Kelsey Griffin's return to the Canberra Capitals line-up will be a week-by-week decision dependent on her healing face fractures, but the side's WNBA import is expecting the roster will step up in her absence.
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The side will be without Griffin for their homecoming to the National Convention Centre against the Sydney Uni Flames - due to orbital and nasal fractures sustained during an on-court collision - but Britt Sykes said it was not up to an individual player, each member had their part to play.
She said if they continued to do what they did best individually, and brought it all together on the court, they would be just fine.
"I always believe that it's the next man up, and that's the whole roster. It's not just one person. We also talked about making sure when Kelsey was with us that it wasn't all on her as well," she said.
"It falls to the same suit, so if one man goes down we have 11 more that have to step up, from the starters to the bench, so we're all prepared. We just have to continue to work hard like we have been doing."
Their return home on Sunday marks their second game in a row against the Flames, and their first game back in Canberra since the 2019-20 season.
Sykes said she had heard great things about the venue, and hoped the crowd would make it hell for the Flames.
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Capitals head coach Paul Goriss also welcomed the "sixth-man" - the crowd - which was lost in last season's hub competition.
He expected Sydney to target their guards more this time, knowing Griffin was out and they did not have as much size. "It's just going to take time for [Griffin's] bones to heal, and that will be a week-to-week proposition on how quickly she heals, both with the nose and the eye socket," he said.
The side opened their season with a 58-55 victory against the Flames last week, but Goriss said there were still a few things the side could improve on for their second game against them.
One thing was apparent, though - they knew what to expect, he said, and would feel more comfortable in their preparation for the game.
"It was more so from an offensive perspective, rather than defensively, obviously, with the low scoreline," he said.
"We just didn't make enough shots in that first half, and we obviously adjusted in the second, but I think we've got to play with a little bit more speed.
"And then just making sure that we deal with their pressure, both in the half court, and with their trapping and pick-n-rolls, we put some things in place this week that hopefully it all works out on Sunday."
Although the Capitals are prepared for whatever Sydney throws at them, Sykes was still learning how the WNBL was officiated compared to the WNBA.
"It comes to a point where you can only control how you react," she said.