There will be at least one player the Otago Nuggets will be glad to have back on court tonight.
All going well, that may even be two players.
Nikau McCullough will return for the team’s crunch game against the Southland Sharks at the Edgar Centre.
The star guard was unable to travel to the Commonwealth Games, due to a positive, but asymptomatic, Covid-19 test.
He may be joined by key centre Sam Timmins.
Timmins is coming off a big stint with the Tall Blacks at the Asia Cup, which finished in Jakarta on Sunday, and has to be cleared of an ankle injury.
If able, he will take the court — although perhaps with a lower workload given his past two weeks.
The McCullough-Timmins duo will make a significant difference to a Nuggets team that has battled without them. The team managed two wins without the pair, leaving them in the mix for the playoffs.
However, the threat the duo offers was unmistakably missed as well, notably in last Sunday’s thrashing by the Taranaki Airs.
Coach Brent Matehaere remains optimistic, although he said the team would have to deliver a much improved performance tonight.
"We still control our destiny," he said.
"We have two games left, we’re on eight wins and eight losses. It appears that 10 will make the six. In terms of where we’re at with the league, it is a big game.
"But the focus has got to be on making sure we do the right things at both ends of the floor. On review we certainly didn’t in the Airs game.
"We need to be better. Our focus is on being better, then we give ourselves a chance That’s where it stands, really.
"We’ve got to execute better on offence and we’ve got to execute better on defence."
The playoff situation could not be more precariously balanced.
Three teams have secured top six spots — the Nelson Giants, Auckland Tuatara and Taranaki Airs.
The Nuggets, Wellington Saints and Hawke’s Bay Hawks all have eight wins, with two games each remaining.
Trailing them is the Canterbury Rams and Franklin Bulls on seven wins, the latter with a game in hand.
Nine wins could be enough — although it also may not be and a situation where a team makes it with nine wins and another does not remains a possibility.
If the Nuggets want to give themselves the best chance of being in Auckland in two weeks’ time, they need to win tonight and against the Franklin Bulls next weekend.
While the Sharks have had a disappointing season, they are far from an easy-beat.
There is talent right throughout the roster, which notably includes Mojave King — the Dunedin-born highly-touted Australian prospect, and son of Nuggets great Leonard King.
They have won just five games this year and are in a tie with the Manawatu Jets at the bottom of the table.
However, they are coming off a win over the Airs and Matehaere was expecting a tough game.
Tip-off is at 7.30pm.
National Basketball League
Edgar Centre, tonight, 7.30pm
Nuggets: (possible) Sam Timmins, Nikau McCullough, Todd Withers, Keith Williams, Tray Boyd, Josh Aitcheson, Matthew Bardsley, Darcy Knox, Joe Ahie, Jack Andrew, Robbie Coman.
Sharks: Mojave King, Brayden Inger, Daishon Knight, Alonzo Burton, Romaro Gill, Dru-Leo Lesogi-Ape, Jaylen Gerrand, Liam McRae, Tom Cowie, Andrew Wheeler, Ethan Mitchell, Campbell Scott.
