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Cairns Taipans vs Illawarra Hawks NBL25 Tips - Hawks bench expected to once again go big in win over Cairns

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Last updated: 21 Jan 2025
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Ryan Tucker 21 Jan 2025
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  • Cairns Taipans vs Illawarra Hawks expert predictions for Thursday’s Round 18 NBL matchup
  • Tip-off is at 7:30 PM AEDT at Cairns Convention Centre
  • Illawarra Hawks aim to secure season series win over Cairns Taipans.
  • High-scoring game expected, with Hawks leveraging interior dominance.
  • Key player Lachie Olbrich predicted to exceed scoring against Taipans.
Ryan is tipping Olbrich for Overs in this matchup.

Cairns Taipans vs Illawarra Hawks NBL25 Tips


Illawarra will lock up the season series 3-1 with a win over Cairns on Thursday in what is predicted to be a high scoring game for the visiting team.
  • Cairns Taipans vs Illawarra Hawks NBL25 Tips
  • Head to Head 
  • 2024/25 Match Results
  • 2023/24 Season Series
  • Offensive & Defensive Rankings
  • Cairns Taipans Form & Team News
  • Illawarra Hawks Form & Team News
  • Cairns Taipans vs Illawarra Hawks Frequently Asked Questions

It is the 4th meeting between these teams this season with the Hawks taking the first two matchups before being upset by Cairns in the 3rd game at the beginning of this month, 108-105 snapping their 15 game losing streak.

The ambush was a tough spot in the schedule for Illawarra over the Christmas and New Year period and they will be ready to exploit the weaknesses in the Taipans lineup as they did in the first two games of the series. 

The Hawks dominated the interior in all three games this season with an average of 53.3 points in the paint. Cairns did well to limit second chance points but the depth of the Illawarra team was too much for the Taipans to handle. The Hawks bench averaged 35.3 pts per game this season, 2nd most in the NBL and averaged 39.3 against Cairns in the three games played so far.

My expectation is that Illawarra will lift the pace of the game aiming to score 100+ which will also pull Cairns with them lifting their score up over their average but I am not confident they reach their team total of 95.5. Lachie Olbrich has scored in double digits in all three games against the Taipans, take him to go Over his total in this one. 

  • Illawarra lead the league in scoring with 102.2 pts per game. 
  • The Hawks average 51.7 pts in the Paint (1st), and 35.3 bench points (2nd).
  • Cairns allow 3rd most points in the paint and 4th most bench points to their opponents.
  • Lachie Olbrich is averaging 9pts on the season but is averaging 12+ points against Cairns.

Head to Head 


2024/25 Match Results


Sep 21st 24: Cairns 75-102 Illawarra
Oct 19th 24: Cairns 75-87 Illawarra
Jan 3rd 24: Illawarra 105-108 Cairns 

2023/24 Season Series


Cairns Taipans won 2-1

Offensive & Defensive Rankings


CNS OffRankStatRankILL Def
85.98PPG692.4
40.17RPG439.8
42.7%10FG%244.5%
34.6%63P%434.9%
12.58TOV512

CNS DefRankStatRankILL Off
95.17PPG1102.2
4610RPG144.1
45.7%6FG%149.1%
35.3%63P%435.7%
109TOV19.8

Cairns Taipans Form & Team News


Cairns followed up their win over the Bullets with a 99-75 loss at home to the 36ers on Sunday. The Taipans shot just 35% from the field which was always going to hamper their scoreline despite putting up 81 shots in the game, 11 more than their season average. 

The 75 points from Cairns was their lowest score in their last 5 games after seemingly turning a corner offensively. Sam Waardenburg had just 4 points on 2-5 shooting while Taran Armstrong and Rob Edwards had 11 pts each. 

Defensively they were able to restrict second chance points to Adelaide giving up just 4 over the course of the game. The interior defence struggled with the 36ers scoring at a 63% clip from 2pt range.

The Taipans are the 7th ranked scoring defence allowing 95.1 pts per game to their opponents.

Illawarra Hawks Form & Team News


The Hawks gave their title hopes a massive shot in the arm with their two most recent victories over Melbourne United who were sitting in 2nd spot in the standings, and Brisbane who now are out of the race. The win propelled Illawarra further away from the rest of the league with 2 more wins and 1 less loss than the Wildcats who have taken over 2nd. 

The 121-87 win over the Bullets secured a season sweep for Illawarra and once again it was the usual suspects attacking the rim and scoring at will. The Hawks scored 80 of their points in the paint hitting 62% of their 2pt attempts. 6 players scored in double digits with a further two players reaching 9 points. All 13 players saw court time with coach Tatum giving his main players some rest ahead of a predicted deep finals run.

Illawarra have been dominating teams on the interior this season and average 51.7 points in the paint, 7.7 points more than SE Melbourne who sit 2nd in that statistic. They also have the 4th best 3pt% showing they can attack you from anywhere on the court. 

Star import Darius Days left the game early with hamstring tightness, it is still yet to be determined if he will miss significant time.

Cairns Taipans vs Illawarra Hawks Frequently Asked Questions

What time does Cairns Taipans vs Illawarra Hawks start?

Tip-off between Cairns Taipans vs Illawarra Hawks is at 7:30 PM AEDT, Thursday 23rd January

What channel is Cairns Taipans vs Illawarra Hawks on?

You can watch Cairns Taipans vs Illawarra Hawks on ESPN via Kayo and Foxtel.

Verdict

My expectation is that Illawarra will lift the pace of the game aiming to score 100+ which will also pull Cairns with them lifting their score up over their average but I am not confident they reach their team total of 95.5. Lachie Olbrich has scored in double digits in all three games against the Taipans, take him to go Over his total in this one.
Best Bet1: Illawarra -11.5 Line $1.90 at picklebet - 1 Unit
Best Bet2: Illawarra Over 106.5 Team Total $1.90 at dabble - 1 Unit
Best Bet3: L Olbrich 10+ Player Points $1.76 at PlayUP - 3 Units
Best Bet4: L Olbrich 15+ Player Points $4.10 at PlayUP - 1 Unit
Illawarra -11.5
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Betting Slip | 23 Jan 2025

Cairns Taipans v Illawarra Hawks