Some captains lead from the front, but Cairns might look to start their leader from the bench more often after Cam Gliddon's performance during the Taipans' victorious NBL clash with Illawarra.
Gliddon was dropped from Cairns' starting line-up against the Hawks for the first time in 79 games after he shot the ball just twice for three points against Adelaide in round 10.
"I was pissed off, to be honest. Last week hurt me and a lot of the boys so I wanted to come out and attack everything," he said.
But in just his third career start from the bench on Saturday, Gliddon responded by contributing 18 points, six rebounds and nine assists in his side's 99-82 comeback win.
"Cam got challenged tonight. That's why I put him on the bench and he performed," coach Aaron Fearne said.
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"I understand you're not going to have your best game every night, but I want you to go out on the floor with the intent to play your best every night. That's what I wanted from him."
It's a return to the numbers the Snakes expected from the club's reigning MVP after he spent time playing in Poland in the off-season and almost broke into the Boomers squad for the Rio Olympics.
"Some players try and do to much but Cam is sometimes guilty of doing too little, but he was great tonight," Fearne said.
The Taipans will have a 12-day turnaround before their next match, which is against Melbourne United on December 29.
"Fearny will keep us in the gym over Christmas so we don't lose anything," Gliddon said.
"Where we are on the ladder means we can't let up. We have to keep up with the other teams."
