Goorjian labels Phoenix win ‘best of season’

Brian Goorjian labelled the Sydney Kings win over the South East Melbourne Phoenix as their best of the NBL season, and for him it’s all on the back of the group now being on the same page, communicating and being in finals mode.

It has been somewhat of a rollercoaster ride for the Kings this season and you only have to go back to the last time they hosted the Adelaide 36ers on December 30 to see how things were tinkering on the edge.

Sydney lost that game at home by 15 points after being down by 29 and the season could either fall off a cliff, or Goorjian could show his coaching mettle and pull things together.

They also lost Keli Leaupepe to a hamstring injury meaning extra responsibility fell on Cam Oliver’s shoulders. While that didn’t go perfectly over the next three matches, the last three have seen him greatly impress his coach.

Then on Wednesday night in a potentially season-defining match for both the Kings and Phoenix in Melbourne, Sydney finally got off to a better start rather than forcing themselves to have to pull off a miraculous fightback.

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Sydney put up 36 points in the second quarter and built a 23-point lead, and even though that was whittled down to six late in the fourth, the Kings held firm for a win that improves them to a 16-10 record in second spot.

Goorjian had no problem labelling it their best all-round performance of the season with Bul Kuol delivering a season-best 14 points, with Kouat Noi scoring another 24, Jaylen Adams 20 (nine assists), Oliver 16 and Alex Toohey 10.

“It was our best win of the year,” Goorjian said.

“I keep saying that I like the way we’ve been practicing and the way we’re going moving forward, and this thing’s for the taking. Why not?

“We’re in there and throwing punches, and I hated the start we had because I just think it was totally out of place and ridiculous, but where we are now in this thing, we’re just trying to have a good day.

“And then have a good game and what we’re playing now is finals basketball. We have probably for the last two and-a-half weeks and we’re practicing like finals. I love this and I’m really enjoying my team, and this is good for my team.”

Watching the Oliver-Kings story this year is one of the more fascinating aspects of NBL25, but it certainly appears to be heading in the right direction now.

After Oliver didn’t play the entire second half two weeks earlier against Melbourne United, his last three games have been strong in wins over Cairns, Tasmania and South East Melbourne averaging 14.3 points and 10.7 rebounds.

Goorjian knows how important Oliver is to Sydney’s hopes this season and likes the direction the relationship and his performance is now heading.

“Cam Oliver’s been a huge factor in this. That’s been a work in progress on both parties, a lot of it falls in my box too on what buttons to push but still moving him forward as a basketball player,” Goorjian said.

“There was a game about two weeks ago where it probably hit rock bottom and the jump from that point, we sat down and put it all behind us and said let’s go.

“Again in this game, that piece has been big and he’s got a strong voice and presence. Now he’s got a lot of respect amongst the group with confidence in him, and he has confidence in himself. That growth has been a big piece for us.”

Watch Brian Goorjian and Makuach Maluach’s post-game press conference via the Sydney Kings’ YouTube channel above. While you’re there, be sure to hit subscribe, to ensure you never miss out on any of our great videos.

The Kings now have a short turnaround to trying to earn a measure of revenge on Adelaide back at Qudos Bank Arena on Friday night.

Goorjian, though, faces a nervous wait to find out the status of Adams with his sore back even though he played through the pain for a big fourth quarter performance.

“This is a whole different challenge, the Adelaide challenge than this one. We look forward to it but have total respect with them who like us, it’s a desperate game for both teams,” Goorjian said.

“I’ll know more later about (Adams) but there was a little discomfort and that’s why he didn’t start in the fourth quarter. We monitored from about the middle of the third through the fourth, but I’ll know more when I get back to the hotel.”