Kings coach can’t separate the NBL’s top and tail

Sydney Kings coach Brian Goorjian believes the NBL is as even as it’s ever been, and he says the hardest question in the League right now is working out who will finish at the bottom.

After a dominant start, his Kings have dropped their last two games and are back in the pack at 3-2.

Few teams show how quickly things can change better than Saturday night’s opponent. The Perth Wildcats were written off after a Round 1 hammering from South East Melbourne, but just weeks later the two sides have swapped places.

Perth has won four straight to sit joint top of the ladder, while the Phoenix have slumped to ninth.

In this League, nothing stays settled for long.

“The hardest question in the NBL right now to me: who are the bottom four?” Goorjian said.

“You know, Tassie’s good, you know, Perth’s good, you know, United’s good, but you keep going.”

The seven-time NBL champion coach believes even the sides near the bottom of the ladder are capable of winning this season’s championship.

The numbers back him up. Three of last season’s finals teams sit in the bottom five. Adelaide, Sydney’s Championship Series opponent, is eighth at 3-4 [ahead of Friday's games], and fellow Playoff side South East Melbourne is ninth at 2-5. Melbourne United, which finished fifth last season and which Goorjian singled out as a contender, is sixth at 3-3.

That evenness has shifted Goorjian’s focus away from the opposition and back onto his own team.

“Right now it’s about us and not talking so much about the scout, us getting better and good together and knowing that we’re in that mix,” he said.

Both sides will be short-handed on Saturday. Perth is without star forward Kristian Doolittle (foot) and marquee big man Jo Lual-Acuil Jr (calf), while Sydney is still missing veteran guard Matthew Dellavedova with a lower-leg injury.

Even with the Wildcats down two key players, Kings forward Andrew Carr knows the challenge they pose.

“They’re number one offensive team in the League. They love to play super fast,” Carr said.

“I think that’ll be the key for us, is be able to get stops and rebound and be able to push, you know, right back and be able to match their pace.”

Despite the losing run, Goorjian is confident in his side, pointing out that both defeats came down to the final minutes.

“In the two games that we lost, with a minute to go, two minutes to go on the clock, we’re right there and we’re not where we need to be yet. So, I feel good about us,” he said.

Carr said the group is taking the setbacks seriously, without panicking.

“You try not to overreact, especially early in the season… but you don’t want to underreact either,” he said.

Tip-off is 7.30pm AEDT on Saturday at Afterpay Arena, live on ESPN, 9 (Sydney, Perth), 9Go! (other states) and 9Now.