Damn right we can :)





(I hope)

Yep i think they're in.

Having adelaide for the last two games helps too with the 6ers having less to play for.

I not only think Cairns will make it, I'm tipping them to finish 2nd, because they've already won the split against the Hawks.

Yes, it will be bitterly disappointing if the Cats miss out on a spot because Adelaide don't give a rats about those last two games. BUT you make your own luck.
Perth have been inconsistent this season, and lost games we should have won.
We have 4 games left, and they are all potentially winnable. Do that, we finish on 16, and are in like stink. 3 Wins I reckon still gets us in, 2 I don't think will.

There are a bunch of teams, who in any other season would probably have made it. Whoever misses out could be considered unlucky. Cairns will get a soft ride home, which sucks, but is par for the course with the weird scheduling.

Cairns finishes with FIVE straight doubles, which is a bit rude, so if they do end up getting it a bit easier against Adelaide, that's probably fair enough.

I can't see the Sixers doing Cairns any favours in the last two games with the possibility of then playing them in the semi finals.

We saw how well that worked for Melbourne last year!

People hate the cats that much you actually want your team to throw games to try and stop them making the finals, thats really sad, do you not value the integrity of the game?

I doubt Adelaide wants to go into the finals losing 3 of their last 4, even if you're "not trying" that can't possibly do good things for you.

Cairns drawing the 36ers for two games will be tough, a split at best, Hawks and cats games are winnable, to guarantee a spot they need 3/4, chances are even if they beat the wildcats, they won't get the split.

Cats are in a good position in most splits but who knows which cats team will arrive and for how long, but if they all finish on 14 they will likely make it.

Kings could finish holding the season series over all 3.

It's doubtful sixers will flirt with form going into finals. This isn't the spurs we are talking about. A short 3 game series is always hard to recover if you drop the first home game so I think they will be ironing out the kinks.

The top 4 is no where near settled, both Cairns and Perth have the series over the Hawks and kings are in a good spot to finish the season. There could be a huge shuffle in just the final round. I think MU need to go undefeated from here on out. As do breakers but they only have two games left so more do-able, and have a very important series win against Perth. Perth can make it in 2 wins, but they really need to be cairns and kings.
What an end to the season, it's like we have been in finals for a month.

(Ps. Disappointed that Perth hate has even crept into a thread about cairns, here to talk basketball, not to read you having a whinge in every post )

Can we just stop the season now?
Illawarra, Sydney and Cairns is probably the best case scenario.

If the season ends today Cairns miss, so they have a bit of work to do still. They are in form, but that generally hasn't meant much this season!

Cairns deserve a break. They have not had the rub of the green by any stretch of the imagination. Glidden breaking out. Loughton stepping up. Not so much pressure on Trice. Mitchell gives them another scoring option. Worthington consistently delivers. Big Nate only has to chip in.
Look deep to me.

Based on last night's game, Mitchell looks like he might be the type of player Cairns have been sorely missing all season long... and right in the nick of time.

Hey Paul. I'm just letting you know Cairns have got four games left and have played two less games than Sydney and have a game in hand against other top four teams.

Why would tank to keep Perth out? You'd rather play the Cats than anyone else in the top 5 right now.

"Cairns will get a soft ride home, which sucks, but is par for the course with the weird scheduling."

Yeah, soft ride having to play the top team twice and also the second place team.

Best of 5 gf, 2-0 ain't gonna be enough.

Tanking would be a dick move anyway, it won't even register as a thought, Adelaide will play to win like any other game, they just won't register as important enough to go over board with minutes for players like Randle

You have to admire what Cairns continually achieves despite not being in a major city and with limited funding. I really hope they make the top 4(hopefully not at the expense of Perth).

I don't think the 36ers would tank, but if any of the guys have niggles they'd probably want to make sure they're right for the finals.

A few seasons back the Crocs tanked so they'd play us in the finals, nek minute they got to stay home and watch us play NZ in the finals.

Not surprising

I flagged this as a possibility here last week: http://www.hoops.com.au/forum/40717-cairns-still-in-play-off-hunt/#p620638

Even then they were $5.00 to make the 4.

Cairns has been underrated all season. If it wasn't for two overtime losses in Perth- a fadeaway 3 from Johnson getting the first into OT, a dodgy foul call against Gliddon achieving the same result the second time- they would already be almost assured a spot and would still have a chance of getting 1st off 36ers.

Adelaide have locked in top spot but looked to be taking it pretty seriously against Illawarra last game. I imagine they'll reduce minutes in those later games, but Cairns still have Illawarra and Perth who will be keen for wins before then.

"Cairns will get a soft ride home, which sucks, but is par for the course with the weird scheduling."

Yeah, soft ride having to play the top team twice and also the second place team.

The ideal scenarion for Cairns is as follows (he said, thus ensuring it didn't happen. D'oh!) Teams in ALL CAPS winning is the ideal.

Illawarra CAIRNS
Perth BRISBANE
ADELAIDE New Zealand
Sydney MELBOURNE
CAIRNS Perth
Melbourne ILLAWARRA
CAIRNS Adelaide
NEW ZEALAND Melbourne
PERTH Sydney
Illawarra BRISBANE
Adelaide CAIRNS
MELBOURNE Perth

The ladder would finish:
Adelaide
Cairns
Illawarra
Melbourne*
_____
Perth*
Sydney*
New Zealand*
Brisbane

* All of Melbourne, Perth, Sydney and New Zealand would end on 13/15, which is a bit of a nightmare to work out... I know Melbourne and Perth have their series over Sydney in this scenario. I couldn't be arsed to work out how it would finish for places 4 to 7, and frankly don't really care to spend the time on it.

The important part is that Cairns would finish second and face Illawarra in the semis, against whom they have an excellent record this year. In this scenario, they've also beaten Adelaide in their last two encounters, so will have the wood over the minor premiers come finals time, and...

CAIRNS WILL BE 2016/17 NBL CHAMPIONS!!!

**Sigh**

I can dream, can't I?

I'm all in with you Freethrows. 100% ;)

"Hey Paul. I'm just letting you know Cairns have got four games left and have played two less games than Sydney and have a game in hand against other top four teams."

They might have two more games to play than Sydney, but the Kings are one game ahead and have the season series, meaning the Taipans have to win two more games than them to jump ahead.

Cairns are effectively fifth and have either lost or are well behind in the series against the three teams they're likely to be competing against, Sydney, Melbourne and Perth. They can get there, but they can probably only afford one slip-up.

That one slip-up can't be against Perth I think. The Snakes really have it tough.

I can only take partial credit for Cairns' reversal of fortunes, having only been engaged as Alex Loughton's personal hair colourist and fist-pump coordinator since early January. However, the effects of my time spent with Alex have been remarkable, both on his own form and on the confidence of the team as a whole, inspired as they are by his lustrous flowing locks, subtle coordination of highlights and base tones, and the galvanising effect on team morale after a perfectly executed celebration fist pump.

Alex is a keen student of the noble art of celebratory fist-pumpage, and his accomplishments have thus far been remarkable. Should his execution of more complex forms continue to improve I have no doubt the Taipans will be nbl championship winners, and Alex will challenge other renowned fist-pump luminaries on a global stage.

Cairns really need to beat Illawarra on Friday, as it will bring the Hawks into the pack and the Taipans have the series there (and will go 4-0 which is handy in case of multiple teams tying).

Two wins and they'll be second with one round to go, one win and they'll probably have to win their last two, no wins and they're probably done.