Snake Eyes – Taipans v 36ers April 14

The CQUniversity Cairns Taipans produced a performance with a lot to like about it against the Illawarra Hawks on Sunday and now look to bring that home with them and turn it into a win against the Adelaide 36ers.

Despite going into the game without regular starting power forward Majok Deng and small forward Kouat Noi, and then losing superstar point guard Scott Machado for the second half, there was so much to like about what the Taipans produced in Wollongong on Sunday.

Now nobody in orange is ever going to be satisfied with losing so they didn’t return home happy to have lost but Cam Oliver dominated the game while Tad Dufelmeier, Jarrod Kenny, Nate Jawai, Mirko Djeric, Jordan Ngatai and Mojave King all had their moments of encouragement.

The Taipans now get to return to the comforts of home and playing in front of the Orange Army to host the Adelaide 36ers at Cairns Pop-Up Arena on Wednesday night.

Both teams will be desperate for the win and here are five things to keep an eye out for:

1. MACHADO IN RACE AGAINST TIME
He has been remarkably durable since arriving in Cairns so it was a strange sight seeing him sit for the second half on Sunday but Scott Machado is doing all he can to play on Wednesday

Scott Machado didn’t miss a game in his first season with the Cairns Taipans on his way to winning the club's MVP award and being named to the All-NBL First Team, and he hasn’t missed a game so far this season either putting together another strong season for the Snakes.

So it was a strange sight seeing him sit out the entire second half of Sunday's game in Wollongong against the Illawarra Hawks. 

He had copped a heavy knock just above his knee during the first half and by the time he came back out for the second half warm up, he could hardly move and put any weight on the leg so the decision was made to not risk any further damage and let him sit and pass on the point guard duties to his deputies Jarrod Kenny and Tad Dufelmeier.

Now since that game on Sunday, Machado and the Taipans flew home on Monday and then the team had a training session in Cairns on Tuesday but Machado didn’t take part in the hope of him receiving more treatment would help his recovery.

Taipans coach Mike Kelly certainly isn’t one for mind games so when he says that he'll be waiting to see and hear how Machado pulls up on Wednesday before finding out if he'll be available to play against the 36ers that night, then you can take him for his word.

"Scott's got a pretty heavy cork above his knee so we rested him today and we'll give him until game day to see if he'll be good to go," Kelly said. 

"It's one of those things where you hope it recovers quickly but he got a pretty good knock on it and we won't know until tomorrow. 

"I'm hopeful that the treatment goes well and that in the morning it's feeling even better, but I don't have a timeline on when we'll make the decision. But he has at least given himself every chance of getting himself up to play."

2. NOW IT'S TIME FOR MORE THAN GOOD EFFORT
Sunday's game was yet another one where the Cairns Taipans could be happy with their effort but coach Mike Kelly wants more than just that to discover the winning formula

Go back over Easter and both in Melbourne on Good Friday and then at home to United on Easter Sunday, and you can't fault the effort levels for the most part of what the Cairns Taipans delivered against the league-leading championship favourites.

Then you go back to Sunday against the Illawarra Hawks in Wollongong and despite the continued absence of Kouat Noi and Majok Deng, and then losing Scott Machado by half-time, and the Taipans delivered another performance where you couldn’t help but admire their effort.

The Snakes fought hard, they never gave in and gave themselves a chance to win the game against another opponent that was desperate to win on their home floor and who is attempting to keep themselves in the top four race.

Taipans coach Mike Kelly is looking at the positive that the energy and effort levels seem to be getting better and more consistent from game to game, but now he is going to ask more of his group.

He doesn’t want to continue sitting back after games and admiring the performance of his team but having to find a way to accept yet another loss.

Kelly wants to help his playing group find that winning formula of giving that great effort to play hard, but also executing well enough on both ends of the floor to see that turn into winning performances at the same time.

He'd like nothing more than to see that start happening come Wednesday night at home to the Adelaide 36ers.

"I think we have to take the positive of some guys getting opportunities and taking full advantage of that. That's great, but we have to learn that it's not good enough just to play hard," Kelly said.

"We need to execute and if we do that from the start, we give ourselves a chance to be a good basketball team. So it's simply about being better with those little simple things, and bringing that same energy. I think that's a winning recipe."

3. GRABBING OPPORTUNITIES CAN BE CONTINUED
Missing three such key players as Machado, Noi and Deng is a lot for any team to deal with, but the Cairns Taipans dealt with it well and coach Mike Kelly sees some positives moving forward

Missing players crucial enough to your plans for a season where they are regular starters is never ideal, but having a deep roster means that you always have players desperate for opportunities and that's what the Cairns Taipans are finding out.

First of all, Majok Deng and Kouat Noi are still sidelined with long-term injuries and both were regular members of the starting line-up when they were healthy.

But there are positives to take from every situation and if you have a look at the starting power forward spot now vacated by Deng, Fabijan Krslovic has settled into that role nicely and proven himself a reliable, consistent and impressive NBL performer at both ends of the floor.

