Taipans reload point guards, twin tower duo emerging

After a gutsy 101-97 victory led by Detroit deadeye Rob Edwards (31 points and four assists) in front of the roaring Orange Army, Taipans coach Adam Forde could unleash all three of his primary playmakers.

Jackson Makoi will return to the line-up after serving his two-match DUI suspension, while Taran Armstrong could feature in some capacity after completing training on Wednesday.

However, Forde noted that the nature of Armstrong’s soft tissue injury (calf tear) will determine his availability on a day-to-day basis leading up to Friday’s clash at the Cairns Convention Centre.

“If there’s any sense of unease or if not everyone’s on board — whether it’s the medical staff, myself, or the player — there’s no reason to risk pushing him this early in the season,” he said.

This situation comes just a fortnight after Cairns’ only available point guard for Round One was Tad Dufelmeier, who was signed as a nominated injury replacement player.

Veteran guard Kyle Adnam had a strong performance against the 36ers in his club debut, contributing seven points and five assists in 24 minutes, bringing much-needed stability and poise to the offence.

Forde will either ride the momentum of the NBL journeyman or deploy dynamic playmakers Makoi or Armstrong.

“Kyle’s done a great job of showing that minutes are available for those who want to capitalise on them,” he said.

“Since I’ve been here, we’ve always had the mindset of ‘you eat what you kill,’ and Kyle’s done a great job of that last game. Now it’s on everybody else. It’s one thing to be competitive; it’s another thing to actually take minutes. It’s on the other guys to get them back.”

Taipans leader Sam Waardenburg put on a dominant performance against the 36ers, recording 21 points (54 per cent from the field), 11 rebounds, four assists, and three blocks in 37 minutes.

After spending the entire off-season in Cairns and grinding through session after session at the Fish Tank.

Waardenburg has put in the work, while embracing a new leadership role in his third season.

“I’m not the most vocal guy, so I’m not going to give the game-inspiring speech,” he said.

“I just try to work as hard as I can every single day and try to show that to the guys, I try to communicate one-on-one with just the little things I see, but we’ve got a lot of voices on this team.”

A versatile player capable of making his mark on multiple facets of the game.

Forde, who worked one-on-one with Waardenburg along with assistant coaches Kerry Williams and Will Lopez, said they didn’t reinvent the wheel with Waardenburg in the off-season.

They narrowed the focus on his strengths of shooting, finishing at the rim, playmaking ability while recruiting complimentary pieces around him.

“I didn’t shoot the ball well last season, as I know I can,” Waardenburg said.

“I shot (around) 40 per cent (from three) in college, high 30s in my first year here. I’m pretty disappointed with last season, but (I just got to work). I was able to get (multiple) sessions in, shoot morning and night. I haven’t been able to do that for a while, from last season of college to this off-season. It was just nice to get into the lab and just work with the coaches.”

The 208cm (6ft 10in) big man said he constantly analyses clips of basketball, whether it’s NBL or NBA, taking a particular focus on 10-time NBA All-Star Carmelo Anthony’s mid post manoeuvres.

The 25-year old combination with fellow stretch big and Washington import Tanner Groves will be crucial to the Taipans success this season.

Although it’s still early in the season, there are signs that the pair’s similarities and differences could form a twin-tower threat.

Forde said shot selection and minimising contested shots along with rebounding was the focus during the week, while Kyrin Galloway was awarded the in-house ‘grit award’ by his teammates after an outstanding performance against the 36ers.

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Former Melbourne United forward Dillon Stith inclusion into the side this weekend will be another bonus after bone bruising to his left knee kept him out of round two.

Taipans take on the JackJumpers, 7:30pm (AEST) Friday at the Cairns Convention Centre, before facing Melbourne United, 2:30pm (AEST) Sunday at John Cain Arena.

gyan-reece.rocha@news.com.au

Originally published as Taipans reload point guards, twin tower duo emerging