KELLY POKES SNAKES

DEFENCE was the buzzword at Taipans training yesterday as the Snakes looked to improve their set-up after conceding 104 points in Sunday’s loss to Illawarra.

Coach Mike Kelly was happy enough with his side’s attacking prowess, having scored 93 against the Hawks, but called for his charges to perform better in transition ahead of this weekend’s double header against Adelaide and Sydney.

“We just need to show a little bit more enthusiasm on the defensive end,” he said.

“If we defend we can be really competitive in this league and if we don’t defend we are going to cop some Ls.”

The rookie head coach said being a new-look team was testing the defensive structure.

“We need to improve our communication and put pressure on the ball – meet the ball early and trust your teammates,” he said.

“If we bring the enthusiasm from the last few weeks at training into game day we’ll be OK.”

Hawks forward Todd Blanchfield scored 32 points, including seven three-point attempts, but Kelly rued the fact his side let him find his range.

“Blanchfield’s first three was a mistake defensively and then he got rolling,” he said.

The Taipans play the Adelaider 36ers at home on Friday night before taking on Andrew Bogut’s Sydney Kings at Qudos Bank Arena on Sunday.

“Our whole focus is for Adelaide on Friday. One of our coaches is running a scout for Sydney at the same time, so we prepare, but our whole focus is on Adelaide,” he said.

The 36ers are 2-2 and last week beat Sydney before losing narrowly to Melbourne United.

“They’re the fastest-paced team in the league. So we need to keep the ball in front of us first and then box out – they go hard to the boards,” Kelly said.

“They are up and in defensively, so we need to take care of the ball, which we didn’t do in the second half against Illawarra.”

Kelly said he would look for leadership from point guard Melo Trimble, who scored another 28 points on Sunday.

“He’s been really good. Offensively we’ve been OK without looking fantastic and Melo has been the leader in that,” Kelly said.

“We just need him to do that on both ends of the court.

“When he’s defending and being a real dog on defence – and scoring offensively and running the show – I think he’s going to be in that top point guard category.”

The coach said it was only a matter of time before fellow import Devon Hall found his range after struggling from the three-point line.

“If we can get him open looks he’ll knock them down.”