It has been a great constant, like tax or death.
Every game has been followed by a good, long look at the mahi they did on defence.
Mostly, they have come up short.
But the Nuggets produced an improved display against the Auckland Tuatara, holding them to 83 points on the North Shore on Wednesday night.
It was enough to win, but the loss means the playoffs now look like a stretch.
The Nuggets are halfway through the regular season and have just three wins from 11 games.
Nuggets coach Mike Kelly said they would be in a better spot had a couple of close games gone their way.
"But really the focus for us remains on trying to play the right way — defend the right way," he said.
"We’ve shown we can score, but we can’t outscore teams if we are not playing good defence, and I think that is still the focus for us every day."
They play the Franklin Bulls in Auckland tonight.
They got a towelling when the sides met last. They lost 107-84.
Ethan Rusbatch drained eight three-pointers in the game, so the Nuggets will need to do a better job guarding him.
But Kelly was buoyed by the effort against the Tuatara.
"It is frustrating not to win in a competitive game, but the guys really competed and did a really good job defending," he said.
"They stuck to the fundamentals and our scout, so I liked that effort on the defensive effort."
They did a good job keeping star guard Will Hickey quiet for the most part. But he burst into life in the final quarter to help seal the win.
The Tuatara won the final quarter 31-18.