And if you look at the injury to Noi as well and it's especially created more opportunities for Jordan Ngatai in terms of playing a bigger role and earning more minutes. 

He has grabbed those so impressively where he has shown that in the NBL, he can be a standout knockdown three-point shooter, he's more than capable of creating his own shot and taking the ball to the rack, and he can also spend time in a ball handling role. 

He is also a strong defender both in terms of using his height on smaller guards or to match up on players up to the four spot, and he is in the form of his life as a result.

Mojave King is another player who is earning more minutes and is getting more and more accustomed to delivering in the NBL all the time, and then you had the chances created when Scott Machado went down hurt on Sunday.

All in all, Kelly is happy to see so many members of his playing squad stepping up when their number is called and he expects that to continue.

"The biggest positive take away is that some guys who haven’t played a lot, played really well and kind of played with reckless abandon which is what I love to see," Kelly said.

"They played smart as well and started to execute where in the first half especially some of it was Illawarra's defence but some of it was us slowly walking through plays and not executive the way we need to. 

"It was good to see us do that a little better and get in positions to score. Definitely the effort throughout the whole game was something we can hang our hats on."

4. HAVING DEPTH MEANS YOU HAVE PLAYERS READY
Jarrod Kenny and Tad Dufelmeier don't get to see much time with the ball in their hands when Scott Machado is healthy so they were ready and able to grab their chance on Sunday

Obviously when you have a superstar point guard like Scott Machado who runs your ball club so well, there's not always the chance or reason to have your other guards spend a lot of time running the offence.

But when he suddenly became unavailable at half-time on Sunday against the Hawks in Wollongong, and indeed he might still be unavailable to play against Josh Giddey and the Adelaide 36ers this Wednesday at the pop-up, and those other ball handlers from the Snakes have to be ready.

All of a sudden veteran guard Jarrod Kenny was entrusted to step into that main point guard role and it was no surprise to see him handle it with aplomb while development player Tad Dufelmeier stepped up impressively too.

Whether it has been during his standout international career with the New Zealand Tall Blacks, his terrific career back home in the NZ NBL, or then international before going on to win NBL championships at the Perth Wildcats, Kenny has always been a more than capable guard.

He has always been capable of more certainly than what he's been called upon during his NBL career with Perth and Cairns, and he showed that on Sunday in his over 26 minutes by delivering nine points, three assists, two rebounds and a steal.

Then there is development player Dufelmeier who was yet to even hit an NBL field goal prior to Sunday's game. But he went on to play almost 14 minutes and score 12 points to go with three steals, two rebounds and an assist while shooting 4/6 from the field and 2/3 from three-point range.

So while it's not ideal for Machado to be sidelined if indeed he is against Adelaide on Wednesday night, coach Mike Kelly will be more than comfortable handing the reins over to Kelly and Dufelmeier.

"Tad can play and it was great for him to have that opportunity," Kelly said.

"I think it took some pressure off Jarrod Kenny to not have to carry the ball the whole time and Tad did a really good job of not just settling us, but sparking us on both ends.

"He made a few mistakes himself but they were all positive, attacking mistakes and I love that and can live with that. He'll get more opportunities."

5. TAD JUNIOR READY TO KEEP IMPROVING
Tad Dufelmeier wasn’t satisfied with what he did on Sunday, he wants to continue to perform better every time he hits the floor and to do more to help the Cairns Taipans win games

Tad Dufelmeier has had to bide his time for an opportunity with the Cairns Taipans to try to start doing similar things to what his father did in the NBL, but he showed he's more than up to the task.

Tad Sr played 178 NBL games between 1982 and 1991 mostly with the Canberra Cannons where he won a championship in 1988. He was such a prolific scorer that he scored 33 points in his NBL debut and had a career-best of 38 points, nine rebounds and nine assists.

Now Tad Jr has a long way to go to match those accomplishments but based on what he showed on Sunday in Wollongong, there's no reason to suggest it's beyond him.

He did well carrying the ball and running the offence, he did well attacking the basket and getting to the rack, and he shot the ball impressively. He even didn’t look out of place defensively.

All of that on limited preparation to play his first meaningful minutes in an NBL game and now on the back of that, he's learned plenty about what it takes to executive in the professional game.

Dufelmeier feels he'll only continue to improve the more chances he now gets both in terms of performing well individually but also helping the team execute and ultimately win games of basketball.

"I was pretty ready for it. I've been building up for the past two years and learning from the two guys in front of me, JK and Scott," Dufelmeier said.

"So it's been good to go against them and pick up things here and there so I was waiting for this opportunity. It was fun to be out there and I wish I could have executed a little better but I think that will come with some more chances to help these guys try and get some more wins. 

"I just want to keep improve with each opportunity I get and help run the team, and get the guys set up on the floor and get the offence running smooth. That's what I'll be focusing on."