Snakes the only focus for Armstrong

All Taran Armstrong is worrying about right now is helping the Cairns Taipans to a strong finish to NBL25, and he remained confident he could get back to some impressive form even while struggling on Boxing Day and New Year's Eve.

If Armstrong continues with the upward trajectory he is heading with his game and continues to attract global attention, it does seem a given that he's going to earn an NBA opportunity before too long.

However, the just turned 23-year-old as of Wednesday this week is leaving that for others to focus on.

He knows opportunities like that will only eventuate if he continues to play well for the Taipans, if he shows he can help the Snakes win games, and if he shows his mental and physical development.

"I'm not really in a place to talk about that stuff right now. I just think there's other things going on and right now more important things that I have to focus on versus external things," Armstrong said.

"Right now I'm with the Taipans and I want to help us win as best as I can. We're struggling so that's my focus right now and we're in the thick of it so I'm just going to keep putting my attention there for right now."

It's a mature approach for someone still just 37 games into his NBL career but it is an old head on young shoulders which is why he has been able to fight himself out of a rough run of form.

Going back to Cairns' losses on Boxing Day to Melbourne United and then New Year's Eve to the New Zealand Breakers, Armstrong had two tough outings finishing with a combined six points and five turnovers while shooting 2/19 from the field.

Given his importance to the Taipans, that's a big burden to carry especially with the losses being the 14th and 15th in-a-row, but it's a great sign of Armstrong's mental toughness and maturity how he's responded since.

Firstly he had 28 points in the stunning upset win of the league-leading Illawarra Hawks before another 22 points and two assists in the narrow loss on Sunday to the Sydney Kings.

Then there was another 20 points, six assists and four rebounds on Tuesday at home to the South East Melbourne Phoenix.

While it was a loss for the Taipans, Armstrong did all he could and showed tremendous leadership once more for the Snakes, and what allowed him to respond so quickly with those two tough games to now have played well the last three was staying mentally focused and tough.

"I think a lot of it is self confidence and I'm very confident in my abilities. I also think a lot of it is understanding that it's actually the nature of basketball," Armstrong said.

"It's natural to have bad shooting games, it's natural to play poorly and that's for all levels of the game. If you're just having good games week after week after week then you're probably not in a good enough league.

"It's the same for NBA guys, Steph (Curry) recently had two points in a game or maybe 10, and then comes out and has 37. It's not exclusive to a certain person, everyone can fall victim of having bad games but it's the ones who can really stay confident and shake it quickly that can break that cycle quickly.

"It can happen and you saw it with our losses in a team sense, and that momentum of losing is heavy and is really difficult to stop and it can be the same for the individual. It just comes down confidence and belief really."

While the Taipans have won just four games this season with seven left to play, Armstrong continues to enjoy playing with this group and remains as motivated and hungry as ever to help them win as much as possible in the run home.

That starts with a Sunshine Stoush match up on the road to the Brisbane Bullets on Friday night.

"As an individual you always have things to play for whether it's your own personal pride or whatever, and I actually really like playing with this team regardless of where we're at," Armstrong said.

"We have a bunch of fun guys to play with and I enjoy spending time with them, but as a competitor or not really thinking about anything but what's in front of you, playing as hard as you can and trying to win regardless of what the long-term outcome is."