The Wollongong Hawks are struggling with injuries and illness to key players heading into tonight's showdown with the South Dragons at WIN Entertainment Centre.
Hard-working forward Anthony Petrie is almost certain to be sidelined with a calf injury after sitting out yesterday's training session.
Also in doubt is captain Mat Campbell, who was bedridden yesterday after coming down with a virus.
On a more positive note, centre Cam Tragardh has declared himself a certain starter after overcoming a back injury.
"It's certainly not the ideal time, but a couple of these guys have big hearts and will try to play," Wollongong coach Eric Cooks said.
"At the end of the day, it's a long season, and I wouldn't want to risk anyone to be out for the long term."
Petrie suffered the injury after copping an accidental knee in the early part of Monday's training run. His chances of taking on the Dragons were slim.
"Petrie is a 50 per cent chance at best," Cooks said.
"Trigger (Tragardh) looks like he's pulled up pretty well and I expect him to be right, and Mat is a day by day situation. The way he was talking, he'll definitely give it a go, but how much he'll be able to go is another story. I expect him to be on board to some degree."
The Hawks (6-8) have dropped from fourth to seventh with three straight losses and will need to be on top of their game to upset the second-placed Dragons (12-4).
Despite his team's less than perfect preparation, Cooks was not panicking.
"I've got no doubt we'll have enough ability to go out and win the game," he said.
"It's whether we'll focus and do the things we need to, which is all about growing as a team as well. These experiences make you stronger when you get through them, so this is a good opportunity for some different people to stand up."
The Dragons were sharing top spot with New Zealand before Saturday's shock loss to an undermanned Sydney Spirit.
They beat the Hawks by 19 on October 4 at Wollongong and will be supremely confident of recording another win in Wollongong.
Cooks said the Hawks would not target one or two players.
"It's hard to focus on one guy," he said.
"If you look at their scoring, (Mark) Worthington averages about 16, but you've got about six people averaging between about eight and 13 points. It's shared responsibility and on different nights any one of those guys can get 20 or 30. (Former Hawks import) Cortez (Groves) is only averaging about 12 but you know he's capable of giving you 30 any night.
"Nathan Herbert is one of those guys that might be nine or 10 in the (substitution) rotation but when he gets out there he's shown he can put the ball in the hoop. He hit some big threes against us last time and we have to contain people like him."
The Hawks have problems away from the court, with the club fighting an uphill battle to meet financial requirements for next season's restructured competition.
Cooks believes his team can learn from Sydney's courageous effort against the Dragons.
"There's always going to be distractions in basketball, whether they be fans or referees or off-court situations," he said.
"It shows what type of person you are when you can continue to focus on what you need to get done to get wins. The Spirit are a good example of that because they had a lot on their plate last week and they come out and played good basketball.
"The mood is still good. The intensity is there and everybody seems focused and realises there's still work to be done. We've got our destiny in our own hands.
"This is a tough stretch we're going through and everyone goes through them, but if you keep your head high and work through these things, I believe there's going to be light at the end of the tunnel."
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