Sydney focus on locking-in defensively against Cairns

When a team qualifies for Finals as early as the Sydney Kings did in NBL23 it can be hard for them to keep their eye on the ball.

A mixture of self-preservation, extra rotations for depth players and even a lackadaisical approach to the game can kill momentum ahead of the post-season.

The Sydney Kings rested All-NBL First Team members Derrick Walton Jr and Xavier Cooks at different stages of round 16 and will enter their Playoff series against Cairns having lost four of their last six games – including two straight losses to round out the campaign.

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A recurring theme of those losses has been the Kings’ penchant for getting into high-scoring shootouts, and head coach Chase Buford says the return to normal rotations will allow his side to lock in on the defensive end.

“It was mainly our defence that took a big hit – we were still scoring it pretty easily,” Buford told RSN of his side’s run home.

“We didn’t quite score it like we’re used to.

"We watched it, we talked about it, and we had maybe our best week of practice all year trying to flip that switch back on.

“Our guys seem ready to go.

“At the end of the season, you want to be intelligent in how you practice and how you treat the guys, but at the same time, you can’t lose that competitive edge.

"We got after it quite a bit, do the things we always do to build our habits and we’re in a pretty healthy situation going into finals.

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“Xave [Cooks] is a great leader for us and he really brought it this week trying to get the competitive spirit as high as he could, but he wasn’t the only one.

“Everybody else really brought it in a great week of practice so we’re excited to play a game.”

The Kings lost their regular season series against the Taipans 2-1 in NBL23, with only a Kouat Noi game-winner in their round five clash preventing Cairns from emerging with a clean sweep.

That series will stand for little though.

Despite the close nature of all three games – no margin was higher than six points – the last time the Taipans and Kings locked horns was in round eight, all the way back at the back end of November.

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Buford says while he usually focuses more on how the opposition has played his side in the lead-up to a game, he’s had to change the way he’s scouted the Taipans ahead of Wednesday’s opening clash.

“For me, it’s usually about the games against us and how we match up with them - we try to draw on a lot of film – but Cairns is a different team now than they were earlier in the season,” he said.

“Without Keanu Pinder, who’s a terrific player, they’re going to be a different-looking squad than they were when they played us, but they still have a ton of shooting and a ton of great things they do.

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“They’ve dealt with tough injuries to big players and they’ve just come together and played as a group.

"It’s been really impressive to see ... Cairns has been terrific with its back against the wall for a while now.

“They’re a tough defensive unit and they’re going to be up and in us all night long.

"We’ll have to be ready to handle that pressure, for sure.”

The regular season champions will host the series' first game at Qudos Bank Arena on Wednesday, February 15 from 7.30pm AEDT - with tickets still available here.