Studs and Duds: Round 18

At the conclusion of each round, NBL Media’s Liam Santamaria lets us know who made the grade and who deserves a little shade.

STUDS

 

Sydney Kings

We’re now three weeks out from the NBL Finals and the Kings locomotive just keeps thundering along the tracks.

Chase Buford and his men have not lost a game for an entire month, with this week’s victory over Tassie taking their win-streak into double-figures.

They did it in style too, as they rolled into Hobart and completely dominated a team that’s been very hard to play.

The Kings really are playing beautiful basketball. With their entire team flowing with confidence, Sydney shot a blistering 75 percent in the opening half on Sunday, resulting in a 28-point lead at the major break.  

The JackJumpers picked it up in the second half but, in the end, the Kings ran away with a 20-point win – the first time in the 40-minute format that Sydney have ever won back-to-back games by 20-or-more points.

Jaylen Adams was elite, as usual, while Xavier Cooks, Jarell Martin, Angus Glover and Dejan Vasiljevic also scored in double-figures. Cooks, in particular, stuffed the stat-sheet as he fell just shy of a triple-double.

Those individual numbers only tell part of the story, though, as the Kings turned their lockdown D into transition opportunities and then worked their way through Tassie’s pressure to find open opportunities to score.

“The way they play ball screens, if you’re able to get behind their pressure you should be playing 3-on-2 or 4-on-3 and you’ll have the numbers advantage,” Buford said.

“We did a good job of getting the ball behind their coverage, hitting the roller and getting our head up.”

The result was a 60 percent shooting clip – the best by any team this season – including 22-from-26 inside the paint and a whole bunch of trips to the free throw line.

“They’ve got a dynamite team,” Tassie coach Scott Roth stated.

“They’re super talented across the board and they played really well. We were never in the game.”

That’s how a bunch of teams have felt after playing the Kings recently. 

 

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">??????????<br><br>Count &#39;em, yep, that&#39;s 10 straight wins for the <a href="https://twitter.com/SydneyKings?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SydneyKings</a> in <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NBL22?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NBL22</a> ?<br><br>Can the Kings take the ultimate crown? ? <a href="https://t.co/QqllcR6aNp">pic.twitter.com/QqllcR6aNp</a></p>&mdash; The NBL (@NBL) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBL/status/1511197054940631041?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 5, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

 

Illawarra Hawks

The other team that’s rolling right now is the Hawks, as the state of New South Wales asserts its authority on the national competition.

This week it was victories over Brisbane and Melbourne for Illawarra, as they extended their own winning streak to five.

Against the Bullets, it was Justinian Jessup who led the way with 29 points, while Xavier Rathan-Mayes was the man in Melbourne, notching up an NBL career-high 25 to go with 6 boards, 8 dimes and 4 steals.

It’s been a remarkable past five weeks for Brian Goorjian’s crew, who have won 8 of their past 9 games to turn their season around. I mean, let’s be honest… things were looking grim there for a minute. Back in late Feb the Hawks were sitting around .500 and were a couple of Ls away from losing touch altogether.

“We weren’t a playoff team at that point, and it didn’t look like we were going to make the playoffs,” Goorjian reflected.

“But credit to the group…we’ve continued to improve; we’ve kept the noise out and continued to move forward.”

They certainly have. Led by Goorj’s infinite wisdom and Antonius Cleveland’s infectious energy, the Hawks are now soaring towards the postseason. They’ve become a genuine chance to take this thing out.

Cairns Taipans

Hats off to the Taipans.

This is a squad that was mired on the bottom of the ladder a few weeks ago and was staring down the barrel of a second straight wooden spoon.

That, my friends, is no longer happening. Adam Forde has continued to coach the heck out this group and, over the last few rounds, his guys have responded, notching up 4 wins from their past 5 games.

Operating without import centre Stephen Zimmerman and, for the last few, Tahjere McCall, the Taipans have played with tremendous energy and are finishing their season on a high.

This week it was the Phoenix and Breakers who succumbed to the Snakes, with the win over South East Melbourne essentially ending their playoff aspirations.

“The boys are enjoying their basketball… they’re working hard, and I’ve got to tip my hat to them,” Forde shared, after beating New Zealand.

“We can make every excuse for why we were losing but the boys have responded… that’s why I love the group.”

One guy who has responded emphatically has been…

Keanu Pinder (Cairns Taipans)

Pinder has made huge improvements this year and he’s straight balling right now, posting back-to-back 20 and 10 games across Round 18.

It’s a credit to him, as he has clearly listened to Forde’s messaging since coming over from Adelaide, and it’s paying dividends.

