adam Forde's style of play now sits near the top of the NBL ladder.
Ahead of the start of NBL23, it seemed that almost every team had a case to make as a championship contender. Sydney lost some star power but signed just as much back; Perth retooled their roster under a new coach in a bid to return to the finals, Adelaide opened their cheque book to add two of the league’s top imports to a strong local core, and Brisbane made the biggest splash when they landed Boomers legend Aron Baynes. Throw in a pair of last season’s finalists in Tasmania and Melbourne, and there was a case to be made for title favoritism in every corner of the league.
One team that didn’t receive much love? The Cairns Taipans, who overhauled more than half of their squad from last season.
In the annual guessing game that are preseason predictions, most had Cairns placed around the same mark in the coming season — Edge of the Crowd ranked them eighth, outside of the finals placings, while both The Roar and ESPN had them dead last. Those weren’t exactly controversial opinions, and while it was never put in writing, yours truly would have also had the Taipans finishing in the bottom two ahead of the season.
After back-to-back ninth-place finishes and a combined 17-47 record over those two seasons, Cairns were easy to overlook. Even head coach Adam Forde was aware of the perception around his team, and of the trust that they needed to rebuild with their fans. “We’ve delivered absolute turds the last couple of years,” he said after his side’s comprehensive 29-point loss to Perth in round two this year.
That loss was different, though, to all of those other “turds” — it was the first loss of the season for the Taipans, and it is one of only two defeats to date. With wins over three of last season’s finalists, including the previously undefeated Sydney Kings, Cairns have climbed to sit in a tie for second after four rounds. That they have done so largely without star import Tahjere McCall, who has missed multiple games through injury, is doubly impressive.
Even after that crushing loss to the Wildcats, and immediately after comparing his club to fecal matter, Forde knew the potential of his current squad. “This is something different, this is something special — trust us, be patient with us, believe in us,” he said.
The deeper you dive into Cairns’ hot start to the season, the more you’re inclined to agree with their coach.
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