During last night’s Sydney Kings vs Cairns Taipans game, Kings captain James Harvey was involved in an incident which resulted in the offseason acquisition breaking his arm.
Harvey, the perimeter specialist and offensive threat will now be out for several months and may not even return to the Kings for the rest of the 2012/13 iiNet season.
While only averaging 9 PPG this season, Harvey is a constant threat in the Sydney offence and his off the ball movement will be greatly missed by a team predicted by many to be cellar dwellers this season.
Although imports Corin Henry and Darnell Lazare have demonstrated their great quality and output this season, there isn’t much other scoring as you move down the Kings roster.
Former Rookie of the Year Ben Madgen made up for Harvey’s slack against the Taipans last night, scoring 26 points. Madgen will do his best to make up for Harvey’s absence and they will need regular output from him to get over the line.
The Kings will immediately need backup point guard Aaron Bruce to step up in an increased role.
Last year appeared to be a breakout for the Baylor University product where he averaged 13.9 PPG before breaking his leg during training. Bruce has settled back into a bench role post recovery and is only averaging an output of 4.7 PPG this campaign.
Shane Heal’s men will need the increased output of Madgen and Bruce to make up for James Harvey’s loss. While Harvey’s scoring has not been breaking records this season, hios absence will be greatly missed.
On a Sydney team that lacks much of a scoring punch, the absence of offensive machine Harvey might just derail Heal’s plans to get his Kings back to playoff glory.
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