Snake Eyes – Taipans at Phoenix

The CQUniversity Cairns Taipans return to play in Melbourne on Friday night and looking to begin a strong run over the last eight games of the season while also putting a dent in the playoff aspirations of the South East Melbourne Phoenix.

Melbourne has become a familiar second home for the Taipans in the 2021 NBL season given they spent more than a month there for the NBL Cup, and they'll be hoping they make a successful return this Friday night.

The Snakes have three games in Melbourne over the final eight matches of the season so Friday night is a chance to set the tone for those games to come against the Phoenix again on May 29 and then against Melbourne United on May 31.

It's also a chance for the Taipans to get some reward for effort. You can't question how much they are putting into everything right now, but getting some reward at the end of that would be nice and there's no better time for a win than Friday against the Phoenix.

Here are five things to look out for:

1. UP TO THE PLAYERS TO KEEP FIGHTING
Taipans coach Mike Kelly still wants to win these remaining eight matches of #NBL21 and he's trusting his players to come out and show that same competitive fire too

Finals might be out of reach for the Cairns Taipans, but coach Mike Kelly has bristled at any suggestion they still won't be throwing everything into winning these remaining eight matches of the season.

That starts on Friday night in Melbourne against a South East Melbourne Phoenix team where the Taipans are determined to make up for their last showing against where the 66 points they put up was the lowest score in Kelly's tenure as coach.

Kelly and the Taipans coaching staff are firmly focused on putting their plans in place to try to still win games as much as ever, and they are preparing the team to be ready to try and go out with a game plan capable of victory.

So with that knowledge, Kelly has put the onus back on the Taipans players to make sure they come out with the same motivation and focus that they want to win games just as desperately whether there is finals positions to play for or not.

After all they are professional basketball players and they do this for a living, and taking pride in performance should be important to them and as a result, Kelly has no reason to doubt that this Snakes group will be throwing everything into winning as many gams as they can starting against the Phoenix.

"It's up to the players to fight for each other and have pride. For me it's trusting that they are going to come out and play hard every day in practice and in games," coach Kelly said.

"In the end, they make that decision and this group will keep fighting and we keep striving for that 40 minutes. We need to keep doing that."

2. EYE ON FUTURE DOESN'T TAKE AWAY THE NOW
Not being able to make the finals doesn’t mean every game of professional basketball is one you want to win even if there's an eye to the future at the same time

The Cairns Taipans might be trying to find out which players are going to be part of the future as the #NBL21 season unfolds, but by no means is that ever going to come before the determination to still win as many games as possible.

The Taipans might have one eye on the future in terms of taking a look at the players in this current squad and seeing who can be part of things moving forward, but really that is something that will take care of itself naturally once the dust settles and plans for next year start being made.

Right now for coach Mike Kelly, his coaching staff and the playing group, the focus hasn’t changed that they are preparing hard for every game, they go into every match wanting to win and no eye for the future is ever going to compromise everything being able to throwing into doing everything possible to win right now.

But having said that, there are some exciting signs for the future happening with the Taipans right now.

The absence for 16 games of Majok Deng and now with Cam Oliver starring in the NBA at the Houston Rockets, more opportunity in the Taipans front court has opened up with Fabijan Krslovic showing he can be a consistent workhorse while Venky Jois has come in providing great energy and George Blagojevic has had his moments.

Then in the back court, Tad Dufelmeier has grabbed his opportunity and run with it even while being a development player. 

He has without question showed he deserves a full contract in the NBL next season as someone who as a point guard can both run the team's offence and also provide his own scoring punch.

As a Next Star, Mojave King is getting better and better as the season rolls on, and getting more comfortable playing professional basketball and performing against men all the time. 

If he wanted to return to the Taipans for a second season before declaring for the NBA Draft, everybody at the Snakes would welcome that and be delighted.

So there's plenty to be excited about in terms of the young players at the Snakes and everyone in one way or another is playing for their future over these final eight games of the season. 

But for Kelly and the rest of the group, winning is always the No.1 focus.

"I think there's an element of looking at the younger players that are in the group with Tad being an example and seeing how they go with extra minutes," Kelly said. 

"There's some of that and you're always looking at the roster and what it's going to look like in the future, but we're still training and playing games to win and compete. 

"If you start to have a different mindset then it becomes hard to play good basketball. We need to keep doing that and guys will get opportunities. We've seen the young guys play which is good and they'll keep getting opportunities, and keep trying to win games."

