Sunday, 17 February 2019:

Head coach ANDREW GAZE of the Sydney Kings looks on during their game against the Utah Jazz at Vivint Smart Home Arena in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Andrew Gaze won't talk up Andrew Bogut's MVP prospects but he concedes the Sydney Kings centre has been a fundamental reason for their return to the NBL playoffs.

Bogut is favoured to clinch the league's best player honours in Melbourne on Sunday night.

His all-round display in their 89-84 win over Cairns in Sydney on Saturday typified his influence, the 34-year-old maintaining that standard throughout a campaign in which he started all 28 games.

Bogut's numbers stack up well, although Bryce Cotton has inspired the competition-leading Perth Wildcats for a second-straight season and could become the first player since Gaze 20 years ago to win back-to-back MVP gongs.

While Gaze wouldn't be drawn on MVP favouritism, he said Bogut's value to the Kings can't be understated and it goes beyond his league-leading exploits in rebounds and blocks.

"Some of the stuff he does doesn't necessarily show up in the statistical category but it still has a profound impact on the team," Gaze said.

"It's been well documented the impact he's had on us defensively has been really good but there are a lot of good candidates."

Gaze won't spend time scrutinising a slightly disjointed performance to beat last-placed Cairns, achieved without injured guard Jerome Randle.

He expects Randle to overcome what he termed a "mild" quad strain before a semi-final series likely to be against Melbourne United.

Gaze's men will have home advantage if Melbourne can't beat Perth in the final regular season game on Sunday.

Either way, Gaze expects the Kings to mount a compelling challenge in their first trip to the playoffs for six years.

"We start afresh and hopefully we can grow and do better because we're going to have to if we're going to win an NBL title," he said.

"The last weeks, there has been a notable change in the relationships, the camaraderie.

"It has taken quite a while to build that."

AAP