Basketball: Nuggets must confront top starting five

Realistically, the "Baby Nuggets" are going to lose a lot of games this year, and tonight's match against the Giants in Nelson will probably be Otago's third successive defeat.

Nuggets coach Alf Arlidge knows his side is up against it and that a win is unlikely. But he would just be happy to see his young side make some progress on defence.

"What we need to work on for the next month is team defence and getting guys to know where they should be," Arlidge said.

In the Nuggets' last outing, they gave the Christchurch Cougars far too much latitude, with point guard Jeremy Kench able to stroll to the hoop and deadly shooter Paora Winitana allowed to set up camp outside the three-point line.

It was a recipe for heartbreak, as the Cougars piled on 39 points in a damaging second-quarter blitz which effectively ended the game as a contest.

Arlidge has made it clear he does not want to see a repeat of that sort of lacklustre defensive effort tonight.

"If we don't man up, we're going to find it hard every week. We need some guys who want to play hard, and if I have to find them somewhere else, then I'll just find them.

"What we need to do is play more aggressive defence. That is where we are at. We've got to make the paint a no-go area.

"They [the Cougars] got lay-up after lay-up the other night and we just didn't step up and enforce the paint."

The Nuggets had their opportunities on attack but struggled to get the ball to drop.

They rely on imports Antoine Tisby and Tyler Amaya to do the bulk of the scoring but Tisby was struggling with the flu and had an off night. Amaya had a poor first half but showed what he is capable of in the second half, with some nice drives to the hoop.

If the Nuggets are to be competitive, both the imports will need to be at their best and the likes of skipper Sam To'omata and experienced shooting guard Matt Gillan will have to offer more on attack.

The Giants have won the last 12 games between the two sides and are fresh from a good win against the highly-rated Wellington Saints.

With four past or present Tall Blacks in the Giants' starting five, the Nuggets will go into the game as huge underdogs.

Phill Jones is averaging more than 27 points and with Tall Blacks guard Michael Fitchett at the point, the Giants have an enormous amount of firepower out wide. Add Mika Vukona, centre Tony Rampton and American import Michael Harrison into the mix and they have a line-up capable of roasting the best sides in the league, let alone an inexperienced Nuggets squad.

"They must have one of the top starting fives in the country, if not the top starting five," Arlidge said.

"[Fitchett and Jones] have played together for about four or five years, so they are probably the form backcourt in the league."

NUGGETS v GIANTS
Tonight, Nelson

Otago Nuggets: Antoine Tisby, Tyler Amaya, Matt Gillan, Steve Robinson, Sam To'omata, James Ross, Riki Buckrell, Tom Rowe, Matt Trueman, Luke Aston, Josh Kitson.

Nelson Giants: Michael Harrison, Mika Vukona, Phill Jones, Michael Fitchett, Tony Rampton, Darryl Jones, Ben Wright, Bronson Beri, Nico Ritschny, Josh Bloxham, Brad Maclachlan, Steven Bill, Tom Ingham, Samuel Dempster.