PRIMED FOR A ROYAL RUMBLE
THE Taipans are one recovery away from having near full-strength team on deck for the first time this season.
Cairns are expecting bench player Jarrod Kenny and starting forward Kouat Noi to be back for the side’s Sunday clash against the Sydney Kings at Qudos Bank Arena.
“It won’t be 30 minutes (if they play), it will be as we’ve been doing it – a return-to-play timeline,” Taipans head coach Adam Forde said.
“It’s going to put them in the best position to get their body set and we can capitalise on their strength.”
Forde confirmed, however, that seasoned tall Nate Jawai would still be sidelined for the time being with injury.
The Taipans earned a gritty win against the Brisbane Bullets last week, and backed it up with a close defeat against a ladder-leading Melbourne United on Sunday.
One consistent player among the uneven stretch has been Keanu Pinder, who continues to have a comeback player of the year-calibre season.
The tall took a beating in the loss to United, with opposing player Jack White falling awkwardly on the 26year-old’s knee.
“It was pretty sore on Monday and Tuesday … but I’ll be ready for this weekend,” Pinder said.
In his second season in the NBL – and his first with the Taipans – Pinder has gone from strength to strength as a physical bench player for Cairns.
“I’m just focusing on playing hard and trying to get us some wins,” he said.
“I’ve known Fordey for a long time and I know he wants us to play hard ball.
“That’s what I’ve been trying to do – play my role in the team.”
Forde lit a fire under fellow tall Stephen Zimmerman after the side’s losing streak, threatening to shake up the starting line-up at centre.
However, Zimmerman responded with a string of quality performances that have him back atop the league’s rebound rankings.
Meanwhile, Pinder was content with his role on the team from the bench.
The Kings are riding high on a five-game win streak, something the Taipans hope to spoil as they seek to escape the depths of the NBL ladder.
“They’ve been coming off with wins at the ends of their games the last few rounds,” Pinder said.
“Hopefully, that doesn’t happen with us and we come out on top.”
Taipans shooter Majok Deng echoed his teammate’s sentiments, adding that he hoped for a few more shots to fall his team’s way after a several weeks of poor scoring.
“They (Kings) are probably the hottest team right now in the NBL,” the 29-year-old said.
“So we have to go in and prepare for them … I think we can give them a good run.
“We just need to stay true to ourselves, do all the right things scoutingwise and everything should take care of itself.”
Forde said he would expect his offence to be firing on all cylinders against the Kings.
“What we’re really drilling in is do the little things, and do them really well,” he said.
“That was the motto of a lot of previous championship-winning teams, just do those little things better than everybody else.”
Tip-off for Sunday’s game will be at 2pm.