They axed American import Michael Henn earlier this week and have brought in Australian Craig Moller.
That decision had probably been percolating for some time.
The Nuggets have built a roster based around an athletic and nimble defence. They get out quickly and defend the perimeter.
They know they will give up points in the paint. But they have wagered on outscoring opponents by landing enough three-pointers.
That plan started unravelling from game one, really.
Henn was not strong enough defensively to keep players like Sam Timmins off the hoop, and he was not making enough three-pointers at the other end to compensate for his deficiencies.
Once his minutes on the court started to fall away, it was obvious the Nuggets would need to look elsewhere.
Their 4-0 run at the start of the campaign masked their problems to a certain extent, and they probably did not act as quickly as they should have.
But a three-game slide forced them to re-evaluate.
Coach Jeff Sparrow is confident Moller can help make a difference.
He joined the team earlier in the week and is available for tomorrow afternoon’s game against the Nelson Giants in Nelson.
Both teams enter the fixture off the back of three losses.
The Giants (2-5) are the more desperate of the two. They are in last place, while the Nuggets (4-3) are in the top six.
The Nuggets posted an 86-77 win over the Giants in Dunedin last month.
Powerful Giants forward Tohi Smith-Milner got into foul trouble, which limited the damage he could cause. As it was, he still netted 23 points and grabbed 11 rebounds.
Guard Kruz Perrott-Hunt will be another player the Nuggets will need to keep tabs on. He poured in 26 points and is their leading scorer.
The Giants have added Eemi Luukkonen to the roster since the teams last played each other.
The Finnish small forward has joined Liam Judd and Alex McNaught in a decent starting five, while seasoned forward Sam Dempster has led the charge from the bench.
The Nuggets will have to integrate Moller into the side. Sparrow is confident it will be a seamless transition.
He should bring more scoring power, which will lift some pressure from Buay Tuach (19.4 points) and captain Ethan Rusbatch (16.1 points), who have done the bulk of the scoring.
Point guard Alain Louis is more of a facilitator, while Isaac Miller-Jose has brought energy from the bench and is the leading rebounder in the side.
The Southland Sharks cemented their spot at the top of the competition standings following a 104-90 win over the Wellington Saints in Invercargill on Thursday night.
Guards Rylan Jones and Caleb Asberry led the way with 26 points apiece, while Elijah Pepper scored 43 points in a losing effort for the Saints.
NBL
Nelson, tomorrow, 3pm
Nuggets: Alain Louis, Buay Tuach, Ethan Rusbatch, Isaac Miller-Jose, Craig Moller, Caleb Smiler, Zach McKenzie, Matthew Bardsley,Tyson Thata-Paese, Christian Martin, Harrison Bezett, Oak Chisholm.
Giants (possible): Alex McNaught, Kruz Perrott-Hunt, Eemi Luukkonen, Liam Judd, Tohi Smith-Milner, Sam Dempster, James Matthews, Elijah Inwood, Cooper Adams, Rico Varricchio, Joshua Nickel, Zach Rampton.
