Snake Eyes – Taipans @ Hawks

With futures to play for, with their professional pride and a natural competitiveness to fight and win, there's plenty for the CQUniversity Cairns Taipans to still play for and they can also upset teams' finals prospects starting Sunday against the Illawarra Hawks.

The Taipans are fresh off a game in Perth against the Wildcats on Friday night where they did battle hard, and they can take some positives from that leading into Sunday afternoon's contest now against the Hawks at the WIN Entertainment Centre.

The last two times the teams have met this season they have been thrilling contests, and Sunday could very well be the same with the Snakes having the opportunity to play spoiler for Illawarra's quest to return to the playoffs under legendary coach Brian Goorjian.

He is a man that Taipans coach Mike Kelly knows remarkably well so there is that extra aspect to Sunday's game, but there's plenty of things to look out for including the following five:

1. ANOTHER CRACK AT GOORJ AND THE HAWKS
Mike Kelly is looking forward to another battle with his old coach Brian Goorjian, but ultimately, he is looking forward to seeing a fighting effort from the Taipans against the Hawks

It was a thrilling contest in the 'Gong the last time the teams met and in fact the last two games have been close after the Hawks blew the Taipans away earlier in the season 90-70 up at the Cairns Pop-Up Arena.

But going through close games against one another is sure to have been a unique experience for head coaches Brian Goorjian and Mike Kelly after everything they experienced together including winning championships at the South East Melbourne Magic as player and coach during the 1990s.

But in that last meeting at the WIN Entertainment Centre back on April 11, it turned out one of the more dramatic games of #NBL21 with the Tyler Harvey-inspired Hawks making it consecutive two-point wins holding off a brave yet shorthanded Taipans.

Despite the eventual two-point loss, Cam Oliver was superb for Cairns with 27 points, 12 rebounds and five assists while development player Dufelmeier delivered 12 points, three steals and two rebounds.

Veteran guard Jarrod Kenny added nine points and three assists. Jawai also had nine points, Mirko Djeric eight and Jordan Ngatai seven.

Kelly is now looking forward to seeing what the Snakes can build on from Friday night in Perth and he always enjoys catching up with Goorjian, even if it is now as rival coaches.

"I think it's great that we get to play again in two days after that game in Perth," Kelly said. 

"We don’t have too many practices left but we have five games left and the guys want to hoop. It's always fun to battle against Goorj and to see him so we'll see how it goes. We'll travel over and get ready to go."

2. DON'T EVEN MENTION NOT GIVING EVERYTHING
Coach Mike Kelly will not be considering letting any players get away with not giving their absolute all in the final weeks of the season, and nor should he

Playoffs might not be there as motivation for the Cairns Taipans this season, but if any player or team as a whole can't find motivation to compete, fight and try to win every time they take part in a game of professional basketball, something is seriously wrong.

Taipans coach Mike Kelly can't fault the way his team are fighting for the most part including on Friday night in Perth where there were continued good signs especially from Tad Dufelmeier, Mojave King and George Blagojevic.

But any talk about accepting anything but 100 per cent effort the rest of the season is something that Kelly won't even consider, and really it's insulting to suggest otherwise.

"The guys are working hard and there are some talented young players that are still playing hard, and enjoying the minutes. We have to take heart in that and keep giving them those minutes," Kelly said.

"I actually couldn’t forgive them if they checked out early. There's no reason to. These guys play ball because they love to play and they also get paid for it so I expect commitment every day and these guys have stayed with it through losing players and teammates, and with different guys trying to step up at different times. 

"A number of them have worked hard for every opportunity and are trying to cash in when it comes. We expect them to give that effort every day and if you make shots, and the slow the other team down you always have a chance to win."

3. FULL SUPPORT FOR THE WARRIOR
Venky Jois might have received some unfair treatment over in Perth from the Red Army, but the fact remains he's quite the offensive threat and coach Mike Kelly will keep backing him in

Since Venky Jois joined the Cairns Taipans as a replacement for Cam Oliver who went on to star in the NBA with the Houston Rockets to close the season, he has been a bundle of energy.

He has fit right into the Snakes unit tremendously well and quite honestly, he is an offensive weapon that defensively he is just about impossible to stop.

With his quickness, size, power and athleticism, if he wants to be aggressive and attack the basket, the only thing opposition defences can do is get score on or to foul him.

Now his free-throw struggles are there for everybody to see, but the treatment he received from the Perth crowd on Friday night was uncalled for.

But aside from that, the energy he plays with and the offensive threat that he always is means that coach Mike Kelly will continue to make him in to the hilt, and so he should.

"The only thing I'll say about Venky is that he's a warrior, he cares and he is working his tail off every day to support his teammates," Kelly said.

"So when he's out there and people are laughing and clapping, which while I understand people are here to have a good time, but it just reminds of the warrior being in the arena as opposed to the people mocking him from outside the arena. 

"He comes to work every day and I just love that he puts himself out there and does the work. I want him to make his free-throws and he works on that too, but I just love his heart as well as the guys on this team. 

"That's what we'll take as a positive. He is a very good scorer, he's strong and athletic, and has a real nose for the ball."

4. HELPING TEAM WIN ALWAYS A MOTIVATOR
George Blagojevic has banged the door down for more opportunities for several seasons now at the Taipans, and ultimately he knows if he can help the team win that's going to get him noticed more than anything

George Blagojevic fought hard firstly as a development player to earn a full contract with the Taipans, and now he tries to make the most of every minute he gets on the floor as he attempts to ensure he remains in the NBL moving forward.

With good size and length, he has the tools to be able to battle inside both to be an offensive threat and a rebounder, but he can also shoot the three ball impressively and also create off the dribble.

So he does have an impressive skill set and he tries to show what he can when he hits the court just as he did Friday night in Perth, but ultimately he wants to be part of more wins above all else.

"It wasn’t great obviously because we lost but it was good to get on the court and get a run. I just try to stay ready and when my time's called play hard and do what I can for the team, so that part of it was good," Blagojevic said.

"I think I continue to improve. It can be tough when you don’t get that many opportunities to see where you're at, but it's all about confidence and when my confidence is good I think I'm up there with the best. I'm just working hard every day and staying ready, and when my time's called again I make sure I'm ready to play.

"Personally for the rest of the season I hope we get a couple of wins, that'd be nice and then when my time is called, I want to get as many reps as I can at the highest level and then just keep trying to get better every day."

5. KEEP BEING AGGRESSIVE FROM DOWNTOWN
When the Cairns Taipans have been at their most dangerous this season, the three ball has been a big part of that and Mirko Djeric needs to continue to lead that charge

When the Taipans did beat the Hawks during the NBL Cup in Melbourne, they produced the best three-point shooting performance of any team this season going 18/35 from downtown.

When the Snakes have either won games this season or been a chance to win, the three-point shooting has been a key part of that and if you are talking about shooting from downtown, that's always going to include Mirko Djeric in a big way.

When he is taking his shots and being aggressive, chances are he is going to be hitting at a decent percentage and on the back of that, he's giving the Taipans a chance at being competitive and winning games of basketball.

Djeric drilled five three balls on Friday night in Perth and that was the first time he's made from downtown for the Snakes. 

He now returns to Wollongong on Sunday and his three-point shooting is going to be crucial in the Taipans being a chance of snapping their losing run or not.