Right now, they are nicely placed in the top six of the National Basketball League.
The 99-89 loss to the league-leading Southland Sharks in Dunedin on Sunday evening did not damage their prospects too much.
But a loss to the Franklin Bulls at home tonight could prove costly.
They also have to play the Wellington Saints in the capital on Sunday afternoon.
That one looks less winnable. The Saints sit alongside the Canterbury Rams, the Auckland Tuatara and the Sharks as title candidates.
The Nuggets are in a group — with the Bulls and the Tauranga Whai — that looks to be competing for the final two playoff spots.
Dropping a game against either counts double in the sense you elevate your opponent while falling back at the same time.
Otago Nuggets coach Jeff Sparrow does not see it that way.
‘‘When you only play a 20-game regular season, everything matters equally,’’ Sparrow said.
‘‘This one is as big as the one before us, and it’s going to be as big as the one after it, too.’’
Sparrow had been laser-focused on beating the Sharks, and was disappointed his side were not able to get the job done.
‘‘We did enough to put ourselves in a position to get a win, but the cumulative turnovers hurt us,’’ he said.
‘‘We’ve been pretty good at protecting the ball all year.
‘‘I just think we probably should have been a bit more patient in our half-court offence.’’
Nuggets point guard Alain Louis gave up eight turnovers and got into foul trouble. Buay Tuach coughed up five turnovers as well.
The Nuggets gave up 21 turnovers collectively, while the Sharks conceded just 11.
Ethan Rusbatch scored 29 points to keep his side in the contest. Tuach knocked down 25 points and grabbed 12 rebounds.
But the Nuggets were chasing the game from the second quarter on, and that pressure created mistakes.
‘‘I don’t think they’re [the Sharks] an upper echelon team in terms of ball pressure and pressing you ... but I just think that they’re good, solid individual players, and they did enough to win, so you’ve got to give them credit.’’
The Bulls’ previous outing was a painful 107-72 loss to the Tuatara.
But they have four wins and some dangerous players in their lineup.
‘‘They crash the offensive rebounds at a very high level, and they’re going to press you. You just have to be really solid with the basketball when you squeeze rebounds, or really solid with the basketball when you inbound it.
‘‘I just think that’s more important than their individuals, but obviously, the three-headed monster of import guards is going to be a handful for us.’’
Jace Carter (22.3 points) and Derrin Boyd (22.1 points) average more than 22 points a game, and fellow guard Carter Whitt (17.7 points) is the leading candidate to win the assist title. He is averaging 10.6 assists a game.
NBL
Dunedin, 7.30pm
