Low minutes “Jaylen’s fault”

Damon Lowery has placed the blame on Jaylen Adams for his low minute count in the Sydney Kings’ Thursday night loss to Melbourne United. 

Adams, a contender for MVP, played 22 minutes and scored seven points on 2/7 shooting in the 90-88 defeat. He played just 2:47 in the final term, despite earning the nickname ‘Mr 4th Quarter’ for his several clutch performances this season. 

It wasn’t his lack of scoring that played him off the court though, with Lowery believing Adams’ defensive effort forcing coach Brian Goorjian to bench his star import.  

“Anybody who saw that game and is wondering ‘how come Jaylen didn’t play’…he misses one of his layups, and he just stopped and looked at the referee like ‘wasn’t that a foul?’” Lowery said on NBL Now.  

“Jogs back down the court. Ladies and gentleman, Brian Goorjian hates jogging back on defence. Delly ran right past him and got a lay-up. 

“That was the last we saw of Jaylen Adams. Brian can’t coach this way.

“Yes, you can be an MVP of the league, you can be an NBL champion, but if your a** don’t play defence all the time, Brian can’t play you. That was Jaylen’s fault.”

Lowery added he still thinks Adams “is the best point guard in the league from a decision-making point of view”, but he couldn’t find a way to shake the strong defensive attention he received from Shea Ili.  

The Kings return to the court on Sunday against the Cairns Taipans at 4:30pm AEDT, live on ESPN and 10 BOLD.