Luke Paul made his Cairns Taipans debut after an ankle injury on day three of preseason, with his minutes still limited. Adam Forde: "we had the minutes planned to sort of keep him to 5 to 8, and just because he was doing so well, I think that extended out to 11."
Jonah Bolden started the second half for Cairns Taipans over Reyne Smith, moving Keanu Pinder to power forward and Bolden to centre. Coach Adam Forde said it answered Brisbane's 22 rebounds off their own misses, not Smith: "it wasn't anything negative that Reyne did."
"I'm rocking with Max Mackinnon every day of the week to let it rip." Brisbane Bullets coach Will Weaver backed the rookie to keep shooting after a reported 3-of-16 game against Cairns. What Mackinnon has to learn, Weaver said, is drawing fouls on his shots.
No return date for Sam McDaniel, who missed Brisbane's game against Cairns. Will Weaver said a broken pinky cost him conditioning and makes ramping up harder, but "the plan that we've got in place is going to return him to career best fitness during this season."