You can have too much of a good thing.
The opposite is also very, very true.
Case in point: the Otago Nuggets.
They were consistently terrible on defence this season apart from a brief stint when Todd Withers lifted the team from the ranks of the abysmal.
The defence improved marginally when old concrete sneakers Jose Perez departed in mid-May. The small forward was a trot short of a canter and quite possibly the slowest basketballer in history.
That put pressure on the rest of the lineup, who had to pick up his defensive assignment.
Perez was pretty handy at the other end, though. He was a foul magnet and he bulldozed his way to the cup for 20-odd points most nights.
He had no problem getting a shot away in heavy traffic and his rebounding skills were decent.
But Perez arrived overweight and picked up a wrist injury in the preseason tournament.
The Nuggets never saw the best of him and they sent him home shortly after he was fined $500 by the NBL for a conduct breach.
The Nuggets had hoped to get a replacement but the bill-payer said no.
That left the team with two imports and one of them, well, was not much chop.
Jaylen Sebree has some of the tools you need in a good basketballer. He is athletic and has pace.
But he has a poor basketball IQ and looked lost half of the time. He should have got the earlier flight home ahead of Perez.
That left Don Carey jun to carry most of the scoring load.
He is a fine shooter and posted some pretty good numbers. He averaged 22.4 points in 18 games for the franchise.
Carey faded in and out of games, though.
His ball handling was ordinary for a player of his calibre and he made some crucial fumbles when games were on the line.
But partner him with a pass-first point guard and the Nuggets would have got a lot more value.
And after Perez left, the defence was able to fan out and put more pressure on him.
Carey left two games before the end of the season due to personal circumstances.
The Nuggets plunged to a 15-game losing streak before surprising everyone by beating the Jets on the road in their final game to finish 3-17.
They did have a fourth win wiped out against the Indian Panthers. The expansion club was kicked out of the league when it could not pay the bills.
The Panthers’ exit left the Nuggets favourites to collect the wooden spoon and they delivered the inadequate performances necessary to claim the dubious honour.
Forward Jonathan Janssen was one of the few players to enhance his reputation.
He played out of position at centre and gave it his best shot. The Nuggets were undersized and battled against teams with a big centre.
Janssen performed admirably and got better with each outing.
The local trio of Josh Aitcheson, Matthew Bardsley and Darcy Knox all brought up 100 games this season.
They also all had stints in the starting five which, in all due respect, was a big ask.
They can add value off the bench but being cast in a starting role netted some underwhelming performances.
Among the bench players, Mac Stodart, Christian Martin and Patrick Freeman had some good moments.
Freeman banged in a late three-pointer to help clinch the 108-104 win over the Jets at the start of the season.
Martin added some energy off the bench and Stodart is a work in progress.
However, coach Mike Kelly did not have a lot of talent to work with.
He did a pretty good job of dumbing down the game plan to keep most of the games tight.
There was a horrendous blowout against Canterbury. The 113-59 loss was the heaviest defeat in Nuggets history.
But for the most part, the Nuggets stayed within reach. They just were not able to close games, prompting Kelly to comment the games were about five minutes too long for his side.
The same is true of the season. It was about three months too long.
Otago Nuggets
2025 season
Record: Played 20, won 3, lost 17.
Scoring: Don Carey jun 22.4 points per game, Jose Perez 21.0, Jonathan Janssen 18.5.
Rebounding: Janssen 7.8, Perez 7.6, Jaylen Sebree 6.4.
Assists: Carey jun 5.6, Perez 4,1. Sebree 2.6.
Seconi’s awards
MVP
Forward Jonathan Janssen was out of position most of the season. He is more comfortable shooting from the wings than bashing his way into the paint. But he performed admirably and his 18.5 points and 7.8 rebounds represented a solid return.
Honourable mention
American Don Carey jun is a very decent shooter and with more space would have been lethal. His 22.4 points was a good return but he got asked to do too much and needed a bit more support around him.
Best game
The shortlist was, well, short. The Nuggets’ 108-104 win over the Manawatū Jets was their only win at home. Todd Withers shone with 27 points and 17 rebounds. Pity he was only available for three games.
Worst game
The Canterbury Rams flexed in a 113-59 shellacking of the Otago Nuggets. It is the Nuggets' biggest loss in history. It is also the last time said game will ever be mentioned. Hush now.
Most improved
Janssen started the season with a shoulder injury and took a while to warm up. But he stepped up following the departure of Jose Perez.
The big question for 2026
Will the Otago Nuggets even make it to the starting line? Despite the NBL hailing a new era of ownership for the team, their future has hung in the balance since owner SEN signalled intentions to pull out at the end of the campaign.
