<\/div>\nDELAYED START TO BENEFIT KINGS AND COOKS<\/b><\/p>\n
The league\u2019s MVP Xavier Cooks battled through an ankle injury to help his team into the NBL Championship Series but now the 12 days before Game 1 against the New Zealand Breakers will be of great benefit to him and the Sydney Kings.<\/p>\n
The Kings came into this season as the defending champions and while they did have expectations by many of being favourites to go back-to-back, it shouldn\u2019t be undersold their achievements to now be back in the Championship Series.<\/p>\n
Sydney lost all three imports from that title winning team with the departures of Jarrell Martin, Ian Clark and league MVP Jaylen Adams. To replace them was never going to be easy but they\u2019ve done tremendously with the additions of Tim Soares, Justin Simon and Derrick Walton Jr.<\/p>\n
However, the key to any success the Kings have had this season has gone with their captain Cooks. Fresh off becoming a championship winning captain and Grand Final MVP last season, he has gone to another level in NBL23.<\/p>\n
Despite any arguments over the merits of Bryce Cotton winning a fourth MVP award, it\u2019s hard to deny Cooks was a deserved winner and after all he was the best player on the best team in the league.<\/p>\n
Cooks showed his MVP credentials with a spectacular performance in Game 1 of the semi finals against the Cairns Taipans where he produced 27 points and 14 rebounds in a match-winning performance.<\/p>\n
He rolled his ankle early in the second half of Game 2 in Cairns on Friday night and didn\u2019t return. There were questions over whether he would play in Sunday\u2019s decider or indeed what impact he could have.<\/p>\n
Clearly he was not close to 100 per cent, but he shook off the pain to still deliver 11 points and 11 rebounds in his team\u2019s eventual 79-64 victory over the Snakes to book a spot in a second consecutive Championship Series.<\/p>\n
The Kings will now host Game 1 against the New Zealand Breakers on Friday March 3 at Qudos Bank Arena and this is where the near two-week break thanks to the FIBA window before the Grand Final starting will benefit Cooks and the Kings.<\/p>\n
\u201cGoing back to the other night and they told me if I really needed him that he could play, but I just felt like in the moment he wasn\u2019t very good in that game anyway, and it didn\u2019t feel like we were having much of a chance to win it,\u201d coach Chase Buford said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt just seemed smarter to shut him down and give him every chance for this game. I know he was hurting and he battled like hell to play in the game and to play as well as he did. <\/p>\n
\u201cHe had 11 rebounds and I just can\u2019t thank him enough, and couldn\u2019t be prouder of him. He\u2019s just a warrior and hopefully this extended layoff will give him time to get healthy.\u201d<\/p>\n
TAIPANS DEFY THE ODDS TO GET EVER SO CLOSE<\/b><\/p>\n
Cairns Taipans coach Adam Forde always knew he\u2019d feel up against it trying to battle the bigger clubs and whether it was the change in officiating in Game 3, his team\u2019s injury woes or a rough finals schedule, one thing never changed and that was the pride he had in his group.<\/p>\n
The Taipans did end their season frustrated on Sunday after losing Game 3 of the semi finals to the Sydney Kings, but they deserve to be proud of everything they overcame to get so close to the Championship Series.<\/p>\n
Even just in the semi-final series against the Kings, the Taipans started it having already played two Play-In Games just to reach it having lost to the Tasmania JackJumpers and then defeated the Perth Wildcats.<\/p>\n
Then they started the series against the Kings missing superstar forward Keanu Pinder and energetic guard Tahjere McCall. Then while McCall returned for the last two games of the series, they lost their cool-headed and efficient point guard Shannon Scott with a hamstring injury.<\/p>\n
The Taipans did win Game 2 on their home court on Friday night to force a deciding game back in Sydney on Sunday, but coach Forde always knew his team would be up against it with the dramatic way that game in Cairns unfolded.<\/p>\n
With the Kings unhappy with the way the game was officiated which ended up with coach Chase Buford ejected late in the game after disputing a flop call against Kouat Noi that the NBL later revealed as the wrong decision, there was a chance Sunday\u2019s game would be called differently.<\/p>\n
As a result, the Taipans high pressure defence was getting called tight right throughout the game on Sunday and at one point the Kings had attempted 22 free-throws to just 11 from the Snakes.<\/p>\n
That was just one source of frustration for Forde post-match. <\/p>\n
The other was that with his team fighting so hard even without key players and with a shorter rotation with really only Sam Waardenburg, DJ Hogg, Lat Mayen, Ben Ayre, McCall, Bul Kuol and Jonah Antonio playing significant minutes, that they just ran out of gas.<\/p>\n
With the Kings having had nine days from the end of the regular season to the start of the semi finals, the Taipans had to play the games against the JackJumpers and Wildcats in that time.<\/p>\n
So by Sunday, the Taipans had played five games from the previous Thursday and it clearly took its toll.<\/p>\n
Despite the reflections on all of that, Forde was rightfully named Coach of the Year and he deserves to be proud of how competitive a team he oversaw all season long despite what they had to battle through.<\/p>\n
