Coach Brian Goorjian arrived and sat in his chair, but had to wait several minutes before he was joined by Emmett Naar and the presser could begin.

It left him alone in front of the cameras with just his frustration for company. The moment was magnified in the Zoom conference world we currently live in, but there was no hiding his disappointment.

As he said, there was a 17-point margin on the scoresheet but his team might as well have lost by 50 given the performance. It wasn't the Hawks first loss, but it was easily the most disappointing.

Goorjian is a forthright character. Win or lose, his press conference performances are always expansive and insightful. One trend that has emerged is his willingness to shield his players and put the onus on himself after defeats.

It's an admirable trait in any leader. In those quiet on-screen minutes on Sunday, he looked to be scratching for ways to do the same thing. He couldn't find any.

He's the first to say he asks a lot of his players, but the fact he was let down by his players in the effort stakes on Sunday was inescapable. As Goorjian said, there's a lot of things he'll tolerate, but a lack of hunger is not one of them.

"The Phoenix have manhandled us a couple of times and I thought we had a match-up issue with [Mitch] Creek and, defensively the schemes I put in place for that game may have been wrong," Goorjian reflected.

"When the system doesn't work it falls on the coach as far as I'm concerned and I thought the Phoenix issue was more in my box. I'll handle the winning and the losing.

"I'm prepared through this process to get kicked in the teeth a little bit but I'm not going to tolerate not moving the ball as a group and getting out-hustled and outworked.

"I always tell the players that I'm never going to go at a guy on the court to embarrass him, I'm never going to call a guy out to the media.

"My point is the effort and the battle and having the will. I'll go there, and as a group we're not where we need to be right now. We weren't up for the fight, didn't want any part of it."

It's a frank assessment but it's hardly panic stations. Goorjian's offensive and defensive systems that worked so well to start the season aren't suddenly flawed.

Read more: Hawks cop pasting at the hands of Wildcats

What they do require is a lot of energy - mental and physical. It's something else the coach has been up front about and, at present, the Hawks look like a team running on empty.

It's understandable given they've been almost exclusively on the road since Christmas. There's an oasis of 14 home games on the horizon to finish the season.

While rebooting the energy can be a quick fix at the defensive end, Goorjian was unequivocal in pointing out where his team's issues lie through a 3-6 run.

"As I walk out of this room, [the concern] is more on the offensive end than it is the defensive end," he said.

"The defence we're working at. It's been traditionally bad and I think we've made some gains but, from those first four wins to now, it's really apparent the ball isn't moving. It's sticking.

"It's a 'me' mindset, I get the ball, I'm going to do my thing. We've added a couple of guys to the rotation, it's become more selfish offensively.

"The quick shots, some of the pull-ups guys are taking, not only are they long twos and misses, it gives them lay-ups at the other end. It's twofold because it hurts our defence as well."

NBL'S STAGGERING ARROGANCE ON DECALS

GIVEN the ground covered in this column last week it would be remiss of Hoopla not to revisit the issue of decals that saw some major developments over the weekend.

Simply put the NBL has gone on a censorship rampage after a host of players took to social media last weekend to criticise the league's ongoing stance on unsafe advertising decals.

First, an external agency had its marketing contract managing the NBL Store's social media terminated after a graphic of a banana peel decal on the court briefly appeared on the Store's Twitter page.

In a quickfire statement, NBL Commissioner Jeremy Loeliger labeled the post "extremely poor taste" and confirmed the deal had been immediately torn up.

However, what went further to explaining players sudden social media silence on the issue was an email circulated to clubs and seen by this column.

It informed CEO's in no uncertain terms that, while no sanctions had yet been handed out, penalties will be imposed on any further public commentary.

However, further comments dismissing players concerns as ranging from "disproportionate to complete nonsense" demonstrates the arrogance that has prompted players and their association to go public with their views in unprecedented fashion.

For its part, the ABPA has made their position clear through CEO Jacob Holmes who made members' position clear on social media.

"The decals problem is still not resolved, and remains a very significant health and safety issue for players and the ABPA. The NBL must fix this issue. The concerns held by our members are legitimate, and the ABPA will protect their right to speak out."

Bravo but, again, not all that surprising. It's the stance of Sydney Kings major sponsor Brydens Lawyers and Principal Lee Hagipantelis that was extraordinary and worthy of applause.

"As the Principal of Brydens Lawyers, a firm that has practised almost exclusively in the area of personal injury litigation for over 40 years, I cannot, in good conscience, permit my firm to be engaged in any activity where a risk of foreseeable injury has been identified and the resolution of that risk is obvious," the statement read.

"Accordingly, as Major Partner of the Sydney Kings, I have directed the Kings to immediately remove all decals for Brydens Lawyers from all courts on which the Kings will play or train pending a full and proper consideration of the matter."

It shows an awareness of the PR disaster that would have ensued had a player injured themselves on a sign advertising their services. Don't be surprised if more major sponsors follow suit despite the same email stating that removing decals is "not an option that is even on the table for consideration."

With players, the ABPA, and now major corporate partners, all sharing and expressing the same view the league's attempts at stifling the discussion aren't just wrong, they're utterly futile.

To even hope or suggest as much is really complete nonsense.