Sydney Kings break duck but lose MVP Kevin Lisch for a month

The Sydney Kings will be without two-time NBL MVP Kevin Lisch for at least a month.

Brad Newley of the Kings shoots during the clash with Illawarra Hawks.

The Sydney Kings will be without two-time NBL MVP Kevin Lisch for at least a month after he injured his calf in yesterday’s 103-87 thrashing of NSW rivals Illawarra.

Lisch went down in the third quarter directly in front of the Sydney bench and played no further part in his team’s first win of the 2017-18 season.

Sydney coach Andrew Gaze fears Lisch could be sidelined for several weeks. “The physio is saying the best-case scenario is probably three to four weeks and the worst-case scenario is one we don’t even want to contemplate,” Gaze said.

“It’s just one of those things where he pushed off and unfortunately it sounds like a nasty one — and by sounds, I mean literally, because I was a metre away.

“The initial diagnosis is a grade two tear, but until we know, we hope that he’s OK. Clearly it dampens our celebrations when our leader and a legend of the competition is going to be out.”

Gaze said Sydney had room to sign a third import to cover Lisch’s absence. “We have an import spot, so a judgment will be made once we get the medical diagnosis,” he said.

“That’s not the only reason why we have two imports, but in our rationale if something does happen we’ve got something up our sleeve. That was a huge win for us. It could’ve gone two ways when we lost Kevin. I was very proud of the composure.”

Sydney are on the road against New Zealand and Adelaide in round three. Illawarra coach Rob Beveridge isn’t panicking despite his team’s 0-3 start to the season.

“We’re not going to implode. I know they’re going to get in and fight their arses off,” Beveridge said.

“There’s going to be a lot of critics out there writing us off. It happens every year.

“We’re in a bit of a hole but I know we’ve got enough talent and character in our team to weather this storm.”

Perth Wildcats and Melbourne United will face off as the form teams next Friday night after contrasting but equally impressive season starts. Perth have racked up two double-digit home wins to open their campaign while United have impressed on the road despite a knee injury to import Casey Prather adding to their casualty list.

Prather limped from the court in the second quarter of Saturday night’s 99-79 win over Adelaide following a heavy collision with Mitch Creek and will return to Melbourne to undergo scans on his knee.

While sharpshooter Chris Goulding (appendicitis) is an outside chance to return for the match in Perth, it seems likely that Prather will be denied the opportunity to play against the franchise where he won back-to-back NBL championships and club MVPs.

Backing up from an eye-catching performance against the NBA’s Oklahoma City Thunder, United have now completed an emphatic away double against the 36ers to open the season, showing off the talent and depth of their roster.

Reserve point guard Kyle Adnam answered the call for United with a career-high 23 points, punishing the 36ers from outside with six three-pointers.

AAP