Milestone men help Taipans to big win back at home
Scott Machado and Cam Oliver gave the Taipans fans plenty to cheer about in their 50th game as teammates, leading the side to a vital win in their return to the Snag Pit.
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Scott Machado and Cam Oliver gave the Taipans fans plenty to cheer about in their 50th game as teammates, leading the side to a vital 79-65 win over Adelaide to snap a five-game losing streak.
The Taipans jumped to a six-point lead at the first break which blew out to 12 points at halftime when Jarrod Kenny drained a half-court shot on the buzzer.
Cairns stretched the advantage to as much as 16 early in the third quarter as the Taipans, determined to register their first win since a narrow win over the Kings on March 4, refused to let the 36ers back in the contest.
That was until Daniel Johnson scored eight points in less than three minutes to give his side a glimmer of hope as they halved the deficit at the last break.
The Taipans kicked to a 14-point lead early in the fourth quarter and held off any late Adelaide advances to secure the crucial win their first game at the Snake Pit since early February.
Coach Mike Kelly said it was a great to play in front of a hometown crowd again, and the energy in the arena helped spur his side to victory.
“I thought there was great energy from our guys and also from the fans,” he said.
“It was a great combination and, even when things didn’t go well and we were up and down on the court, the energy continued to be good and I was really happy about that.
“If we have that consistently, the other stuff is going to work itself out as we continue to work.”
Oliver top scored for the Taipans as he registered a 19-point double-double, while Machado stuffed the stat sheet with 17 points, four rebounds, six assists and two steals.
Kelly said he could sense a big game was coming from Oliver.
“It was noticeable this week in practice,” the coach said.
“He was more vocal, telling his teammates where they need to be – in a positive way – and it just made him more active I think and more attentive to scout, all that kind of stuff.
“It was all positives.”
Oliver said he “took a big look in the mirror” this week.
“Those past two games that I played I wasn’t satisfied with myself and I’m pretty sure it wasn’t for the team and the coach as well,” he said.
“So I really took a big look in the mirror and just figure out what I need to do to get things going for myself and get the team going for everybody else.”
Oliver said he and Machado were not aware of their 50-game milestone, until a teammate told them.
“Jordan Hunt came up to us and said congrats on the 50 games and I looked at Scott and I was like ‘we had 50 games here?’ and he’s like ‘we got our citizenship’,” he said.
“It feels good to have that under out belt. We came here for a reason and it felt good.
“It put a big smile on our faces.”
Mirko Djeric (13 points) stood up in the absence of injured guard Kouat Noi, while Kenny (9) and Mojave King (8) also made contributions.
After back-to-back 30-point outings against Cairns, Johnson did his best to keep his side in the contest, but could only muster 21 points.
Johnson got some support on the scoring end from Jack McVeigh (15) and Sunday Dech (11), but it wasn’t enough as the 36ers failed to put up more than 18 points in any of their four quarters.
Kelly said the Taipans would look to improve every time they took the court.
“For us, it’s about playing with great energy, scrapping and taking the right shots,” he said. “I thought we scrapped and didn’t always make the shot, but we tried to take the right ones.
“The more we scrap and fight and grind, the more good things will happen for us.”
The Taipans will head to Melbourne this week to take on United in a double-header this Friday and Sunday, while Adelaide will host the Hawks.
‘Show us by how you play’: Coach wants to see passion on the court
Taipans coach Mike Kelly has implored his side to harness their passion and put it to good use on the court after the frustration of losing five games on the trot boiled over at a training session.
Star import Cam Oliver and guard Mirko Djeric (below) were involved in a heated verbal bust-up as Taipans players exited the court following a training session at the Snag Pit this week.
Two teammates having a fiery debate — and, in some cases, even coming to blows — at a training session is nothing new in the world of professional sports — in fact, it usually is a sign of passion.
However, Kelly said he wanted to make sure his players were channelling their passion in the right places.
“There’s good passion and there’s bad passion, and there’s frustration that comes out in different ways,” he said.
“We’re just trying to get the guys — ‘hey, use that in your play’ or ‘use that for great energy’ — and we need to be consistent with that.
“That’s really it — don’t tell us you’re frustrated, show us by how you play.”
