Luke Paul

Luke Paul, 17, missed a big chunk of the Cairns Taipans' preseason but has caught up quickly in his first two games, Will Lopez said: "I think he'll only get better and better every kind of minute he's on the floor."

"This is a real example of a sink or swim type situation, and right now he's swimming." Cairns coach Adam Forde on Luke Paul, 17, thrown into his first away game by an early injury. Paul is being paired with another ball handler to share running the offense.

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."

Cairns Taipans were without Shaun Bruce; Adam Forde gave no timeline. Jaylon Brown, Reyne Smith and Malique Lewis covered point guard. Luke Paul is "penciled in for the 8th" but building confidence in his ankle; Forde hopes for 5-8 minutes, depending on Bruce's timeline.