\u201cA lot of that is skewed because they 17 foul shots in the first half so that\u2019s bang for your buck if you\u2019ve ever seen it,\u201d Forde said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe knew what it would be like going in because this is history repeating itself and they did it last year, and got the benefit of it. We talked about it before the game about the changes that will take place after fines had been paid and everything else.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo you flag it but that still doesn\u2019t mean you let them off the hook when you see it coming, you\u2019re just prepared for it. It is what it is, it\u2019s a business right and about what\u2019s more entertaining. <\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s the reality and we know what we\u2019re battling with and we don\u2019t shy away or pretend we\u2019re something we\u2019re not. We know we\u2019re a community owned club who will have to find the diamonds in the rough and play our style, and not always get the benefit of things.\u201d<\/p>\n
UNFINISHED BUSINESS JUST ONE FACTOR IN PINDER\u2019S DECISION<\/b><\/p>\n
Keanu Pinder will have a sour taste in his mouth this entire off-season having not made it back on the court during the NBL finals and that could factor in his decision in wanting to return with the Cairns Taipans, but it\u2019s just one consideration.<\/p>\n
What a three-year ride already it\u2019s been in the NBL for Pinder. He started off in Adelaide as a big man seen as being supremely talented with great athleticism for his size and a decent outside shot.<\/p>\n
Well, things never clicked and then coach Conner Henry struggled to find a role for him and to have confidence in him to be able to go out and do what was asked of him.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s fair to say it was a mutually agreed decision from both Pinder and the 36ers to part company at end of that 2020\/21 season.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s when Adam Forde came calling to Pinder fresh off being appointed coach of the Taipans. The two had already previously worked together in underage state programs in Western Australia so that connection was there.<\/p>\n
Forde was then prepared to back in Pinder to play a key role on his team and really, build around him with him being a focal point while giving him the confidence that he could be a genuine star in the league.<\/p>\n
The rest is history. Pinder has gone back-to-back in winning Most Improved Player awards turning himself into a quality player last season, and then one of the very best players in the NBL this season.<\/p>\n
Had he not missed nine of the last 11 games of the season through injury, he would have been genuinely a candidate for the All-First Team and in the MVP discussion, that\u2019s how good he was.<\/p>\n
Pinder returned for two games from an ankle injury but against the South East Melbourne Phoenix on January 25 copped a stray elbow from Dane Pineau and hasn\u2019t been able to play since.<\/p>\n
He suffered a fractured orbital socket and was bed ridden unable to let any light into his eye for some time, but this past weekend he was hounding coach Forde to let him play against the Kings.<\/p>\n
Common sense prevailed and Pinder wasn\u2019t allowed back on the court, but had the Taipans reached the Championship Series and with almost two weeks until they are to start, he would have been right to go.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s why he was so frustrated to have missed the chance to try and help Cairns win a championship this season, but now offers will come thick and fast for him.<\/p>\n
His two-year deal with the Snakes is over and given any club in the league could legitimately build around him, there\u2019ll be no shortage of offers coming his way. On top of that, big money European and Asian clubs would love to secure his services too.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s going to be the biggest off-season of Pinder\u2019s career because this could very well be the biggest contract he ever signs and it could be life changing.<\/p>\n
So he has a lot to weigh up. There\u2019s that love and appreciation he has for coach Forde and the Taipans for helping him reach his potential. There\u2019s also the unfinished business to try and help them win that first NBL championship.<\/p>\n
Pinder has to weigh that up against also doing what\u2019s best for his future both in terms of basketball and life. Right now, he will get over the frustration of missing out on getting back on the court then will focus on his big decision.<\/p>\n
\u201cHonestly not being out there hurt more than I thought it would because I was very close to coming back,\u201d Pinder said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI felt like if we had won this game I would have been able to come back to play the Grand Final so I was really looking forward to that, and I was ready for that. <\/p>\n
\u201cI wanted to play the last game honestly but they didn\u2019t let me obviously so it\u2019s all good. I\u2019m very upset about it and I\u2019m just going to deal with it in my own time I\u2019ll be alright.<\/p>\n
\u201cSomething you will always think about is where you feel most comfortable and play your best basketball,\u201d Pinder added.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t want to be in a situation where I\u2019m not playing my best basketball and stuck in a pigeon hole as just another piece of the puzzle. <\/p>\n
\u201cI would rather be in a place where I can be the man and play the best basketball I can so I can reach my goals in life. So obviously it\u2019s going to play a factor in the decision and we\u2019ll see how things go.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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