Kings’ Coach Clarifies Tactics in NBL Championship Series
In the aftermath of a dominant 112-68 victory over the Adelaide 36ers in the opening game of the NBL championship series, Sydney Kings’ coach Brian Goorjian addressed concerns regarding the team’s approach to defending Bryce Cotton. Goorjian emphasized that there was no intention to target Cotton physically during the match.
Cotton, who recently secured his sixth league MVP award after leading the competition in scoring for the ninth time, struggled in the game, managing only 10 points on 4-of-12 shooting. This performance marked a significant contrast to his previous form, where he averaged an impressive 36.3 points in the Sixers’ semi-final series against South East Melbourne Phoenix. Throughout the season, Sydney has consistently limited Cotton to a scoring average of 15.0 points on 36 per cent shooting.
Matthew Dellavedova, known for his defensive prowess, started the game by closely guarding Cotton. However, he was later joined by Makuach Maluach and Torrey Craig at different stages of the match. Cotton faced several physical challenges in the first half, including being hit in the face at least three times, with one incident occurring within the first 40 seconds of the game. He was awarded only one free-throw attempt during the entire match.
Goorjian denied any suggestion that the team had a premeditated strategy to rough up Cotton. He explained that the physical contact was unintentional and part of the natural flow of the game.
“The same thing has happened to Kendric (Davis) when you’re guarding a good player like that – Dellavedova’s hand just got caught up,” Goorjian said. “It’s not part of the game plan. It was an accident. I don’t think it was bad, and there was no intent in it.”
Goorjian highlighted the importance of defending Cotton without fouling and keeping him off the foul line. He pointed out that Dellavedova’s physicality had been effective in previous games, such as when he guarded Kristian Doolittle in Sydney’s semi-final win over the Perth Wildcats.
Adelaide coach Mike Wells did not comment on the Kings’ tactics or whether the 36ers would seek clarification from the league. His response was straightforward: “No, not at all.”
Kendric Davis, who has outscored Cotton in all five Sydney-Adelaide clashes this season, took an early lead for grand final MVP honours by scoring 25 points and recording seven assists in the game. Davis expressed disappointment at finishing two votes short of Cotton for the league MVP award, but Goorjian believes that Davis has moved past this setback.
“He’s grown a lot,” Goorjian said. “He’s not that worried about MVP, points – that’s all done. The only thing that’s left is to win the championship. He got other people involved and then he had the killer punch towards the end of the game. I thought he played a good all-round game.”
