SNAKES ON THE WANE
OFFENSIVE machine Melo Trimble has declared he wants to become a Cairns Taipans defensive leader after the club dropped their fourth-straight game.
The import floor general has scored the most points of any individual so far in the 2018-19 season on Saturday night, 34 huge points, but again his offensive firepower did not translate to a Snakes win.
While Trimble can score for fun and find his teammates in positive positions to be effective, his defensive attitude and aggression has been questioned in some quarters since he arrived in Australia.
The 23-year-old showed more defensive intent in the Snakes’ 98-85 defeat to reigning champions Melbourne on Saturday and straight after the loss stated the other end of the basketball court is just as critical if his club are to stop the rot.
“I was pretty mad in the beginning, I am really trying to make a stand on the ballscreen defence,” Trimble said.
“Just me, I told coach at the beginning of the week that it starts with defence.
“I really want to be a good defender and I think that will help me get going, getting stops on the defensive end.
“I just need to show my energy more on the defensive end than the offensive end.”
The Taipans loss now places them with three straight home defeats as they sit at the foot of the NBL ladder with a 1-4 record.
Taipans boss Mike Kelly was coaching against his old mob, United, and they showed zero mercy to their former mentor as they landed in Far North Queensland and shot the lights out from the opening seconds. Within a blink of an eye, the reigning champs skipped out to a 14-point first term advantage.
As expected, the hosts did show some fight in the final three stanzas but United rolled on with their momentum as the damage had been done.
Guard Casper Ware led United’s scoring department with 32, with a career high eight three-pointers, while David Barlow and DJ Kennedy both went past double figures in influential displays.
“It was a really big win,” Ware said.
Four straight buckets by NBL leading scorer Trimble in the third term dragged Cairns back within three.
As he has been for much of the season, it was Trimble or bust on the offensive end for the Taipans as he put the team on his back but he had little help from anyone else.
The contest turned into a Trimble against Ware point guard battle in the fourth term as they traded several buckets, but Ware got the last laugh over the younger Trimble.
Trimble and Ware combined for 66 points.
Earlier, the Snakes were asleep at the wheel in the opening exchanges, falling behind 9-0 on the back of three United triples.