The second NBL23 Play-In game on Thursday night takes place in Cairns with the Taipans hosting the JackJumpers. A spot in the semi-finals is on the line, so expect this to be a belter!
Jake Smit previews the Taipans vs JackJumpers clash and brings you his best bet below. 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 Tasmania JackJumpers Preview & Betting Tips
Thursday Feb 9, 8:30pm AEDT, Cairns Convention Centre
Post-season basketball returns to Cairns on Thursday night with the Taipans hosting the JackJumpers at the Cairns Convention Centre in the second game of a Play-In double-header.
The winner of this game will take on the Breakers in a best-of-three semi-finals series, while the loser will take on the winner of the Phoenix vs Wildcats in a single elimination game. The winner of that will then take on the Kings in the other semi-finals series.
Both of these teams had a relatively stress-free Round 18 when compared to some of the other finals contenders. The Taipans were virtually locked into third spot unless the Breakers suffered a huge upset loss against the Bullets (which nearly happened), and the JackJumpers just needed to get over the line against the lowly Hawks to finish top four.
The Taipans will continue to be without back-to-back Most Improved Player winner in Keanu Pinder who continues to recover from an orbital fracture. The team has been surprisingly successful without Pinder on the court this season, which is one of the reasons why Adam Forde was recently awarded Coach of the Year.
The JackJumpers will also be without one of their floor generals in the form of Josh Magette who suffered a similar injury to Pinder last weekend. Magette underwent surgery this week and is unlikely to suit up again this season regardless of how deep the JackJumpers can go.
These clubs last met on January 20th in Cairns and it was the JackJumpers who spoiled the home crowds party with an 85-77 win. It was a decent sized upset that night considering the Taipans won both of their previous meetings during the season at The Nest in Tasmania.
The JackJumpers spread the load perfectly in their recent meeting with four players scoring at least a dozen points, led by Jack McVeigh with 18. The Snakes had good contributions from DJ Hogg and Bul Kuol who scored 17 each, but no one else was able to have much of an influence.
As we saw last season in their incredible run to the Grand Final, these types of pressure games suit the JackJumpers perfectly. They love it when the game slows down and there’s more of an emphasis on executing in the half court, and that’s the type of battle I’m anticipating will play out on Thursday night.
With all of that said, the price for the JackJumpers to win is great value in my opinion.
Tasmania JackJumpers
$2.60 (1.5 Units)
