Basketball On The Internet.

IT WAS a lesson in basketball coaching tonight as Adam Forde in Cairns steered his undermanned Taipans to victory over a confused Illawarra, and Scott Roth's JackJumpers took care of business in Adelaide against a 36ers team down Trey Kell but still happy to use 11 players.

Not that there's anything wrong with that, if everyone knows his role and there's a shared and common goal driving the team.

But you only have to look at the Hawks and Sixers to know that, apart from the (very) odd occasions, they really lack direction, structure and cohesion. 

But that should be a given, as all three are inter-related.

Illawarra led 18-14 after a first quarter in Cairns which made the eyes bleed and the second was only marginally more palatable.

After the break, the Taipans, who through injuries were down import Patrick Miller and burgeoning Next Star Bobi Klintman, asserted themselves at the defensive end, containing the Hawks to 17 and 16-point periods for a 71-point total which wouldn't win a lot of NBL1 games, let alone NBL.

Apart from Gary Clark and Sam Froling, Illawarra struggled to find an offensive winner, coach Jacob Jackomas watching another completely winnable game slip away, trying 10 players but never really recognising which combination could get the job done.

In contrast, Cairns was consistent, with Bul Kuol, Sam Waardenburg and Tahjere McCall leading from the front and players such as Lat Mayen continuing to thrive on their opportunities.

CAIRNS TAIPANS 81 (Kuol 19, McCall 16, Waardenburg 15, Mayen 10; Gak, Mayen 8 rebs; Armstrong 4 assts) d ILLAWARRA HAWKS 71 (Clark 19, Froling 18, Harvey 12, Robinson 10; Froling 10 rebs; Harvey 4 assts) at Cairns Convention Centre. Crowd: 4,614

IN Adelaide, coach CJ Bruton had nine players on court inside the game's first eight minutes as his 36ers again forgot Isaac Humphries is their inside trump card.

Fair enough too. He is so easy to miss!

Tasmania went to work, past 36ers such as Jack McVeigh, Anthony Drmic and Majok Deng all hit key threes when the JackJumpers needed them, while Marcus Lee, Milton Doyle and livewire Jordon Crawford all helped themselves to the easy shots on offer.

Six first quarter 36ers turnovers spoke to their disruption, as did 10 for the first half. When they started the third quarter turning over their first possession, it was tough to believe they could win this. 

Making his return to NBL, Will Magnay's most significant moment was being unceremoniously decked by Tohi Smith-Milner, Bruton all at sea with his combinations and "Look at me, Look at me" assistant coach Craig Simpson again jumping about like some essential sideshow.

Seriously, Mody Maor in his days as Dan Shamir's assistant didn't carry on as much as this dude does seeking the spotlight.

Bruton eventually turned to regular DNP-CD Nick Marshall who immediately made such a difference that it left fans scratching their heads why he would be the only guy struggling for court-time.

He finished up playing 25 seconds less than Jacob Wiley and led the Sixers in assists!

Not that anyone could score, Mitch McCarron taking a couple of "oh boy" shots before, with a quarter to go, the coaching staff remembered Kyrin Galloway who then played the entire final 10 minutes. Organised structure?

Tasmania led by as many as 19, Adelaide sneaking the deficit into single-digits during the last quarter but the Ants always had the answers.  

TASMANIA JACKJUMPERS 82 (Crawford 17, McVeigh 14, Doyle 13, Lee 12; Lee 8 rebs; Doyle 8 assts) d ADELAIDE 36ERS 72 (Vasiljevic 16, Humphries 10, Flowers 8; McCarron 8 rebs; Marshall 4 assts) at Adelaide Entertainment Centre. Crowd: 9,440