Brisbane Bullets Vs Cairns Taipans Blitz 22 Game review

 Brisbane Bullets Vs Cairns Taipans Blitz 22 Game review

Brisbane have been showing in impressive style of basketball so far in the preseason, and it will interesting to see if they can maintain that style and improve as a team. They look to be a well balanced team but possibly not as deep as some of the other top teams in the league. 

This is my first look at Cairns this preseason. I hope they have put a strong team together, as it would be great to see Cairns near the top of the ladder again. Keanu Pinder was out for the game so it was unfortunate not to get to watch him battle against Aron Baynes, as he had a great run with the Australian national squad and I believe he will make a big jump this season.

1st Qtr

The cairns taipans get scoring started with a tip in from Tahjere McCall.

Brisbane quickly returned the favour with a huge screen by Aron Baynes opening Tyler Johnson for a wide open mid range jump shot. 

Devondrick walker got lost on defence and DJ Hogg drops his second 3 ball early, which earned an early time out for Brisbane, who were quickly down 10-4 with 7:37 left in the first. 

The time out didn't help though, as DJ Hogg came out and dropped another triple which was followed by back to back steals by Cairns, and another 3 ball from Hogg who was on fire! 4 from 4 from long range. That man can shoot! And Brisbane were down big 20-4. 

Devondrick walker settled the ship for Brisbane as he dropped a nice floater and its 22-8 mid way through the quarter. 

The Bullets grab a steal and Nathan Sobey earned himself multiple trips to the free throw line attacking the basket and pushing Brisbanes offence along slowly. Harry Froling imposed his presence on the inside but struggled to finish his shots.  

Cairns held a solid lead going into the first break 29-21. 

2nd Qtr

Brisbane make a better start to the quarter with a DJ Mitchell dunk off a nice dish from Tyler Johnson. 

Devondrick walker then bombs a 3 and Cairns lead quickly drops to only 3. 

Walker follows his three with a drive off a Baynes pick and he is in the flow. 

Baynes has big block on the other end and the bullets push the ball up the court leading to a Tyler Johnson floater on the inside and Brisbane have the lead 29-30 with 7:45 left in the quarter. 

But a DJ Hogg triple gets the lead back for Cairns and now its a ball game! 

Dj Michell shows his shooting touch for Brisbane and drops back to back 3's, but both teams are dropping bombs and it looks like the rings have loosed up a bit. 35-36 6:00min left in the quarter. 

Harry Froling won't be denied inside the paint as he missed multiple shots under the basket and racking up the rebounds before finally putting it through the nylon. 

Cairns were living and dieing by the 3 ball as they managed to stay with Brisbane. 

Nathan Sobey had a full court transition layup but you can see he doesn't have his lift back yet with layups that would normally be dunks from him. Cairns block him twice to close the half. 

Brisbane holding the lead 43-46. 

DJ Hogg was on fire in the half with 15 points off 5 triples!

3rd Qtr:

Brisbane got scoring started in the 3rd with a Tanner Krebbs straight away 3 point BankShot!

There was some sloppy play as the players looked to struggle with heat and humidity before Aron Baynes copped an elbow to the Jaw. 

Devondrick Walker continues his good form with another triple and Brisbane extended the lead 43-52 with 7:17 left in the quarter and a slow start for Cairns. 

Cairns finally got a bucket off an inbounds lay up that was run to perfection at the 7 minute mark. 

Aron Baynes missed multiple three point attempts and looks to be rushing his shot. He might need to slow that 3 ball down a bit to get his consistency back. Then he sat for a rest.

Cairns implement a matchup Zone defence and its stifles Brisbanes offence getting back to back turnovers. Teams will have to practice beating a zone if Cairns implement this defence a lot through the season.

Bul Kuol put together a good game and dropped a step back 3, bringing the Taipans right back 51-52 with 4:00 left in the quarter. 

Harry Froling drops a dime to Kody Statman to finally break the zone and get back on the board. 

Shannon Scott drops a tough layup at the buzzer for Cairns to close the quarter. Brisbane holding the lead 54-58. 

4th Qtr:

Cairns opens scoring for the fourth quarter and Aron Baynes follows it quickly with a nice Hook Shot on a post play. 

Devondrick Walker drops an absolute bomb 3 from the logo off a Baynes offensive board. 

Both teams trade buckets and its a lackadaisical quarter with both teams looking keen to finish this game off. 

Bul Kuol continued to play hard looking for the win getting some good buckets and finished a tough drive to put cairns in front 76-75 with 20 seconds left. 

Cairns managed to get a turn over off Brisbane, but they quickly cough it up under the basket with Kody Statman getting the steal and dropping it to Tyler Johnson for the lay in and the Brisbane win 76-77!

Brisbane Win 76-77

Cairns looked like they went looking for shooters in the off season and picked up some players who can get buckets. They lived and died on that three point shot but when they drop the Taipans look deadly. 

Brisbane had a rougher game this time round with Aron Baynes not playing to the level I'm sure he expects of himself, but having him out there taking up so much space inside, both on offence and defence and pulling down boards, opens so much for Brisbane with their ball movement offence. I would like to see a few more post touches for the big Banger but im sure they dont want to show to much before the season starts. 

Leaders:

Cairns:

Bul Koul 21 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assist and 2 blocks (stat sheet stuffer!)

DJ Hogg 15 points, 5 rebounds and 3 assists

Bullets:

Devondrick walker: 16 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists

Aron Baynes: 9 Rebounds

Tyler Johnson: 10 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists