Snake Eyes – Taipans v Hawks Round 3

The CQUniversity Cairns Taipans delivered a second half on Monday night to give them great heart that they will be hoping to carry that momentum up against the undefeated Hawks on Thursday.

The Taipans are back at the Cairns Pop-Up Arena for the fifth home game already of the 2021 NBL season and there hasn’t been much time to take a breath in between.

All five games would have now taken place in the space of less than two weeks, but no matter the circumstances, it looms as a critical early season game for the Snakes against an opponent that has opened up on fire.

The Taipans come into the game on Thursday night at the pop-up having lost three games in-a-row while the Hawks have won their first three matches of the 2021 season.

That sets the stage for a tantalising match up but the Taipans played their best basketball of the season so far in the second half on Monday night against Melbourne United, and will be looking to carry that into Thursday against the Hawks.

Here are five key things to look out for:

1. SNAKES TO BRING IT AGAINST THE HAWKS
The Hawks have won their first three games, the Taipans have lost their last three and coach Mike Kelly knows the Snakes will have to 'bring it' to win on Thursday

The simple fact of the matter is coming into Thursday night's game at the Cairns Pop-Up Arena is that the Taipans need to return to the NBL winner's list.

The Snakes have lost their past three matches to the Hawks, Sydney Kings and Melbourne United all on their home floor and slipping to 1-4 with another loss on Thursday is just not a position they want to be in so early in the new season before playing any road games.

But knowing what needs to happen and then actually making it a reality are two different things, and Taipans coach Mike Kelly is fully aware that nothing is going to come easy against the Hawks.

Firstly they are coming up against his former coach that he won a championship with and played the best basketball of his career with at the South East Melbourne Magic, Brian Goorjian.

Sure, he has been out of the NBL for a decade but now that Goorjian has led the Hawks to a 3-0 start to the 2021 season, the fact remains he hasn’t suffered a loss in the league since Game 4 of the Grand Final series against the Melbourne Tigers, which was on March 11, 2009.

Cairns come into Thursday's game fully aware of its importance and of what needs to happen. Kelly is also suffering no illusions that nothing but his team's best basketball will be required to win the game.

Quite simply, the Taipans have to bring it because there's no question the Hawks will. 

"The Hawks are going to bring it and if we bring it like that too, it's going to be an amazing game," Kelly said.

2. WINS, NOT MORAL VICTORIES ALL THAT MATTER
There have been good signs for the Taipans despite three losses but there's no more time for moral victories, Thursday needs to be the start of winning games

In all three losses the Cairns Taipans have suffered leading into Thursday's game against the Hawks there have been positives that the Snakes can find, but for coach Mike Kelly it's now time to record a win and not try to find moral victories.

Even dating back to the loss last Monday night against the Hawks, it wasn’t all doom and gloom for the Snakes with Majok Deng and Kouat Noi catching fire offensively, Cam Oliver battling hard and Scott Machado producing another double-double.

Then on Saturday night against the Sydney Kings, Oliver produced a remarkable individual game made up of 27 points, 10 rebounds, three blocks, two steals and two assists. 

That's not to mention some of his physical displays including what might very well be the best dunk in NBL history when he threw the tomahawk down on Kings pair Craig Moller and Jordan Hunter who didn’t know what hit them.

Then on Monday night, the Taipans withstood a remarkable shooting performance from Melbourne United who went 7/8 from deep in the first quarter and 10/18 in the first half before responding impressively in the second half.

The Snakes held Melbourne to just 36 points in the second half and to shooting 3/14 from beyond the arc. 

And when Scott Machado caught fire late in the game finding his groove in the mid-range with five consecutive baskets, the Taipans gave themselves a sniff of what would have been a morale boosting victory.

The Taipans didn’t quite win the game but coach Mike Kelly came away in no doubt he had just seen his team play their best basketball of the season so far. Now he needs to see them turn that into a win on Thursday against the Hawks in front of the Orange Army.

"I'm happy with some of the things we did in that last game but we need to play four quarters. The way we played the second half, that's winning basketball that second half right there," Kelly said. 

"We almost got knocked out in that first half and even the third quarter but the guys fought through it and never stopped doing what they are trying to get done. Yes I think that's the right direction but in saying that, we are 1-3 right now and wins do count and moral victories are just moral."

3. TAIPANS LOOK TO HAVE FRESHENED UP
Having played four games in nine days, the Taipans have enjoyed a couple days from Monday leading into Thursday's game to prepare to host the Hawks

There might still have only been three days in between games, but after a hectic schedule to open the NBL 2021 season, the Cairns Taipans have done all they can to ensure they are fresh for Thursday against the Hawks.

