Kings must be “willing” to change

Sydney Kings coach Mahmoud Abdelfattah has backed his side as one of the most “talented” in the NBL, despite a recent form slump.

The two-time defending champions have dropped to 10-10, following Sunday’s 101-93 loss to the Brisbane Bullets.

The Kings have now lost four of their last five games, but Abdelfattah remains confident they can turn it around, but it will take a commitment from the playing group to make some changes in how they’re playing.

“It’s just right there. We can get over the hump. I think we have the talent, we are one of the more talented teams in the league and when the guys play hard we actually show it,” Abdelfattah said.

“I could sit here and talk about it until the end of the year, we could be in the Play-In, we could be in the playoffs, we could be a two (seed), we could be out of it, saying the same thing over and over, but at the end of the day it has got to change and the guys in the locker room have got to be willing to do it.”

Sydney raced out to a 10-point first quarter lead, before falling apart against Brisbane, with Abdelfattah keen for his players to understand lapses in games will have a major impact on their potential Finals positioning.  

“They’re all pretty good with their accountability level amongst themselves, but they just have to put forward the effort and keep their focus,” he said.

“We had a couple of bad fouls that sent them to the free throw line where we didn’t keep our composure. We have to understand that those possessions change the entire season, not just the game.

“We got to turn the page, but at the end of the day, we can’t just turn the page without learning from the past.”

The Kings have a chance to get back on the winners list on Thursday night against the Adelaide 36ers.

The game will tip-off at 7:30pm AEDT live on ESPN via Kayo.