Round 21 Preview: Kings vs. Taipans

By Matt McQuade

 

Rest.

Refocus.

Reload.

No one likes losing, especially when you’re on an historically great winning streak like the Brydens Lawyers Sydney Kings have been.

But as the old saying goes, all good things must come to an end, and so it was for the purple and gold last Sunday when the Adelaide 36ers came to town and ended Sydney’s run of 13 consecutive victories.

A loss at this stage of the campaign might not be such a bad thing. Coaches and players won’t admit that they think about winning streaks, but it can play on their minds.

Wins can also come with some bad habits attached if you’ve got a team with superior talent, like the Kings, where that talent can sometimes overcome everything and paper over some cracks.

And there’s the fatigue factor to consider, especially for a ballclub that was coming off an exceptionally long road trip. That can manifest itself in games like that against the 36ers where clearly the group looked a step slow all afternoon.

And while a coach may say there are teachable moments in any game, win or lose, in most cases a defeat allows the entire team to take a breath, assess where they are at, work through whatever issues may have cropped up and come back with a renewed sense of purpose.

Such an opportunity presents itself for the Sydney Kings in Round 21 of NBL22, the final round of the NBL regular season, where the squad plays two games, starting with a Thursday night battle against the Cairns Taipans at the Cairns Convention Centre.

It will be a good test for the team and offer an immediate chance to bounce back after a tough loss. Cairns may have been long since eliminated from the playoff conversation, but they’ve been a feisty group under Head Coach Adam Forde and will be determined to finish their final two home games on a high.

The Taipans will go with just one import due to injuries suffered by Scott Machado and Stephen Zimmerman, but that import, Tahjere McCall (14.5ppg, 5.5rpg, 5.4apg, 1.9spg) is a genuine two-way threat who plays exceptionally hard.

Then there’s one of the competition’s most improved players, Keanu Pinder (10.6ppg, 7.3rpg), who is super-athletic and relentless in the low post.

Nathan Jawai still provides strength and power in the low block and can’t be allowed to establish good post position, Bul Kuol might win Rookie of the Year honours and is a no-conscience gunner, Majok Deng’s length and ability to stretch the floor is always a concern and youngster Ben Ayre stunned Melbourne United last week with a 20-point, 10-assist game, becoming the first player to ever produce those numbers against a Dean Vickerman coached team.

So, going into the Snakepit, facing the dreaded Orange Army, will be no picnic for the purple and gold, especially given they will be without both Jarell Martin and Jaylen Adams due to illness, although Angus Glover will make a welcome return to the lineup.

Sydney will be shorthanded without a doubt, so the onus will be on Xavier Cooks (15.0ppg, 9.6rpg, 2.6apg, 1.9apg), who has been an absolute warrior for his club this season, to lead the way. Xavier's ability to get downhill at serious pace makes him a constant threat at the rim and he is the team's defensive anchor. Ian Clark (12.3ppg, 2.8rpg) had his first loss in purple and gold last Sunday and he will be a man on a mission in North Queensland, while Dejan Vasiljevic (12.4ppg, 2.7rpg) had a career-high 33 points in the epic win over the Illawarra Hawks last Thursday and figures to get a ton more looks in this one.

Head Coach Chase Buford will be asking his group to lift their output at both ends of the court and there’s no doubt we will see a Kings unit this Thursday that will play with energy, intensity and commitment.

Last Sunday was unexpected.

Now to bounce back.

The playoffs are just around the corner.

Time to make a statement.

 

WHO

Brydens Lawyers Sydney Kings vs. Cairns Taipans

WHEN

Thursday 21 April, 7:30pm tipoff AEST

LOCATION

Cairns Convention Centre

TV

ESPN, Kayo Sports

THE PLAYERS

Kings

Ian Clark (import); Dejan Vasiljevic; Wani Swaka Lo Buluk; Xavier Cooks; Makur Maker (Next Star)

Angus Glover; Shaun Bruce; Biwali Bayles; Tom Vodanovich; Jaylin Galloway (development player); Jayden Hodgson (development player); Ignatius Mitchell (development player)

Taipans

Ben Ayre (injury replacement); Tahjere McCall (import); Bul Kuol; Majok Deng; Keanu Pinder

Nathan Jawai; Kouat Noi; Jarrod Kenny; Jordan Ngatai; Brayden Inger (development player)

THE COACHES

Kings

Chase Buford (NBL rookie head coach, record 18-8)

Taipans

Adam Forde (2^nd NBL season, 1^st season with Taipans, NBL record 27-35, record with Taipans 8-18)

2021/2022 REGULAR SEASON SERIES

Kings lead 2-0

Kings def. Taipans 98-88 @ Qudos Bank Arena, Round 14

Kings def. Taipans 86-77 @ Cairns Convention Centre, Round 15

NBL LADDER

Kings 18-8, second

Taipans 8-18, ninth

LAST GAME

Kings lost to Adelaide 36ers 90-82 @ Qudos Bank Arena, Round 20

Taipans lost to Melbourne United 92-80 @ John Cain Arena, Round 20

KEY STATS

Kings

Points: Jaylen Adams, 20.1ppg

Rebounds: Xavier Cooks, 9.6rpg

Assists: Jaylen Adams, 6.1apg

Taipans

Points: Tahjere McCall, 14.5ppg

Rebounds: Stephen Zimmerman, 9.6rpg

Assists: Tahjere McCall, 5.4apg

KEY MATCHUP

Xavier Cooks vs. Keanu Pinder

It’s interesting that I would never have thought this to be a key matchup less than three months ago, if you’d told me these two were going head-to-head – I would have just said Xavier Cooks wins that duel hands down. But such has been the rapid ascension of Keanu Pinder over the past few weeks, he has to be taken seriously now as a legitimate quality NBL player. Pinder has been filling up the stat sheet in recent times thanks to an aggressive power game that has some polish to it now – he's got some decent moves he can go to in the low block and his quickness and athleticism make him tough to deal with. He’s coming up against a guy in Xavier who has been nothing short of magnificent for his ballclub all season long and should be on an All-NBL team at the very least once the regular season concludes. Cooks is a guy who can almost match Pinder athletically; he’s a more accomplished two-way player and he has better intangibles across the board. But Keanu can get some things done too and it says a lot that the Kings will need to make sure their scout of him is on the money this week.

THE QUESTIONS

Will the Kings bounce back to get their tenth straight win on the road?

Can Sydney handle the hostile atmosphere generated by the Orange Army in Cairns?

HISTORY

All-time Head-to-Head

71 games played; Kings lead 53-18

In Cairns

35 games played; Kings lead 24-11

At Cairns Convention Centre

33 games played; Kings lead 23-10

DID YOU KNOW?

The Kings have won five straight games at the Cairns Convention Centre and haven’t lost in the building since going down 80-71 to the Taipans in Round 8 of the 2017/2018 season. Their longest winning streak in the stadium all-time is eight games, between March 2001 and December 2005, which is their longest winning streak in a single opposition venue in franchise history. Their current five-game run at the Taipans’ home stadium is the equal third-longest ever for the Kings, topped only by that earlier eight game run in Cairns and their 6-0 record at John Cain Arena against the South East Melbourne Phoenix.

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