The Illawarra Hawks are languishing at the foot of the table heading into a stretch of three tough road games, starting with a trip to Cairns on Saturday night.
Though on Tuesday Hawks coach Jacob Jackomas was adamant his struggling NBL team were just a couple of wins away from turning their season around.
Jackomas reiterated also that the belief was still strong within the squad that the Hawks would start winning sooner rather than later.
He also admitted that there would be some strategic and personnel changes for the Taipans clash, though wouldn't divulge exactly what those changes would look like.
His comments come as Illawarra seeks to bounce back from a last-start 20-point drubbing at the hands of the Sydney Kings, to record just a third win from nine outings.
"The changes are more about what we do strategy wise and what we do personnel wise. That's all to be seen for the game on the weekend," Jackomas said.
"We'll have a look at it and review it but we're not going to rush into anything or change who we are just for the sake of a couple of bad quarters.
"There will be a little bit of change. There is even when we win.
"But the worst thing we could do right now is panic. We're a couple of wins away from being right there in it again.
"We've definitely got the talent in the group.
"It's now about dealing with the pressure. It's obviously affecting everyone a little bit but not in a way where normal people would think. Everyone wants to compete, everyone wants to do well and the pressure on themselves to do well is high. Everything else is out of our control.
"I mean if you start thinking about that, you start losing."
Jackomas was happy to confirm the return from injury of Mason Peatling to the Hawks' squad for the trip to Cairns.
"Mason will absolutely be playing," he said.
"He brings stability, a little bit of an older head, even though he is young, and some leadership. He is a guy who knows how to play a role in the NBL."
It's a timely return for the Hawks, as Peatling is also well known for his defensive capabilities.
Jackomas hasn't shied away from the fact that poor defence has cost the Hawks dearly this campaign.
The NBL's worst defensive team has conceded a touch over 97 points per game this season. In four of their eight outings the Hawks have had 100 or more points scored against them, albeit one of those games was a 113-106 win over South East Melbourne Phoenix.
The Hawks only other win this campaign came against Cairns but the home side needed a three-point Tyler Harvery buzzer-beater to prevail 84-83 in Wollongong.
Jackomas was optimistic his chargers would put in a better performance on the road.
"All games are must-wins. The first and the last and everything in between. But we're going on the road right now and it might be good for us to get together and be together on the road and play better basketball," he said.
"The group is in good spirits, so all I can ask from them is for them to do their best, they didn't on the weekend.
"We need to definitely be better defensively against Cairns. Some of our shot selection is a problem at the moment as is having a lot of guys that either haven't played a lot or haven't played much in the NBL level.
"But if we were to fix the defensive end, we'd be looking at a better record right now.
"My job as a coach is to keep it clear. Clarity is important right now. We're trying to keep it as clear as possible right now at practice to limit the confusion to make sure they've got clear heads and they be themselves on the floor.
"We're trying to keep it as clear as possible to win basketball games and to make these guys clear in their heads and they go in with a free mind to compete."
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Agron Latifi
Wollongong born and bred. I love reporting about the Illawarra region and have been doing it for more than 20 years. I've moved into sport recently after covering the education round for the last five plus years for the Illawarra Mercury. It's been a great pleasure.
Wollongong born and bred. I love reporting about the Illawarra region and have been doing it for more than 20 years. I've moved into sport recently after covering the education round for the last five plus years for the Illawarra Mercury. It's been a great pleasure.
