Edwards thriving under Forde

Rob Edwards put up his NBL career high on Friday night, was happy to help the Cairns Taipans take the Summer Shootout lead, and would love to play for coach Adam Forde a lot longer.

Now just because Edwards would love to have Forde as a coach for longer than just this NBL25 season, it doesn't mean it's a relationship that is all chocolates and roses.

The superstar scorer and head coach both wear their hearts on their sleeve, are both emotional and that has led to their share of clashes throughout the season. At the same time at the heart of it all is wanting the best for the Taipans – and to win.

That's why they've always shaken themselves off and ultimately enjoy working together. That was all on show in Friday night's big win in Brisbane for the Taipans against the Bullets.

"I would let him coach me for the rest of my career, for real. We have our moments but for the most part he allows me to come here and play free," Edwards said.

"That's all I can ask for in a coach. We're transparent with each other and when we need to talk, we talk.

"If something doesn’t go as planned then we figure it out but for the most part our relationship, I rock with it. I like the NBL as well, I like Cairns, so yeah."

Not only did the Snakes win on Friday night, but they had their biggest victory of the season to the tune of 31 points and also put 111 on the board in what was their nominated Summer Shootout game, to now be the clubhouse leader in the race for $50,000.

Edwards delivered an NBL career-high of 35 points on the back of shooting 13/20 from the field, 7/11 from three-point territory and also dished out three assists.

He also scored the last five points firstly with a three-pointer and then a dunk at the finish after Forde called a timeout, and drew up a last play for the Snakes to extend their lead in the Summer Shootout.

What Edwards likes about the last four games since New Year's Eve is how everyone is pulling together as a group even if they are playing for individual future goals.

"I feel like it would help everybody's stock, the future, and that's really what it's about, our careers," he said.

"If we all continue to play how we're playing and just play hard, and go out with a fight then I think it will help everybody going forward."

What Edwards has seen in the group is that they have come together, wanting to both just go out and enjoy their basketball, but also end the season with a bang.

"That's another thing that we came together and that we decided we were going to do, everybody that steps out there was going to play free and not worry about making mistakes. We just wanted to do what you can to help the squad," Edwards said.

"I think we just came together as a team and we knew how many games that we had left to finish off the season, and how many practices we had.

"It was just like how do you all want to go out, do you want to just keep on losing or do y'all at least want to go out with a mark or a bang. That was most of our motivation was within the group and I feel like so far we've been doing that."