Goorjian: 'I was worried about complacency'

If Brian Goorjian had any concerns about complacency from his in-form starters, they were put to rest by quarter-time.

Fuelled by a 34-point opening quarter, Sydney raced to a 15-point advantage and seized complete control early on Christmas night.

“The concern was complacency after the three-game wins and then coming back home and having that little break,” Goorjian said after the 24-point victory.

“I was really worried the last game, and then we’ve lost three straight Christmas Day games. How you handle today, if we aren’t up the floor and we aren’t playing with passion and aggression, we’re not the team we need to be to win. Having that and bringing it each game is the challenge.

“Tonight I was concerned coming in, and the start of the game, I was relieved. The pace that we were playing at, the way we were running the ball, the way we were defending three-quarter court, I just knew we were in for a good game.

“I felt really good about how we started. The complacency part, whether we could pick it up, the game started that way and continued through the first quarter and a half. I felt good about how the game was being played.”

The Kings won every quarter but the last, with Kendric Davis (27 points, four rebounds, nine assists), Xavier Cooks (21 points, six rebounds, five assists) and Kouat Noi (18 points) leading the way.

“You look at the minutes, everyone’s around that 19–20-minute mark. We’re getting a lot of contribution from a lot of guys. I didn’t play Brucey (Shaun Bruce) and Tyler (Robertson) that much tonight, because Xavier (Cooks) could carry it and we weren’t dealing with ball pressure.

“I think we can get better at both ends of the floor. Defensively, we can add switching, trapping, pressing, we haven’t really added that yet. Different lineups too. Bul (Kuol) can play some four. There’s a lot there. We’re just starting the climb.”

Now sitting fourth after five straight wins, the Kings’ star-studded roster has well and truly begun to click.

“As I said at the start of the year, I’m enjoying the group. There’s a long way to go and we can get a lot better. You look over time, the build from last year to this year. You want to be that Perth, that Melbourne, a team that’s always in the four. It’s a build, it’s a process,” Goorjian added.

The 12-7 Kings face Brisbane on Tuesday at home, with the chance to further bridge the gap on Melbourne United and South East Melbourne, while Adelaide sits clearly on top.