SNAKES FALL SHORT AGAIN
THIS point of the NBL season, it is all about pressure.
For the Sydney Kings and Cairns Taipans, it is not the finals pressure four other NBL clubs are about to experience.
For the also-rans of the competition, the final few weeks of the season are about pressure to keep their jobs in the NBL and playing through pressure to show you belong.
The Taipans concede they did not apply anywhere near enough pressure to the Kings in their final home game of the season, sending their fans home with a sour taste in their mouth with an 86-93 defeat.
“They got aggressive in transition and we were not able to apply the pressure,” Taipans coach Aaron Fearne said following the club’s 16th defeat of the campaign.
And, it seems, the pressure away from the court is starting to take its toll too.
When Fearne was asked after the loss if his and the playing group’s unknown contract status for next season was frustrating, or something they would like sorted out, the longtime Snakes coach said: “Whatever. You know, we are just trying to play a game.
“Why would I be worrying about that right now? We are just trying to prepare for a game and play. Next question.”
In front of one of the biggest crowds of the Snakes season, the bottom-of-the-table Kings continued their late-season resurgence with an upset victory.
The hosts brought the margin back to six with a threepoint bomb from point guard Jarrad Weeks at the buzzer but Sydney were in control for the majority of the evening.
Veteran forward Alex Loughton again showed little sign of old age as he carried the Snakes on the offensive end with 19 points.
The 34-year-old looks all but set to send his career into the 2018-19 season with another evergreen performance as he pushed his case to grab the club’s MVP award.
With both clubs eliminated from the finals race, it was a much more free-flowing contest than their three earlier meetings, with shooters showing little hesitation in transition.
Thrust into the starting role midway through the season, Weeks again justified his increased minutes with 18 points, on 7-12 shooting.
Import Scoochie Smith’s season in orange has been lacklustre but Weeks, in Smith’s place, has stepped up to the plate on the offensive end when called upon.
Weeks was despondent after another disjointed effort from the Taipans on Saturday.
“The way we played, we go through patches where we just play terribly and it’s not enough in this league,” Weeks said.
The Taipans have two games in Perth against the Wildcats to finish the season.