Club-By-Club: New Year's Resolutions

With just a handful of rounds left in the NBL season, each team is playing for something different towards the business end.

The top teams are looking to avoid the Play-In tournament, with the chasing pack trying to cement their place in the top six and the bottom teams trying to spoil everyone else’s party.

Whether they're in the championship hunt or simply playing for pride, every team has plenty on the line.

With that being said, let’s take a look at some possible New Year’s Resolutions for your club.

Stick together and stay focused...
Ever since Adelaide lost to Melbourne prior to the FIBA Break, which resulted in suspensions for Kendric Davis and Montrezl Harrell, it’s been struggling to regain any kind of form to keep them competitive. Prior to their big win over Sydney, the 36ers had lost seven of their last eight games, including three straight by more than 20 points. What they proved to themselves in Sydney is that they are capable of putting together some incredible basketball on both ends of the floor. The door is ajar for them to climb into the top six, but every game is crucial now.

Keep feeding Prather...
Casey Prather has been the hottest player in the league since Round 10, outside of Bryce Cotton. The two-time NBL champion has found his feet with Brisbane in recent weeks, averaging 28 points in his last nine games. It’s been no surprise that the Bullets' success has coincided with this form from Prather, as he’s doing it at an incredibly efficient rate as well. Shooting over 58 per cent from the field and from three, Prather is one of the most dominant offensive talents in NBL25. Brisbane must keep making its swing man a focal point offensively and see what damage he can do down the stretch.

Reward the fans...
While the Taipans have struggled to tick off wins since Round 3, their fans continue to show up in force and energy to try and spur the team on. The positive side for Adam Forde is that his team refuses to give up and has put together strong patches in each of their losses to build off. As the season reaches its climax, it’s vital that this Cairns team finds a way to reward those fans who have stuck by their injury-plagued season and reward them with a couple more wins. 

Finish top / Keep the hunger...
Simply put, the Illawarra Hawks have played too well this season to finish anywhere other than top of the standings by early February. They have been the benchmark of the competition all season long and look like they’ll be incredibly hard to beat in any sort of finals series. As they continue to tick off wins in these remaining rounds, Justin Tatum’s men need to keep focused and hungry and lock away the top spot that they rightfully deserve. A loss to South East Melbourne on New Years Eve should only fuel their hunger and have the Hawks primed to bounce back.

Hold onto second, Use the road trip to spark the season...
After losing four straight games, United bounced back with a win in their first away game to begin a tough road stretch. United, now don’t return to John Cain Arena until the beginning of February, which means they have a chance to use this road trip as a spark for them to regain their early season form. With Sydney and Tasmania breathing down their neck on the standings, this stretch is crucial for them if they want to avoid the Play-In tournament.

Embrace the challenge...
There is no sugarcoating it, New Zealand has struggled mightily since the FIBA Break and went from a top two team to losing eight straight games by an average margin of 19 points. With the recent news of star point guard, Parker Jackson-Cartwright suspended for five games, it doesn’t get any better for the Breakers. However, as they showed in Cairns, they have pieces that can step up. Now they must embrace that challenge going forward. With the young exciting talent like Karim Lopez and Mojave King, there is no shortage of opportunity for players to thrive in the coming weeks. 

Embrace the road trips...
Perth’s last home game was on December 6 when it lost to Illawarra and its next one is not until January 17, when the Wildcats host the 36ers. The Wildcats have been inconsistent on the road so far this season, which was amplified by their 32-point loss to the Hawks on December 22. After Jesse Wagstaff called his team out in the press conference, the Wildcats responded with that big win over Adelaide in one of their best defensive efforts all year long. They already have one of the tougher schedules in the league due to their logistical location, but if they want to cement their place amongst the top four, it will start with piling up as many road wins as they can. 

Set yourself apart defensively...
After beginning the season 0-5, the Phoenix are currently the third best defensively-rated team in the league behind only Sydney and Tasmania. It’s been an astonishing turnaround from the club and one that has them firmly capable of making a deep finals run. Now the task is to not only continue to set the tone defensively, but to ramp it up and make a statement towards the business end of the season that they are the strongest in that area. When the season reaches it’s climax, history tells us that it is defence which wins titles and the Phoenix now have their window of opportunity under Josh King’s guidance.  

Put together complete games...
Sydney has its eyes on the top two heading into the new year on the back of an inconsistent patch of form. While Brian Goorjian has been very vocal in the press conferences with the concerns he has for his team, they are still sitting nicely in the top part of the standings. Now is the time for the Kings to start to string together 40 minutes of their best basketball and make a real statement towards the end of the regular season. With a big stretch of home games coming up, if the Kings find a way to put it all together on a consistent basis, they’ll keep climbing. 

Prove the doubters wrong, again...
Write off Tasmania at your own peril, it’s that simple. The JackJumpers' culture thrives off adversity and proving people wrong time and time again. From their fairytale opening season, to winning a championship last year, it seems as if nothing is unachievable for Scott Roth’s men. After being anchored towards the bottom of the standings for the first half of the season, the reigning champions have won eight straight games and are rolling towards their fourth consecutive finals appearance.