Taipans star point guard Scott Machado said it would be a focus for the players ahead of this Sunday’s clash against Adelaide at the Snag Pit.
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“We got to turn that passion and energy into positive things on the court,” he said.
“Being as present as we can during a game and fixing what we mess up during a game.
“That passion has got to be directed towards a positive energy, and that’s us winning a basketball game.”
Adelaide will be without stars Isaac Humphries and Josh Giddey this Sunday, but are hopeful import Brandon Paul will be available.
The 193cm swingman was not part of the Adelaide side that defeated the Taipans 81-71 on March 6.
“They’re a little bit different with Brandon Paul coming into the group and they’ve played some really good basketball since then,” Kelly said.
“The last game we played with them was a real grind and they were able to continue going after a grinding two-and-a-half to three quarters.
“I think we’ve been better, especially lately, with being able to fight through all situations, whether we’re down by 10 or up by two.
“That’s what we need to do well against Adelaide and then you need to make some shots. So we’ll keep grinding.”
Taipans big man Nate Jawai and guard Jarrod Kenny will play, despite not completing the full week’s training.
“They both had little tweaks and our physio thought it would be best to give them that extra day of rest,” Kelly said.
“They played through little things during that whole five weeks on the road, and did a good job with it.”
‘The energy has shifted’: Taipans home in on fresh fervour
Taipans import Scott Machado says he has noticed a new attitude at the club since being back “home” in Cairns after a tough five-week stretch on the road.
“It feels good to be back at home, to be able to sleep in our beds and to be able to train here in the Pop-Up again,” Machado said.
“The energy has shifted.
“The guys are all ready to play again, you can see it in practice that the guys are getting after it.”
The Taipans will be out to snap a five-game losing streak when they take on Adelaide this Sunday at the Snag Pit, in what will be their first home game since February 8.
Cairns will be hoping a return to their home court can start the process as they look to get back in the winner’s circle and live up to lofty pre-season expectations.
The Taipans were the second favourites to take out the 2020-21 NBL Championship before the season tipped off but find themselves anchored on the bottom of the ladder and all but out of touch with the top four after 10 rounds.
“We didn’t come back here for no reason,” Machado said.
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“We came back here because we expected to be a good team. We’re not showing it right now and we’re not playing well, but we still expect those things.
“We’ve got to keep that hope up and we’ve got to keep working to get to that.”
Machado said he was looking forward to playing in front of a hometown crowd again.
“I think that’s what we’re most excited about,” he said.
“We didn’t give them a good showing in the seven games we played here the first time out. Now that we get to come back after being away for so long, we’re happy to see them again.”
Krslovic backs Taipans teammates to cover ‘huge’ loss of Noi
Fabijan Krslovic is confident the Taipans can overcome the “huge” loss of injured guard Kouat Noi when they make their long-awaited return to the Snag Pit and try to arrest a five-game losing streak.
Noi sustained a knee injury in the Taipans’ 75-73 loss to the Kings last week, with coach Mike Kelly suggesting it would take a miracle for the 23-year-old Sudanese-Australian to take the court against Adelaide this Sunday afternoon.
Krslovic, who has stepped up to replace the injured Majok Deng over the last month, said Noi would be sorely missed but insisted the team had players that could fill the void.
“His athleticism when running in transition and getting rebounds is a massive factor,” Krslovic said.
“I don’t think we have anyone who is as explosive as him. It’s a big loss but we have other guys and they have other strengths and bring other things to the table, so we’ll cater for them.
“I think guys are ready — I think I’ve done OK with Jok (Deng) going down a couple of weeks ago and I was kind of thrust into that position as well. There’s always going to be a next man up, that’s just how basketball goes.”
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Kelly said Noi’s injury was unfortunate but also presented an opportunity.
“Tad (Dufelmeier) went down to the bubble and didn’t get to play a lot, George (Blagojevic) has had his moments where he hasn’t played a lot and Mo (Mojave King) as well, so there’s a great opportunity for some of these younger guys,” he said.
He was still unsure how long Noi would be sidelined.
“We’re just waiting on the final results of his MRI,” he said.
Originally published as Milestone men help Taipans to big win back at home
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