While the Taipans will be playing their opening five games at the Cairns Pop-Up Arena so haven’t had travel to factor in, the hectic schedule has already taken its toll and the need for a good recovery program has been paramount.

The Taipans opened the season on the Saturday night of Round 1 against the Sydney Kings and then it was just two days later when they played host to the Hawks giving little time to breathe in between.

There was then just the five days before backing up against the Kings again last Saturday night and once again a rapid-fire turnaround into the clash with Melbourne United on Monday night.

Now there will have only been three days again in between taking on the Hawks this Thursday at the pop-up before again there's little time to stew over that ahead of jumping on a plane for the first road game of the season against the Bullets in Brisbane on Saturday.

Taipans coach Mike Kelly has been happy enough with how his players have stood up to the schedule so far and he's looking forward to seeing how they come out now on Thursday.

"The bodies are fairly good overall and I think the guys have handled it physically pretty well. They were happy with the three days off before playing on Thursday and when we've been playing with one days rest so having that extra time to prepare and get ready is a bonus," Kelly said.

"And the guys will want to keep playing basketball because they just played their best two quarters of basketball they've played all season in the second half there. We know what it's going to take for us to compete in this league and that's what it is."

4. FAB MAKING MOST OF INCREASED ROLE
Fabijan Krslovic made the most of his first career start in the NBL on Saturday night but no matter the role he plays, coach Mike Kelly always knows he'll be ready

Fabijan Krslovic has never had anything handed to him in his basketball career, he's worked hard for everything he's got and he earned himself the first start in the NBL on Monday night.

Coming back to Australia after his college career at the University of Montana, Krslovic initially joined the Taipans as a development player and was so impressive with how hard he continued to work that he banged down the door that he won a full contract last season.

He provided such valuable energy, production and hustle in the time he got on the court last season while working as hard as anyone away from game day to ensure he would be on the team again in 2021 with the Taipans.

He has now gone to another level already early in this NBL season and then on Monday night against Melbourne United he earned the first start of his career.

He performed well too ending the game with eight points, three rebounds, a steal and a block including nailing 2/3 from three-point territory.

Krslovic himself didn’t feel that different about starting, but appreciated the opportunity.

"It wasn’t that different. I know I just need to be ready and you still get those jitters whether you're on the bench or on the court for the tip," Krslovic said. 

"But I'd know about it all day and didn’t really try to change too much. I think I'm pretty comfortable and confident knowing what my role, and I just try to go out there and execute what I need to do on the court to get me the start in the first place."

Taipans coach Mike Kelly was looking for Krslovic to help set the tone defensively and on the glass by putting him in the starting line-up, and wasn’t disappointed.

"Fab tries to do his job all the time and I just felt like we weren’t, as a group, defending as well as we wanted to at the start of games," Kelly said.

"I say that and they still scored 29 points in the first, but I think Fab is just steadier on offence and defence. 

"Majok is lethal on offence so the switch was with a defensive mindset and then having Majok come in a few minutes into the game allows him to play more with the second group, and has the ball more in his hands. That was kind of the mindset and I thought Fab did a great job."

5. 'WALKING BUCKET' MAJOK STILL MAJOR PART
It was no slight whatsoever to Majok Deng not to start on Saturday and whether he does come back to start or come off the bench again, he will have the green light to be a scoring threat

Majok Deng might not have started on Monday night against Melbourne United, but he didn’t take long to hit the floor and he remains a key part of what the Cairns Taipans are doing and that will be evident again on Thursday.

Deng need not have felt slighted about not starting on Monday and coach Mike Kelly made sure he was fully aware of that because the fact remains any time he is out on the court, he is such an offensive threat the opposition need to be on guard at all times.

Deng's offensive prowess is highlighted by the fact that he was averaging 14 points a game over the opening three matches of the 2021 season.

With his shooting ability at his size and length, he is virtually unguardable and his game in the block and down low is improving all the time too which is only going to make him harder to stop.

Kelly knows how dangerous a team the Taipans when Deng is on the floor and that might even be magnified by being able to add his scoring punch off the bench, so there was a lot of thinking that went into that decision on Monday night.

"You just speak openly and honestly to him, and tell him what I think of him as a basketball player, and the guy's a walking bucket so I don’t have to build him up confidently on offence," Kelly said.

"It's continuing to let him know what's important on defence and the boards, and what he is expected to in this group. 

"Majok is a phenomenal person and a great teammate, and he has super high expectations, and also an incredible work ethic. He's done all the prep and he'll be fine. Majok will be ready to go again when he comes back on Thursday."