Nuggets looking to get going from start

Otago Nuggets coach Brent Matehaere. PHOTO: ODT FILES

The Otago Nuggets have mastered the art of the second-half finish.

But ironically it is the head start they got at the beginning of the season which looks to have carried them into the playoffs.

The defending champions have reached nine wins, which could be the magic mark to secure a playoff berth. Time will tell.

A win against the Hawke’s Bay Hawks in Napier tonight will strengthen their claims further.

While it looks like it is a reasonably safe investment to buy tickets to the Final 6 now, the Nuggets have certainly given their fans a rollercoaster ride.

They started the season with seven straight wins but have lost five of their last seven games.

Thursday night’s game against the Canterbury Rams in Christchurch was, well, bonkers.

The Nuggets faithful probably needed to be talked back from the ledge after the opening four minutes.

Their team trailed 17-1. The Rams hit a bunch of shots but also got a free pass in the paint.

Big centre Sam Timmins has been a reliable roadblock under the rim. But he was unavailable (he will also miss tonight’s game) and the visitors struggled to find a solution.

Couple that with some wayward shooting early on, and what appeared to be unfolding was something similar to what happened down in Invercargill in the game which we do not talk about. Think train wreck.

But Tai Webster, in his debut match for the Nuggets, provided a spark with six quick points to reduce the deficit to 11 at halftime.

Then Mr Heart and Soul, Todd Withers, drained back-to-back-to-back three pointers to help give the Nuggets an improbable lead, while Michael Harris ghosted his way to 30 points.

The Nuggets more or less coasted to victory thereafter.

But those starts?

"It’s not working, no," coach Brent Matehaere said.

"When you travel up on the day and sit around a wee bit, basically your time becomes a little short.

"You’ve just got to make sure you lock into game mode and we did not do that fast enough. But once we got it going, we seemed to be good."

Sure were. But they will have to be good again tonight.

The Hawks edged the Nuggets 95-94 in Dunedin late last month. Ira Lee popped in a hook shot to seal the win with three seconds remaining.

The Hawks will be desperate. They have not recorded a single victory on their home court this season and their playoffs prospects remain on life support.

Another loss and they may as well head towards the light at the end of the Pettigrew Green Arena.

Matehaere views the game as critical as well.

"Everybody is in a must-win situation. We’ve got goals and we put that pressure on ourselves to go out an execute.

"But they’ve got some talent and they displayed that last time we played them. They’ve added a new guard [Bryce McBride] ... so we’ve got to make sure we’re all over him.

"And Ira Lee is certainly going to be a challenge. We’ll obviously have to put people on him who can stay in front, because he is an athletic and exciting player."

Nuggets star guard JaQuori McLaughlin has been sidelined with a knee complaint since the loss to the Auckland Tuatara in Dunedin on May 18.

He has been resting the injury but is expected to resume some training next week to see how he responds.

"We hope that we get him back because that would be quite a formidable back court and some."

The Nuggets have struggled in his absence, but the arrival of Websters and Nikau McCullough have plugged that gap.

Otago Nuggets v Hawke’s Bay Hawks

Napier, 7pm

Otago Nuggets: Jack Andrew, Todd Withers, Michael Harris, Nikau McCullough, Tai Webster, Robbie Coman, Matthew Bardsley, Darcy Knox, Josh Aitcheson.

Hawke’s Bay Hawks: Ira Lee, Hyrum Harris, Ethan Rusbatch, Jordan Ngatai, Jarrod Kenny, Derone Raukawa, Jordan Hunt, Denhym Brooke, Bryce McBride, Kobe Kara, Jacob Murphy, Joshua Tutagalevao.

NBL standings

	P	W	L	Pts
Tuatara	13	10	3	20
Rams	14	9	5	18
Nuggets	14	9	5	18
Bulls	13	9	4	18
Saints	13	7	6	14
Giants	13	5	8	10
Sharks	14	5	9	10
Hawks	14	5	9	10
Jets	13	4	9	8
Airs	13	4	9	8