Forde: Emotions, not talent, cost Snakes

The Cairns Taipans endured a rough start to a highly anticipated season, falling to the Sydney Kings by 21 points in Round 1, a result that didn't sit well with head coach Adam Forde.

"It was disappointing, it was frustrating, but it's a lot of lessons for guys,” he said post game.

“You know, guys were getting frustrated with officiating, guys were getting frustrated with themselves, the shots. Sydney did a good job keep pressure, and we just failed to respond."

The Taipans came out firing at Afterpay Arena, stifling Sydney's early momentum just moments after the Kings had raised their championship banner. But the resistance didn't last. Once the Kings found their rhythm, Cairns had no answer, and the deficit only grew from there.

"We let our emotions get the better of us, right? Combination of, you know, we are a confidence team and it's important, right, that the guys back themselves even during the dry parts,” he added.

"We let the offence determine what we did defensively and then defensively was bad and then it made our offence a little bit more worse."

It was a night defined by volume over accuracy for Cairns, who launched a franchise high 44 three point attempts across the 40 minute game but connected on just 13. Shaun Bruce and Malique Lewis shouldered most of that burden, each knocking down three from beyond the arc.

Whatever the Taipans lacked offensively was compounded at the other end, where Kendric Davis and the Kings piled on points with little resistance.

"We panicked where we go on a little bit of a run, something goes against us, and then we don't stay committed to it. We move away. And I mean, that's on me.”

The Taipans take on Tasmania at home on Wednesday night, live on ESPN from 7:30pm AEST.