Rebuild around Nate
IT IS time for the Cairns Taipans playing group to ride Nate Jawai.
After two seasons wrecked by injury, the imposing centre is nearing his peak with one of his most efficient games in years on Saturday afternoon in Adelaide.
Why he only took seven shots when he was absolutely flying will go down as one of the biggest head-scratchers of the 2018-19 season.
The argument can be made that if the Australian Boomers big man took five more shots against the 36ers, the 13-game losing streak would be a thing of the past.
The aspect that stands out about Jawai when he is playing at his best is his uniqueness.
No team in the NBL, or any basketball league across the world (outside of the NBA), has a centre at his size and strength, who can pass like a point guard and is as nimble on their feet as big Nate.
Every team in the NBL has someone that plays like a Melo Trimble, DJ Newbill or Devon Hall – but none of them have a Jawai comparison.
All season we have seen the Trimble show. It is great, he scores plenty of flashy buckets, gives them up at the other end – leading to 13 straight defeats.
Jawai has shown enough this season to be the Snakes’ focal point going forward to snap that losing streak.
Just ask NBA champion Andrew Bogut.
“It is a tough one against Nate, he is so physical, he has a very big body,” Bogut said last week. “At times he throws guys, even like myself, around like rag dolls. I am usually hurting after the game, he puts the pressure on you.”