“We sat with him at the start of the season and said, ‘this is what you’re elite at’, Forde explained.

“There are very few people in the league, let alone Australian players, that can do what he does… he’s been amazingly responsive. You’ve just got to admire his level of maturity and how much he’s grown.”

 

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">PINDER SURPRISE ?<br><br>Keanu Pinder&#39;s breakout season continued in Round 18 with back-to-back double-doubles in the <a href="https://twitter.com/CairnsTaipans?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@CairnsTaipans</a>&#39; two wins ? <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NBL22?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NBL22</a> By the Numbers powered by <a href="https://twitter.com/LaTrobeFin?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@LaTrobeFin</a> <a href="https://t.co/xYJQkukwYQ">pic.twitter.com/xYJQkukwYQ</a></p>&mdash; The NBL (@NBL) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBL/status/1511146066481393664?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 5, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

 

The big question for the Taipans is whether they’re going to be able to retain Pinder, as well as Rookie of the Year contender Bul Kuol, at the end of the season.

“I will take a pay cut to make that happen,” Forde quipped.

“They’ve been amazing. They fit the identity that we want here. To keep Bul and Keanu? Yes.”

Robert Franks (Brisbane Bullets)

For the second straight week the Bullets split their home/away double and for the second straight week, Robert Franks lands himself in the studs.

It wasn’t a massive pair of performances from the talented import, but he deserves some love for his consistent efforts nonetheless, after racking up another couple of double-doubles.

That’s now five straight double-doubles from Franks, who now leads the league in that cat with eleven on the year, one ahead of Sydney’s Xavier Cooks.

While we’re on the Bullets, shout-out to Jason Cadee for his explosive shooting performance against Adelaide. Bouncing back from a couple of rough ones, Cadee drained five triples in the opening minutes on Saturday, finishing with a season-high 26 on a career-high seven made threes.

“That’s Jason Cadee,” Bullets coach James Duncan said.

Enough said.

Shea Ili (Melbourne United)

Finally, you know I love me some defence so big ups to Ili for his game-winning efforts on Monday night in Perth.

Yeah, the champs had a bunch of guys play well, but Ili’s work on the league’s leading scorer was undoubtedly the key to that win. 

It wasn’t just his D either, but his overall energy and activity. The Best Sixth Man candidate notched up 12 points and 5 steals on the night in another standout performance.

This play, right here, was the defining moment of the game…

 

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Straight hustle from Shea Ili ?<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NBL22?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NBL22</a> on <a href="https://twitter.com/ESPNAusNZ?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ESPNAusNZ</a> + <a href="https://twitter.com/kayosports?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@kayosports</a> ? <a href="https://t.co/MhMGetLAvj">pic.twitter.com/MhMGetLAvj</a></p>&mdash; The NBL (@NBL) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBL/status/1510969254018879488?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 4, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

DUDS

 

South East Melbourne Phoenix

Oh boy… things have gone from bad to worse for the Phoenix.

Needing to bounce back from Round 17’s disappointment in Adelaide, South East Melbourne went to Cairns over the weekend and laid another egg.

Their defence wasn’t at the level – giving up 56 points in the opening half – and they set some unwanted franchise records with their 3-for-20 shooting from long range.

The bottom line for the Phoenix is that that’s now six losses from their past seven games. It really has been a remarkable fall from grace from a team who was sitting pretty with an 11-5 record a few weeks ago. 

“We continue to get in our own way,” head coach Simon Mitchell reflected.

“Giving up o-boards, putting them to the line and just making some daft plays. It’s upsetting and it’s frustrating because we continue to do it. 

“Regardless of how much we work on it, talk about it and show it, it just keeps creeping into our play. That’s where the disappointment comes from the most.” 

Unfortunately for the Phoenix, this late-season slump has all but killed off their hopes of returning to the finals. It would take a miracle for them to make it from here.

 

Perth Wildcats

The Wildcats were much better this week. 

Their energy was higher, and they competed with far greater intent than they did in Round 17. There’s also, it’s worth noting, no shame in going down to the defending champs.

That said, a streak of three straight home Ls is just not something we’re used to seeing from this ball club. 

John Brown III might not be walking through that door, but hopefully, Mitch Norton will. The ‘Cats are really missing his impact.

 

Cairns Taipans DJ

Finally, to the man/woman in charge of the tunes up in Far North Queensland… I love your work – you have that place pumping – but it’s officially time to send Cotton Eye Joe to the big playlist in the sky. ‘Sing Hallelujah’ and ‘Let’s Get Loud’ are up there waiting for it.

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