Jack be nimble: Baynes demands McVeigh spark

Winless and back at home, the Cairns Taipans can't afford another slow start when Tasmania comes to town on Wednesday night.

After Sunday's disappointing result, former NBA and NBL star Aron Baynes says the fix begins with their marquee man, Jack McVeigh.

“The challenge is finding the right balance with Jack McVeigh,” Baynes said on NBL Now, presented by CODE Sports.

“Jack needs to impose himself more and be the creator for others.

“When you’ve got several high-usage players, it’s not always easy to get everybody the ball in their preferred spots.”

The Taipans entered NBL27 with a lot of hype, largely built on retaining McVeigh and the return of Keanu Pinder.

Now the task is to put Cairns back in the Finals mix, a challenge that falls on Adam Forde, according to Baynes.

“There was a point where Adam wasn’t expected to coach again, then he stepped back into the role when the club couldn’t find the right replacement,” he said.

“Now he’s assembled this entire roster. The club has invested in the players he wanted and given him the resources.

“The challenge now is to show what that can become.”

Alongside the marquee duo, the Taipans recruited Jaylin Galloway from Sydney and signed exciting import guard Jaylon Brown.

“One of Forde’s strengths has always been helping players improve their production. We’ve seen plenty of players reach another level in Cairns,” Baynes added.

“The next step is translating that individual development into greater team success.

“There are still players to come back into the lineup, but they already have enough talent to win games.

“Because of that, I’d say Adam Forde is probably feeling more pressure than most coaches in the NBL right now.”