McCall’s Game One Status Unknown

Monday, February 13, 2023

Cairns Taipans star Tahjere McCall’s status for Wednesday’s Game 1 against the Sydney Kings is unknown as he deals with a shoulder injury.

Cairns star Tahjere McCall’s status for Wednesday’s Game One of the Taipans' Playoff series against the Sydney Kings is unknown as he continues to deal with a shoulder injury.

McCall didn’t play in Sunday’s Play-In Game victory against the Perth Wildcats after suffering a partial dislocation in his shoulder in last Thursday’s Seeding Qualifier.

The club estimates McCall’s recovery period will be one week, but that is subject to an upcoming MRI.

McCall was wearing an arm sling on the bench against the Wildcats, with coach Adam Forde not knowing whether his leader would be available on Wednesday night in Sydney.

“I don’t know. I really just wanted to be honed in on today’s game and everything that wasn’t relevant to Perth I took no notice of,” Forde said.

“That’s the next question I’m going to ask when we get back down there, but I don’t have an answer for you.”

McCall gave no update on his health when asked about it during the broadcast.

“It is what it is, man. I am just happy to be around this game and seeing the team playing,” he said.

Despite the absence of McCall and Keanu Pinder, the Taipans dominated the Wildcats yesterday to book their ticket to the Playoffs.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Taipans win, Wildcats out ?<br><br>DJ Hogg steals the show with a phenomenal 32-point outing, lifting the Taipans to a crucial win. <br><br>Check out the <a href="https://twitter.com/HungryJacksAU?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@HungryJacksAU</a> highlights ? <a href="https://t.co/HXL6C1UpsU">pic.twitter.com/HXL6C1UpsU</a></p>— NBL (@NBL) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBL/status/1624875995869192194?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 12, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Forde heaped praise on Bul Kuol for stepping into a larger role, as the youngster amassed 23 points, 8 rebounds and 7 assists in the victory.

“Two players go down and two players step up even more,” Forde said.

Game 1 of the best-of-three Sydney v Cairns Playoffs series tips-off on Wednesday night at Qudos Bank Arena at 7:30pm AEDT. The game will be broadcast live on ESPN via Kayo Freebies.