Starting 5: The key talking points from Round 4

It was busy Round 4 of Hungry Jack's NBL action, where the Kings held the five-time MVP to a rare feat. The reigning champions are on the board and what's happening in Queensland?

Pete Hooley looks at some key talking points from the round just gone.

1 – Sydney's masterclass

The Kings went into Adelaide with a strategic game plan to limit Bryce Cotton’s time with ball in hand, and the results speak for themselves. The five-time MVP was held to seven points in the game, which was just the 12th time he had scored in single figures in his 262-career game career.

Offensively, they were just as clinical in how they went about it, scoring 103 points at 51 per cent from the floor. Led by Kouat Noi’s 29 points off the bench, this may very well be the best Sydney performance of the past three seasons.

2 – Brisbane’s quarter to forget

At the 5:20 mark of the first quarter on Saturday night, the Bullets trailed 25 to 3 against the Hawks and essentially the game was over. The reigning champions went on to put up 68 points in the first half, which is the most that a Bullets team has allowed since their return to the NBL (268 games).

The only promising sign from the Bullets came in the third quarter, where they managed to win it by three points, before again losing the last by nine.

3 – Hawks are on the board

Justin Tatum will look back at the round just gone and happily forget Wednesday night’s performance in New Zealand, instead focusing on their Saturday domination. The Hawks slumped to their third straight loss against the Breakers, before putting Brisbane to the sword and getting one on the board.

The blowout win enabled the Hawks to debut Johny Narkle, which saw the development player alongside Biwali Bayles and Kobe McDowell-White make NBL history –  as the first team in NBL history to have three indigenous players in a single game.

4 – Cairns in a funk

Since their impressive wins in Round 2, the Taipans have lost three straight and two of those have been over 30-point blowouts for Adam Forde’s men. It’s not just the fact they’re losing, but it’s how they are losing which is a big concern for the Taipans right now. In the last 12 quarters, the Taipans have only won one and have lost three by more than 10 points.

Forde stated in the press conference how the team needs to get out of their own head in terms of their shooting slump, but if they can’t defend in the meantime, it might not matter.

5 – Ignite cup underway

Last Wednesday the inaugural Ignite Cup got underway with a double-header that was set the tone for what is to come. It might take some time for the players and teams to add a bit more emphasis on these games than just another regular season, but eventually that $400,000 prize money is going to motivate everyone.

The Breakers and Melbourne United started off strong and got enough points on the board to lead things off as we look ahead to this Wednesday and two more chances for teams to set the tone.