Forde: The Silver Lining

It might already be mid-January but the CQUniversity Cairns Taipans have only played four games since their season started back on December 5, with five games postponed – including the last four consecutive home games. While no NBL team has avoided the impacts of COVID, Taipans Head Coach Adam Forde has not just learned to expect the unexpected, but embrace it.

Currently sitting fifth on the NBL ladder with a 2-2 record, Coach Forde said that while the postponements and schedule changes are frustrating for everyone – particularly the fans – there is a silver lining from to the late surge of COVID in Cairns, what it means for the Taipans in terms of the competition and how it allows the team to adjust accordingly.

“What’s fortunate for us is that we’re almost the last team to get it. So, we’ve actually seen how other teams come back from a 21, 22-day hiatus, and I think the common theme has been sluggish starts,” he explained.

“We’ve been talking with some other teams about what their preparation was, and what works and what doesn’t work and recognising that it’s probably more to do with the fitness side of it than the basketball.

“On face value, they look good, and then after six minutes, they burn out. You could walk away [from training] and say ‘hey, we ticked these boxes’, but game conditioning is very different.

“So, we could come out great in the first six minutes and then absolutely hit a wall. Some of the things w,we're factoring in is how we rotate the bench. Do we rotate certain guys in sooner? Do we look to play shorter stints? Do change our style of play, to cater to the fact that we’re going to have heavy legs? This is what we are looking at.”

Notable results around the NBL following COVID-related delays include South East Melbourne that shot just 11% from the field and 0-8 from three in their first quarter against Brisbane. The Phoenix scored just six points on their home court as the Bullets scored 31 in their first game following a 28-day break.

The Bullets had already faced this problem - with a massive break of their own from December 19 to January 8 and losing to New Zealand in their first game back. The visiting Breakers who had not yet won a game, managed a 20-11 lead in the first seven minutes of the game, including a 7-0 run on Brisbane’s floor.

The Taipans are up for the same challenge, with their first game since New Year’s Eve set for Tuesday in Traralgon, meaning it will be a 25-day break since they hit the hardwood and extra travel for their first road game since December 5. The team will also face the Phoenix depleted, with Scott Machado and Mirko Djeric ruled out and Tahjere McCall still questionable.

“With a week back on the court, it’s almost got a mini pre-season feel to it. We’re slowly building everybody up, without burning them out too soon. That old cliché of ‘all you can really do is focus on yourself’ is pretty much where we’re at,” said Forde.

“Fitness is number one, getting our touch back is number two and getting that synergy with the half-court sets is number three. Whoever we play – I don’t want to say is completely irrelevant – but there won’t be as much focus on the scout and the opposition compared to a normal season. It’s more to do with us than anybody else.”

Coach Forde acknowledged that while he can’t focus on the scout to his normal standard this season, he recognised the hard work his coaching staff have put in over the past six tumultuous weeks and couldn’t wait for the Orange Army to reap the rewards of their efforts.

“I look back when I was an assistant coach with Perth and the amount of detail that would go into a scout. That’s how I learned to do it, and that’s the expectation I have of my coaching staff. But I never had to deal with a forever-evolving, changing schedule. I could plan for a month in advance, I could plan for games coming up,” he said.

“It’s really important that I acknowledge the people around me for what they are doing, in terms of conditioning and their scouting reports. This is where [Sam] Gruggs, Will [Lopez] and Kez [Williams] have done an exceptional job, because in the space of two weeks lately we’ve done four complete scouts and haven’t used any of them.

“We’ve had a scout prepared for Brisbane, New Zealand, Sydney and before that, South East Melbourne. That’s a lot of man hours dedicated and a lot of work that won’t necessarily get utilised and I appreciate them for it, and I hope everyone else does too.”

The Taipans face the Phoenix on Tuesday 6:30pm AEST on ESPN/KAYO, before hosting the Hawks on Saturday 29 January at the Cairns Convention Centre, 4:30pm. Click HERE for tickets and contact Taipans HQ to utilise any ticketing credits.