A fiery matchup between the Cairns Taipans and Illawarra Hawks saw one side slide down the standings with another consecutive loss, while the other is beginning to find some light after a disastrous start to the season.
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The Hawks walked away with the 107-95 win, but it was an interaction with an NBL official that stole the show, with Taipans head coach Adam Forde receiving a first-quarter technical foul, setting up a fiery halftime interview that could see the coach investigated by the league for his comments.
All this and more in NBL Wrap.
FORDE’S FRUSTRATIONS BOIL OVER
Cairns Taipans head coach Adam Forde was left frustrated during the first half of his side’s matchup against the Illawarra Hawks after a no-call involving star forward Keanu Pinder left the coach irate, resulting in a technical foul.
Adam Forde ERUPTS at no-foul call | 00:54
Those frustrations carried over into a halftime interview with NBL courtside commentator Ariana Prather, with his remarks continuing a trend over the past week of players and coaches publicly venting their displeasure towards league officials.
Although there has been no indication that Forde’s comments will be investigated, recent incidents suggest they could come under scrutiny from the league.
But for Forde, it was his team’s errors and self-inflicted defensive issues that he felt ultimately cost them the game.
“Yeah, I mean we made some frustrating errors,” he said.
“We tried to do some adjustments that were supposed to make a little bit easy for us defensively.
“The amount of times we left Tyler Harvey open or late contest jumping at shadows and so you know we let him really get his iron and then we talked about defending the Spain action during the week,
“and we messed it up and then we talked about at halftime and we still found ways to confuse ourselves so you know just a lot of errors.”
The Taipans didn’t have a poor shooting night, going 13-34 from deep (38.2%) and shooting 45.9% overall, but the Hawks not only matched their shooting numbers, they also dominated inside the paint.
For Forde, the defensive breakdowns and repeated errors were the biggest contributors to the eight-point loss.
“We just kept making errors. It’s a communication thing,” he said.
“Some of it’s match-up-wise, some of it’s personnel, but we just kept making the same silly errors. And when you let guys like Harvey get free looks at the basket, especially from three, they’ll then tend to make you pay for it.”
On a more positive note for Cairns, NBL Next Star Luke Paul made his first career start last night and produced the best performance of his short career, finishing with 12 points, four rebounds, two assists and two steals.
Paul showed promising signs throughout the contest, although he was exposed at times defensively and committed a costly turnover. For the young professional, these moments will be part of the learning curve as he continues to develop.
Forde praised Paul for stepping up and taking on the responsibility in the absence of injured star Jaylin Galloway, who is expected to miss the next eight weeks with a back injury.
“We wanted to try something different where we got Jaylon (Brown) off the ball,” he said.
“So to get him going, especially with Galloway out, we wanted to get some free shots for Jaylon off the ball which you know for the most part was really good.
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“So moving a point guard to get Keanu (Pinder) and Jack (McVeigh) going early and so between Luke and (Shaun) Bruce today really did a good job sharing the role.”
The Taipans must now regroup ahead of their next matchup against the Perth Wildcats on Sunday at RAC Arena, where they will look to avoid slipping below .500 for the season.
HAWKS BUILDING MOMENTUM
After a brutal start to the season that saw them fall to 2-8, the Illawarra Hawks have now won their past two games against the Perth Wildcats and Cairns Taipans.
Although they still have plenty of ground to make up in the standings before re-establishing themselves as a genuine threat, the Hawks are beginning to build momentum.
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And despite still being without a third import, the current group is showing signs of improved chemistry as they look to turn their season around.
For head coach Justin Tatum, the win was another positive step forward, praising his players for executing their game plan.
“The game was so good from us,” Tatum said.
“I mean, something that we came out to do, making sure that we find a way to build off the last win. We know we’re on the road for a while on this trip, and we just want to find a way to build momentum.”
The Hawks came out firing from deep, going blow for blow with a Taipans side that was also enjoying a strong shooting night.
As a team, Illawarra shot 39-65 (60%) from the field and 12-27 (44.4%) from beyond the arc, led by the trio of Milton Doyle, Tyler Harvey and emerging star Makur Maker, who combined for 61 points.
Harvey praised his teammates for finding a way to secure the win in a hostile environment, in front of the passionate Cairns crowd.
“I think as a team, we came out well,” he said.
“I think on the road you have to find a way to get stops. And then we came out at halftime, we made some adjustments and slowed them down a little bit.
“And down the stretch we were able to hit some shots and sort of run away with the game. But this is a tough place to play. It’s always going to be close here. The fans get into it. They play off the crowd energy. So to get out of here with a win, we’ll take it.”
One of the biggest revelations for the Hawks has been the arrival of big man Makur Maker, who has taken the league by storm through his first eight games.
Maker produced another dominant performance last night, finishing with 24 points and nine rebounds, taking his season averages to 16.8 points, 6.3 rebounds and 0.8 blocks while shooting an impressive 64.9% from the field.
For Tatum, he had nothing but praise for the big man and the impact he has made since joining the club.
“That’s a bad man right there,” he said.
“He had a really good game. I mean, he’s a difference maker for us. You know, he’s blocking shots, he’s rebounding the ball, and the capability of him making shots and making passes is unbelievable.
“So we just want to keep that going and keep building his confidence up, and everybody else will just come along.”
All of a sudden, the Hawks are beginning to look like a dangerous team again, highlighting just how quickly momentum can shift in the NBL.
They now turn their attention to tomorrow night’s matchup against the Adelaide 36ers, where another win against one of the league’s contenders could see Illawarra become one of the biggest talking points of the round.