Maluach shines as Kings' reinforcements arrive

Sydney Kings coach Brian Goorjian believes Makuach Maluach can again thrive alongside an elite defensive wing, as the club prepares to integrate new import Torrey Craig.

Since Bul Kuol’s season ended with an ACL injury, Maluach has stepped into the defensive role, bringing the same pressure, energy and perimeter disruption. Goorjian liked what he saw when Maluach and Kuol shared the floor earlier in the season and expects a similar dynamic once Craig arrives.

"That’s dynamite and hopefully our new import (Craig) coming in is kind of a long Bul-like defender and with the two of them, we’re hoping we can get a little bit of what we were doing with Bul and 'Watch' together," Goorjian said.

Maluach again delivered in Kuol’s absence on Thursday night, combining his defensive intensity with an offensive spark. He scored 14 points in Sydney’s 95–80 win over the Brisbane Bullets, continuing his strong run of form.

The Kings coach expects reinforcements to arrive soon, with Xavier Cooks tipped to return against the Tasmania JackJumpers next Thursday at Qudos Bank Arena, alongside Hunter Goodrick. He remains hopeful on Matthew Dellavedova, while also eager to add Craig, who he believes will slot straight into the group.

"Hopefully (will be available) next game and we’ve got a week, and he should be here in the next 48 hours and there’s only eight of them left, so we’ve gotta get him rolling and comfortable with the guys as soon as we can," Goorjian said.

"We’ve got some guys who can do some things, but we needed a connector and some size, and we needed versatility, and there’s a real chemistry and camaraderie with our team.

"The feedback from those players and coaches are that he's loved and admired, and respected and one great dude, and is all about winning, so that feedback if you're going to make a move right now then he's got to adapt to us in that form.

"Here's our culture and I don’t think that will be a problem for him so that was really big and we've got a versatile piece now where we can put X at the five and him at the four, or he can do hopefully what Bul was doing in the three and we can move JG (Jaylin Galloway) to the two.

"So the versatility as opposed to getting a big or a guard, and the fact that he's available now because it's hard pickings right now, we feel very fortunate."