‘You’re my guy’: Forde’s faith in Brown

Kenfrost Homes Cairns Taipans Head Coach Adam Forde never lost faith in Jaylon Brown, and when the Taipans needed their import point guard the most, that belief was emphatically rewarded.

Brown produced a blistering final-quarter performance in Saturday night’s 107-95 victory over Melbourne United at John Cain Arena, scoring 14 of his 20 points in the final 10 minutes as Cairns overturned a nine-point three-quarter-time deficit.

After struggling to find his shot earlier in the contest, Brown came alive when the game was there to be won, helping ignite a stunning 35-14 final quarter that secured Cairns a character-building road victory.

For Forde, there was never any question about continuing to put the ball in Brown’s hands.

“No issue with trust. And the cool thing was, the shots were good shots to take,” Forde said.

“It was probably just more important for Jaylon than anybody else. We back him, and I've said from the start, ‘I'm not changing you. You're my guy’.”

Brown entered the final quarter with just six points before finding the confidence and aggression Cairns recruited him to provide.

“He just needed to see that first one drop,” Forde said.

“He got to the point where he was sizing dudes up and making plays. That's the Jaylon we wanted. There was no hesitation in his game.”

Importantly for Forde, Brown’s scoring explosion came within the Taipans’ desired offensive system rather than at the expense of it.

Cairns finished with four players scoring at least 20 points, with Keanu Pinder pouring in 27, Reyne Smith 21 and Brown and Jack McVeigh adding 20 each.

Four Taipans also recorded four assists as the visitors continually looked to move the basketball and create opportunities from the perimeter.

“We are not going to be a team where your point guard dribbles 20 out of 24 seconds and then makes a play,” Forde said.

“I want that ball to zip and fly. We’re five out and we're shooting threes.

“It showed on the box score, we got four dudes with four assists. We want the ball to zip, and we want him to be a scoring guard.”

Frequent Flyers finding identity

The victory also provided another crucial step for a new-look Taipans group still developing its identity after an extraordinary amount of time together away from Cairns.

Forde revealed 30 of the past 45 days had been spent on the road, something he deliberately planned to accelerate the chemistry of a squad featuring 11 fresh faces.

“I did that on purpose,” Forde said.

“You get a lot of time to spend with each other.

“We continued the theme of what it is we want to play, and how we want to play, and how we want to talk and engage. That's the coolest thing about being on the road, the conversations are happening now.”

That growing connection was tested when Melbourne exploded for 35 points in the third quarter behind Cole Anthony, who finished with a game-high 40 points, leaving Cairns trailing 81-72 entering the final term.

Rather than panic, the Taipans responded with six consecutive defensive stops to open the term and an 11-0 run to reclaim control of the contest

“Keep stacking good days”

Forde said those moments were particularly important for a team he wants to play with emotion and energy.

“We're that emotional team,” Forde said.

“I don't want to curb that because that's how we have to play different. We are a high-energy team.”

Having shown similar defensive resilience without fully capitalising offensively in their loss to the 36ers in Adelaide, Forde was pleased to see his side complete both sides of the equation against United.

“Today we capitalised on the offensive end,” he said.

“So, it's building blocks and Jack (McVeigh) said it perfectly. What we did today is nothing special.”

The challenge now is making it repeatable.

Cairns returns home to face the Brisbane Bullets at the Cairns Convention Centre on Thursday night.

Make sure you do not miss any of the action, grab your tickets HERE.