Pressure mounts on Hall to fulfil his potential
AFTER the Cairns Taipans successfully stormed home in the fourth quarter of their opening game against Brisbane, it was Illawarra who ran away in the last 10 minutes in round two.
With the Snakes down by four points entering the final period, a 36-point defensive quarter was exactly the opposite of what they needed, going on to lose 104-93.
The DJ Newbill-Melo Trimble duo were again impressive, combining for 50 points and 12 assists. But with no other Taipan scoring in double figures, it wasn’t enough to get them across the line.
That, teamed with the game-winning dominance of Todd Blanchfield (32 points on 61 per cent shooting) and complementary performances from Jordair Jett and Brian Conklin, propelled the Hawks to a road victory.
In what had been touted as the Cairns big three, we are yet to see the high-level play that had Devon Hall drafted by the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Knowing coaches, I would expect a more conscious effort by Mike Kelly to work Hall into the game this weekend.
I’d be betting we see an increase in the deliberate off-ball screening action involving Hall, as the Snakes try to create opportunities for him with time, space and separation.
Hall hasn’t yet shown the same level of capability in the pick and roll as Trimble or Newbill, and with the shooting percentage down, is a big reason the productivity has been limited.
The Taipans now face two quality opponents in round three – Adelaide and Sydney.
While very early in the season, dropping to 1-3 would make things difficult in a league we expect to be competitive the whole way through.
It’s always challenging to win the second leg of a double header, so Cairns will be putting all of their attention into the Adelaide game and hoping for a favourable result on Friday. ■ Brady Walmsley is the former Basketball Queensland state performance manager for North Queensland and current coach of Gladstone in the QBL