Luke Paul had plenty of time to think about his NBL debut but it went better than he expected for the Next Star and Cairns Taipans coach Adam Forde found it difficult to take him out of the game despite the minutes restriction.

He might be still just 17 years of age, but there was great excitement over the NBL debut of the Perth-born Next Star who has already committed to Duke University next season.

His debut was delayed thanks to an ankle injury suffered in pre-season and it was always going to be an easing in process to the NBL for him, but he did surpass all expectations first up in Thursday night's win in Cairns over Brisbane.

Coach Forde had planned on playing him for a couple of minutes at the end of each quarter, but Paul looked so at ease on an NBL floor at the back end of the first that he kept him out there to start the second.

He ended up with two points and two steals in his 11 minutes but it was how at home he looked out there and how he played without fear that pleased his coach the most.

"Luke was really impressive and we knew that he was going to be able to handle the ball, and do the things off the ball and we wanted to ease him into it," Forde said.

"That's why we gave him another guard out there, but what he was doing defensively in the shifts, he got a couple of deflections and there was one where Harrison got an early post and Jonah Bolden was battling for that position, and Luke came in and swooped in and got the steal for it.

"There was a lot of things for a young man in his first that he was really impressive. We had the minutes plan to keep him to five to eight, but because he was doing so well that extended out to 11. He'll only grow in confidence and I'll only grow in confidence in him."

While Paul might have had to wait a little longer to make his NBL debut than he would have liked, he was pleasantly surprised how comfortable he felt out there and couldn’t wait to get over to see his family straight after the buzzer.

"I went over and said hello to mum and dad and my sister who are the biggest supporters in my life. To have them here at my first game was pretty special as well," Paul said.

"It's been a long time coming now and obviously that ankle injury kinda set me back, but it's good to be back out there and Fordey and the boys trust me to go out there to play my game and do what I do best.

"As much as I wanted to keep playing, I've just gotta limit it and ease into it, but it's good to get one under the belt."

On the back of being signed to the Next Stars program which was announced at his hometown of Perth earlier this year, Paul committed to the Taipans ahead of NBL27, but then just as pre-season training was starting, he injured an ankle.

That delayed his NBL debut until Thursday night but he decided to take a positive view of it all and did all he could to make sure he was even more ready once given the all clear to step onto the floor with the Snakes.

"Third day of pre-season to hurt my ankle and be out for the whole pre-season and then start a season was pretty frustrating, but I just took the positives out of it," Paul said.

"I was able to lift more, get ready for the season and put some size on, and then try to get quicker and stronger. I tried to look at the positive side rather than the negative."

Paul also couldn’t be more excited about the Taipans team he is now part of for NBL27, and there's some high-quality talent for him to play alongside, led by Jack McVeigh, Keanu Pinder, Jonah Bolden, Malique Lewis, Reyne Smith and Jaylon Brown.

His first taste of the NBL was also that it was more physical than any basketball he's previously played while getting his first basket was a moment to exhale too.

"It's super special and everyone on the team can play and we've got some hoopers on the team. Everyone trusts each other and we want to build an identity where it's hard to play against us, and no one wants to play against us," Paul said.

"It's physical out there and it's a fast-paced game, and there's international players from all around the world so everyone has different play styles. So you just have to kinda adjust to that, but I'm loving out there and loving it here in Cairns.

"You know I kinda had it mixed up with Fordey when I took the first shot, but the guys trust me to keep doing my thing and keep shooting. So I wanted to get downhill and get one on the board, but it was good to go out there and play my style."

Going back to last Wednesday night and admittedly by Forde the Taipans were in a bad spot following a 23-point loss on the road to the New Zealand Breakers and having lost their three road matches up to that point by 58 in total.

He made the point after that game that it was a make or break moment for the group to make a stand and stop the direction they were heading while at the same time having full faith in the team to do just that.

And the response has been terrific starting with a win on the road over Melbourne United on Saturday night and now toughing out a win at home against the Bullets.

But Forde knows it's not time to rest on their laurels as they head to Wollongong to play the Illawarra Hawks on Sunday.

"This was a challenge we set looking at the first eight games of the season that were always going to be difficult and we're on the road again now to play Illawarra and South East," Forde said.

"Six of our first eight games are away and in five different time zones so that New Zealand game was disappointing because we could see what needs to get done, and there just needed to be that application to do it.

"That's where the robust film sessions and training sessions became important and I've never been worried about this group because there's a lot of talent, and they're also super coachable so it's not like we're dealing with any egos.

"It needs to be every time and every game, and there are no easy games or easy match ups, and every team presents something differently so to get that response is great, but we don’t want to then put our feet up and say job's done.

"There's still things we need to work on and Illawarra's going to pose different challenges on their home court."

Chris Pike

Paul exceeds expectations first up