Inside defence key to shutting down 36ers
NBL ROUND 3
STOPPING Adelaide in the paint will be the key to success for the Cairns Taipans tonight.
The 36ers are the No.1 inside team in the NBL in the opening two rounds, while the Snakes have preferred to play from range, shooting more than any other side from three-point range.
Taipans boss Mike Kelly said he expected Adelaide to bring plenty of intensity as both sides faced double headers over the weekend.
“It’s going to be important to win that first game,” he said of the 36ers match, which precedes Sunday’s match against the Sydney Kings.
“Adelaide are the fastest team in the league and we are going to have to slow them down.”
Adelaide was dealt a blow yesterday when US import Ramone Moore was ruled out of the clash with a calf injury.
Moore did not travel with his teammates. Assistant 36ers coach Kevin Brooks nominated Brendan Teys – who he described as the team’s best defensive player – as the most logical replacement for Moore’s court-time.
“Ramone has got some type of calf strain, we don’t think he’ll miss a whole lot of time but unfortunately he’ll miss this road trip for us,” Brooks said.
“Joey Wright and I haven’t discussed it (starting five) yet but it could be Teysy. He is our best defensive player, he brings balance to us and quite honestly we’re not where we want to be defensively as a team.
“He may be the first guy we take a look at but it could also mean more minutes for Jack McVeigh who is a talented young player and we haven’t been able to get him a lot of minutes yet.
“We have a number of guys that can step up and this is where as a coaching staff why we play so many guys, so if something like this (injury) happens guys can step right in and fill the void.”
The 36ers go into their weekend road trip with a 2-2 record after dual wins over Sydney and losses to Melbourne and Perth.
Brooks said the Taipans posed multiple threats on the offensive end.
“They have two fringe NBA guys in Melo (Trimble) and (Devon) Hall, they’re still trying to find their feet but they can go off at any given time,” he said. “(Nate) Jawai looks like he’s in really good shape, I was watching some film and he looks like he’s ready to go, but the main thing is to focus on us getting where we need to be defensively.
“Our team defence has been breaking down too much, if we do those things we’ve got enough firepower to score points, we’ve just got to get stops.” ROUND 3 is upon us in the NBL and Taipans fans have already been on a mini rollercoaster.
Some 5000 screaming fans filled the Cairns Convention Centre last week, in what was the biggest opening night crowd in the club’s history.
But the smiling faces that entered the arena after the team’s huge road win in Brisbane, quickly turned to looks of concern.
The Snakes gave up 36 points in the fourth quarter against the undermanned Hawks. In what can only be described as a limp defensive effort, the men in orange will be looking to bounce back and regain their razor sharp edge on defence and gritty determination which saw them topple the Bullets in round one.
Melo Trimble put up impressive numbers again, but his impact was restricted.
DJ Newbill has been the Snakes’ best in my opinion over the first two rounds, but Cairns will need multiple contributions if they are to topple last year’s runners-up, the Adelaide 36ers.
The City of Churches team plays every game at a breakneck pace, and the Taipans will need to have a squeaky clean defensive transition if they are to get the chocolates.
I can’t wait to see the response from the new look Snakes.