The Otago Nuggets will be facing off against a fellow cellar dweller on Friday night before taking on one of the toughest sides in the league the following day.
The Nuggets have a tough road trip in front of them this weekend, playing the Nelson Giants in Nelson on Friday night, before crossing Cook Strait to take on the Saints in Wellington on Saturday night.
Nelson has made a poor start to the season, losing their first three games like the Nuggets, and the two sides are sitting at the bottom of the table, albeit the Otago side has a slightly better points differential.
But the team from the top of the South Island should have the bonus of the experienced Phill Jones returning after a season with the Cairns Taipans.
Breakers forward Mika Vukona was also aligned with the Nelson side, but is in doubt with a knee injury. The Breakers also have a victory parade organised for Auckland on Friday, so Vukona will be tied up with that.
Nuggets coach Alf Arlidge said if Jones played, his scoring ability would be a huge plus for the Giants.
But they could be beaten and both sides were in the same hole, looking frantically around for their next win.
The Saints were going to be a different kettle of fish, Arlidge said, with plenty of scoring options on the floor and depth on the bench. The Saints side is unbeaten after three rounds and has players such as Casey Frank and Corey Webster to rack up the points.
He said in a double-header it was always wise to target the first game.
"There is no point holding anything back until the following game, as you never know what is going to happen. Someone could get injured, so you need to go all out," Arlidge said.
But he felt his side - which is on a run of 30 straight losses - was not far away from that elusive victory.
"We just need a couple of things to go our way. We were in the game last week until the last three to four minutes, where we got a bit tired [and] mental fatigue got involved.
"The 30 losses is not baggage for this team. There is only one player who has been involved all of that time. This team is new from last year, and wants to start its own record."
The Nuggets lost 97-86 to the Hawkes Bay Hawks in Dunedin last Friday night, but after the Hawks then easily downed the Southland Sharks the following night, Arlidge said the Hawks were obviously going to be one of the top teams in the competition.