3. NATE CONTINUES TO IMPRESS
Especially now in the absence of Cam Oliver, Nate Jawai is a big focus of the Cairns Taipans offence and there's no reason that's not going to continue

Nate Jawai is finishing this NBL season as dominant a force as he's ever been in the league and coach Mike Kelly will ensure the Cairns Taipans continue to make the most of that over these last eight matches.

Even in the first half of the season, Jawai had his moments when on the court showing he could still be an unstoppable offensive force despite playing limited minutes at times. He had 22 points and six rebounds at the NBL Cup against the Sydney Kings just to remind everyone what he was capable of.

But now since Cam Oliver returned to the United States and now is strutting his stuff in the NBA for the Houston Rockets, Jawai's role and minutes has shot through the roof with the Snakes, and he's more than delivering as a result.

Since Oliver's departure, Jawai has been averaging 14.8 points and 5.5 rebounds a game, and when he catches the ball down low and he is aggressive looking to score, he is completely unstoppable.

And if the opposition sends the double team, Jawai continues to be a willing and capable passer to find his teammates out of his post who are left open thanks to the attention he attracts down low.

Coach Kelly sees no reason not to continue to focus a lot of the Taipans' offence on getting the ball into Jawai given how unstoppable he is still proving to be.

"It was big time from him in this game and he gave us opportunity after we started off poorly as a group defensively," Kelly said.

"We were then able to go through him and when he's been out there throughout the season we've been able to play a lot through him. 

"To see him step up and give us a chance in a game like that, it's just great to see him in attack mode and also ready to kick the ball out when other guys are ready to shoot or he gets doubled. 

"I want to see it from all the guys, but with Nate we want to demand it on the defensive end because offensively we know he can really dominate the post."

4. AND HE'S MOTIVATED TO GO FORWARD
Nate Jawai is also far from ready to call time on his decorated career and even scoffed at suggestions that he might be considering retirement now as the season enters its final month

Taipans superstar Nate Jawai was asked after the Mother's Day clash in Cairns against the Brisbane Bullets about if these last eight games to come might be his NBL swansong, and based on his reaction, he is as motivated and hungry as ever to make sure that's not the case.

And really, there's no reason to think that Jawai should be considering retirement. Firstly he is only 34 years of age and that has him nowhere the oldest player in the NBL right now well behind the likes of David Andersen, Daniel Kickert and Brad Newley.

Everything about Jawai's 2021 NBL season suggests that it shouldn’t be his last. You are a long time retired and while Jawai is still capable of having such a big impact on the floor, and indeed being an unstoppable offensive force, then he should make the most of his professional basketball career.

If you add in the fact that his body is sound and he is playing through this season healthier than he's been in a long time, and combine it with how motivated and hungry he still is to perform personally and to be part of a winning team, then all the signs are he has plenty left in the tank.

Jawai is finishing the season in form that has him one of the best big men still in the NBL and he was actually a little put off by any suggestion he should be considering retirement.

"I haven't really thought about next year to be honest, but I've been fortunate enough to play every game this season and the body's feeling well," Jawai said.

"I haven't had any niggling injuries throughout the season and I started off the season slow, but coach managed me well. 

"Obviously we're not where we want to be as a team, but I still feel fine and like I can go another couple of years hopefully. I haven’t really thought about it, but I'm not that old I think."

5. ANOTHER OPPONENT NEEDING TO WIN
The South East Melbourne Phoenix are yet another team the Cairns Taipans are taking on who need to keep winning if they want to take part in playoff action

It seems that every game now the Cairns Taipans are coming up against an opposition team who is desperate to win to strengthen their push to take part in the playoffs.

The South East Melbourne Phoenix are no different coming into Friday night's game at John Cain Arena either.

They currently sit in third position on the NBL ladder on the back of a big win against the New Zealand Breakers on Wednesday night.

The key for the Phoenix was to have point guard Keifer Sykes back up and firing, and he'll now have a fascinating match up with Scott Machado from the Taipans on Friday evening.

At the offensive end, having Sykes, Le’afa and Kyle Adnam who can all create shots and driving lanes for Ryan Broekhoff, Mitch Creek, Reuben Te Rangi, Ben Moore, Cam Gliddon and Yanni Wetzell is a scary proposition for opponents if the Phoenix can get it to click.

"It’s a luxury to have, but I feel like the head of the snake has been missing for a while," Mitchell said. 

"For us to make a run, for us to finish with some momentum, and for us if we make the playoffs to make a splash, we need Keifer playing at a really high level."