Goorjian: 'Kings need more playmakers'

Brian Goorjian couldn’t fault the fight his Sydney Kings showed, but felt their NBL25 ended on the back of not having the gun players to make plays when it mattered most which will be the focus to rectify next season.

Coming into the season, all the talk was how stacked and deep the Kings were and how most saw them as just about unbackable favourites, but Goorjian never bought into that.

He saw so many other clubs around the league with the formula that he feels brings championship in the modern NBL – having three standout imports and two marquee local players with good role players around them.

The Tasmania JackJumpers had that last season with imports Milton Doyle, Jordon Crawford and Marcus Lee, and then two Australians who went to the Olympics, Jack McVeigh and Will Magnay.

The team that eliminated the Kings in Thursday night's Play-In Qualifier at Qudos Bank Arena, the Adelaide 36ers, had imports Kendric Davis, Montrezl Harrell and Jarell Martin along with Australian starters Isaac Humphries and DJ Vasiljevic.

By Thursday night, Sydney did have two imports with Cam Oliver and Jaylen Adams who you couldn’t ask more from. Then as a marquee local, Bul Kuol did his best but he hasn’t been 100 per cent all season.

What stood out was that third import never materialised to help Adams in the back court, and then Oliver was left as the lone soldier up front in the absence of Xavier Cooks and Keli Leaupepe.

"It just became apparent down the back stretch that we're under the bar of the top teams. What it came down to was figuring out who we are going to move forward with after this first year and what's missing, and the next step," Goorjian said.

"We were in a situation with a lot of guys playing their arse off but when the ball got swung or moved, they don't have the ability to make a play.

"So it kept coming back to JA in the middle of the floor to do something at the end of the shot clock. It is very apparent coming down the back stretch that it's about making plays and just with our group right now and what we were playing with, we were shorthanded there."

Goorjian couldn’t fault his team's effort against Adelaide. The Kings gave themselves a chance winning the rebound count 40-33 while pulling down 14 offensive boards, dishing out 21 assists and taking two extra field goals and five more free throws.

In the end, the Sixers had a variety of guns to go to and the Kings were far too reliant on Adams and Oliver.

While Adams did have nine turnovers, he also had 30 points and 10 assists while being relied to try and create something just about every possession. Oliver had to take on Humphries, Harrell and Martin, and was outstanding in 37 minutes for 19 points, 12 boards, three assists and three blocks.

Goorjian knows they just relied too much on them given the roster they were left with without Jaylin Galloway, Cooks, Leaupepe and a third import that never materialised.

"We made a mistake on the guard, our backup big to give Cam a couple of minutes here and there with Keli was gone, and then at the end of games whenever we've been in a home court like this, it's been JA and Xavier with shooters around them," Goorjian said.

"We didn’t have that and it sounds like excuses, but this is now four, five games where we're playing for your life and there were times we dropped, but tonight we battled all the way and they gave it everything they had."

Goorjian has no doubt the Kings are much better placed after losing his same game to end their season than last year when they also lost on their home floor to the New Zealand Breakers.

Watching from afar and Goorjian knew that if he was to return as coach, it was going to need a culture rebuild to start with at the Kings first of all. Then it was to focus on getting the right pieces to make a championship run.

He is comfortable that the culture part is on track and he would be more than happy to stick with the likes of Kuol, Tyler Robertson, Kouat Noi, Jason Spurgin and Makuach Maluach in particular as locals moving forward.

What happens with Cooks and the imports will unfold over the coming months and Alex Toohey does look destined for the NBA. Ultimately, Goorjian won't want to start NBL26 without two high-quality marquee players and three strong imports.

"I know what we need and I think there's a formula to this where you have three good imports and you have two marquee players," Goorjian said.

"We started the season with two imports and two marquee players, and one of marquee players, Bul Kuol, has been not able to train and has been carrying a leg all year.

"He had to become a defensive stopper with the offensive aspect of his game isn’t there. Then you play tonight without Xavier who is our other marquee so really we're playing a game like this, and you're playing with two imports and your young Australians.

"Moving forward if you want to win a championship, I think we've got some really nice young pieces and the glass is half full, but we're gonna need three imports and two marquee players to beat a Perth or United coming down the back stretch."