Kings still have a long way to go mentally... Couldn't pick anyone but Lisch who was playing like they wanted to win that game in the Gong... The Hawks didn't look especially good for the the most part, but the Kings just looked not with it... They'll need to head into the Cairns game with a MUCH better attitude if they don't want to get blown out...

Yeah, a danger game this one. Cairns will be on a high, and Kings might be on a low after a subpar performance. Odds are neither team will shoot like they did their last game though, which means it should be a Kings victory tonight (hopefully).

Sydney should bounce back comfortably.

Why?

Because the schedule dictates each team needs to play every other team four times a season, twice at home and twice at their venue.

The lower ranked teams on the ladder have won all five games so far this round.

Here's hoping Cairns make it a perfect 6/6 for the underdogs tonight.

I would've thought that surely Sydney were strong enough to overcome a down game and motivated Illawarra team, but perhaps not - Cairns will have their chance too if there is anything of substance to them.

Cairns win against Brisbane = big one off IMO.

They shot at such a slip (60% and 58% from 3) and I just don't think they can repeat that type of output.

However a positivist would say that players have now found form and confidence and they could be feeling it offensively

If played in the last couple of weeks this game would have not have attracted much interest. With Cairns winning and the Kings faltering it has become so much more important.

I expect Cairns to give a much better account of themselves but also I think Sydney will win with Bogut and Bowen performing at a high level.

Lets see how it plays out!

Who do the referees like in this one?

That should have a big say on who wins.

Lemme tell you about the boy who cried wolf too often . Nobody listens.

Six upsets why that's fantastic /

It is said ; ' If you don't make it difficult , it is not difficult. '
kelly reminded me of marty clarke , but got it right at the last game . so we will see ....
...most likely gaze will start with the shuffle...

Are you on a vision quest Mr Dromedary?

Argh my ears... *mute*

Sydney will dominate this. Win by 18.

Nice run through on the Jawai v Bogut matchup by Trigger and Wortho before the game!

Crowd seem to be involved.

Maybe the regional fans are motivated by hosting the $Kings$ ?

Referees are definitely going for Sydney

Did Bogut only shoot 1 FT then?

Cairns have opened up with a defeated look already. Melo has taken 4/5 terrible shots. He needs to attack the hoop. Newbill gets an iso with Bogut and gives it up. Devon Hall can't seem to mark weak side cuts to the hoop. Signs do not look good. Cairns can't afford to give up 29 per quarter.

Bogut missed the 1st, wasn't on TV

Bogut getting some really soft calls his way. I didn't see the early offensive against Trimble, but didn't seem to be much in it.

Commentators called a foul on bogut a "superstar call".

Classic Aylen, wait until the shot misses before blowing his whistle.

As soon as Bogut leaves the game its like the Kings have 3 guys on D.

Another Aylen "let's see if it goes down before I blow the whistle" classic.

Coach Bogut. Been a while since we had a player/coach.

Jawai literally set a screen with his backside. Honest question, is that not an illegal screen? Have I been living a lie my whole life? Should I be setting screens with my big backside at Tuesday night social comps?

Waxy still a complete idiot jacks up a 3 when they're down 2 points with 1:30 to go.

What does Cairns need? This team is stacked by crap.

I don't think kelly has agood feel for which players he needs to finish off a particular game with, and when to start that run. Walker and Newbill(?) just not doing well.

I don't know if the Kings success with Bogut on, or lack thereof when he sits, is due to his brilliance, or the fact that Kickert and Ware are so anemic at that end of the floor. Even with Bogut, I think any teams with bigmen who can stretch the floor tend to give the Kings trouble, especially considering Bogut's propensity to drop back into the paint. And even in saying that, the Kings get murdered on the O-boards whether Bogut is in there or not, allowing teams to hang around if they can convert their 2nd opportunities.

DJ Newbill has been a huge disappointment in Cairns after last season in NZ.

I think fatigue is the Kings biggest issue right now to be honest with so many guys on the wrong side of 30, we get killed on effort plays, especially on the 2nd game of double-header round. I think Gaze needs to get a bit more creative with his lineups when Bogut isn't on the court... give Deng Deng some minutes at the 4 spot, too.

Also doesn't help that outside of the odd Newley post-up we don't do much outside of the same dribble-handoff stuff and if Randle and co aren't knocking down the jumper and they are cutting off Bogut's roll to the basket Gaze doesn't have any other tricks up his sleeve and we are chucking up contested jumpers late in the shot clock.

What have we learnt about Sydney this year?

They're currently leading both positional and salary spend ladders.

But they’re nowhere near unbeatable. Even the bottom placed side (probably on both ladders) had a good chance to beat them, and the other low budget regional team did beat them.

Any given game is competitive this year. Over the course of the season the big budgets will tend to win, but each individual game is a real contest.

Very true, Angus. If the initial action doesn't find the Kings an open shot, they are reverting to isolation plays, relying on the individual brilliance of Randle and Lisch (with the occasional Kickert or Adnam play).

Despite being the top of the table, I am still not totally convinced, especially with needing to hold on in the final stages against Cairns (despite their recent form).

re Kings being too old, is it a coincidence they play the slowest pace in the league and games involving them score around 10 points lower than the league average? Probably not. They're working within their limitations by slowing games down. Smart move.

IIRC their record also is waaay better against bottom 4 teams than top 4 teams.

Unbeaten vs Perth this season, but (from memory) 0-3 vs Melb, 1-2 vs Adelaide. The Adelaide losses were the first 2 games of the season however. So generally speaking been beating the teams we should (Hawks loss aside) and the Melbourne losses were close enough that I'm not overly worried. Looked good against the Bullets.