No sugar-coating Nuggets' task
Otago Nuggets coach Mike Kelly. PHOTO: ODT FILES
How many ways can you keep saying the same thing?
Otago Nuggets coach Mike Kelly has been grappling with that problem this season.
His team is struggling. Big time.
And particularly on defence. It has been an enduring topic.
The Nuggets are on an 11-game losing streak and it is a little hard to see where the next win is coming from.
They play the Giants in Nelson tonight and Kelly is not sugar-coating his team's prospects.
Team morale is low. Confidence is in short supply. And they are missing some of the X-factor other teams can draw down on when the game is on the line.
They are not short on tenacity, though. They have plenty of character. And they will scrap until the end.
Kelly's challenge is to harness those traits and turn it into a win.
"I'm not happy with losing," he said.
"But I think you can only keep on improving. To just say we need to improve more and we've got to fix things faster is difficult to do.
"I think we've put ourselves in a situation where we are competing and getting in a position to win games.
"But we just haven't been able to finish off and I think some of that is that other teams have great personnel and our ability to finish off has to improve on both ends of the floor.
"When other teams up their pressure, it becomes more difficult."
The Nuggets rely too heavily on too few players on offence, and that has been just as much of an issue as the defence in many ways.
When your scoring options are limited — and they have dipped since the departure of Jose Perez — your opponents can tighten their defence and double team the likes of Don Carey jun and Jonathan Janssen, who are both critical to the Nuggets posting a good score.
Kelly admits the run of losses has seen his side's morale slip.
"I think so. Everybody gets frustrated.
"There is definitely a feeling of, how do we get this done?
"In saying that, the guys have not stopped fighting and bring it to the training sessions every day, so that is what gives me hope.
"And we have seen continued improvements. So the guys are working hard and scrambling and thinking that that win is right around the corner."
To get the win in Nelson tonight, they will need to find a solution to keep Jeremy Combs away from the hoop without fouling him.
The American power forward is averaging 24.1 points a game and shapes as a key figure for the Giants.
Callum McRae is another player the Nuggets will need to monitor.
The 2.12m centre poses a tough defensive assignment for Janssen, who is more comfortable shooting the ball from the outside than battling in the paint.
He has performed the role admirably, but he will be giving up a considerable size advantage.
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