Taylor ready to man the battlements

Flying former Sydney King Deshon Taylor into the Far North direct from Fresno, California, the guard arrived in Cairns just hours before the Taipans’ matchup with the Brisbane Bullets.

It has been an unlucky opening to the season for Cairns, after only seeing their entire squad in action for one game – their Round 3 matchup against the JackJumpers, which they were leading by 24 points at one stage.

With three of their starting unit picking up injuries, Taipans Head Coach Adam Forde has called in the American to help get the season back on track in his quest to return to the post-season.

“I’ve worked with DT before in Sydney – he was an injury replacement for us when I was an assistant there,” Coach Forde explained.

“We just need a few extra hands, and this is where DT will hopefully help.”

Deshon Taylor with the wild block on debut! 🔥#SYDatMEL #NBL20 pic.twitter.com/yCujv2WFr8

— Sydney Kings (@SydneyKings) November 4, 2019

Initially the focus for Taylor will be to take over the ball handling duties if Taran Armstrong does not return against the Phoenix.

Averaging 19.5 points per game prior to Armstrong’s ankle injury, the guard has needed to balance his scoring efforts with running the offence in the 22-year-old’s absence – dropping his average to 15.6 per game.

With the Tasmanian averaging a plus/minus of +19.5 across his time on court, it’s a piece that the Taipans are eager to replace – however, Coach Forde is also looking to utilise Taylor after Armstrong returns to the court.

“The reassuring thing is he can play a little bit of point which will help in that regard, but even when we had him in Sydney, we played him alongside Casper Ware and had him at the two guard,” said Coach Forde.

“And that’s sort of the plan as well knowing that with Pedro being out, we can put DT alongside Taran and it still keeps Taran doing what he does well – he’s shooting 40% from three, and he’s an aggressive on-ball defender – so he’s going to tick a few boxes for us in a few categories that we need to improve on.”

Flying into Australia directly from his homeland, the American spent the 2023-24 season in Israel – averaging 19.7 points and 1.3 steal per game, with a high of 35 points – leading Final Gençlik to the semi-finals for their first time.

However, there was one key reason leading to his return to the NBL:

“Fordey,” said Taipans guard Deshon Taylor.

“We’ve been talking for about two years now on and off. I got home a week ago from Israel and he called me right when some other teams were in contact, and as soon as he called me, I told him ‘Yeah’.”

Despite being on a six-game losing streak and missing 60% of his starting lineup – including two of his three imports – Coach Forde is focused on not making any excuses and continuing to push his side towards a win.

“It’s really important that we don’t sit in the locker room and go ‘it’ll be fine when everyone comes back’, because what happens if we drop a game with those guys?” explained Coach Forde.

Leading the charge towards breaking the losing streak is Taipans development player Alex Higgins-Titsha, who has been showing very positive signs as the season has progressed.

Higgins-Titsha with back-to-back blocks! 🔒

📲 @cairnstaipans | 📺 @espn pic.twitter.com/jfk151LRw1

— Cairns Taipans (@CairnsTaipans) October 13, 2024

After spending time traveling with the team due to their injuries, the forward debuted in Sydney were he put up four points, four rebounds and four blocks in only five minutes, before putting up 11 points and 11 rebounds last weekend during his first career start.

“This is what I’ve always said is that especially with these opportunities right now where we have injuries, it opens it up for others to steal minutes,” said Coach Forde.

“That’s the level of competition that we want, and Alex right now has made a case to steal minutes off his teammates.”

The Kenfrost Homes Cairns Taipans will now fly south to visit the South East Melbourne Phoenix on Sunday afternoon, with Deshon Taylor set to make his first appearance as a Taipan.

After that, the Taipans host the New Zealand Breakers for Indigenous Round, with the action starting from 4:30pm on Saturday 16 November – tickets available HERE.