March was tense.
April offered promise.
But by May it was clear the Otago Nuggets were going to struggle to make the National Basketball League playoffs.
There were warning signs earlier.
Their heavy reliance on American forward Kimani Lawrence to score on the inside and some dubious outside shooting fostered doubt following a couple of mediocre performances against better teams.
But the 70-69 loss to the Whai in Tauranga on May 8 highlighted every limitation in flashing neon.
The Nuggets succumbed against an under-strength and an undersized opponent. It was a game a team with playoffs aspirations simply had to win.
Lawrence top-scored with 19 but he had an off-night all the same. He did not get the space he needed in the paint to operate successfully because the outside shooting was so astray.
The Nuggets landed just three of their 19 three-point attempts. And with every miss, the Whai compressed their defence another inch or so until they stuck like mud to Lawrence.
He needed help and got some from Ben Henshall, who had some impressive games for the Nuggets.
The 20-year-old Australian is adept at getting into space and creating scoring opportunities. But he was carrying a heavy load and was perhaps guilty of trying to do too much on his own throughout the season.
He did not always take sound shots. But you could argue he was forced into more risks because of the lack of form American shooting guard Zaccheus Darko-Kelly displayed.
Darko-Kelly was advertised as a deadly outside shooter but he fell well short of that billing. He certainly attempted a lot of three-pointers. He averaged 8.1 attempts per game but only 2.6 went in.
That night in Tauranga, the pair put up 13 shots between them and landed one each.
The loss punched a hole through the hull of the good ship Otago. It was the start of a damaging five-game losing streak.
Former Tall Blacks guard Tai Webster returned to the United States following the 87-78 loss to the Auckland Tuatara at the Edgar Centre on May 26.
His departure stripped the Nuggets of some X-factor, although there have to be some questions asked around his effort at times.
He scored 40 points against the Canterbury Rams on May 2. But that performance was hard to reconcile with his final game for the Nuggets where he netted just two points in a wildly below-par showing.
Earlier in the season, he copped a one-game suspension for foul play against the Saints and was ejected from a home game against the Rams after receiving two technical fouls. He kicked the advertising hoarding on the way out.
Point guard Dontae Russo-Nance was sidelined with a wrist injury for the first seven games and picked up a high ankle sprain ahead of the home game before the Taranaki Airs.
It was a frustrating season for the young guard who showed touches of brilliance when he was on court. His absence weakened the roster further.
Henshall skipped the last five games due to international commitments and sickness which further reduced the team’s offensive potential.
The Nuggets also took a big punt on Jack Andrew this season. The centre had been the back-up for Sam Timmins and was trusted with a starting role following Timmins’ transfer to the Franklin Bulls.
Andrew struggled to make an impact against the many quality centres in the league.
All of the problems were obvious to the Nuggets by mid-May when the league opened up its inaugural trade window.
The trade window did not offer the Nuggets any real solutions. But it was an opportunity to rethink their import slots and potentially make a shuffle.
The club opted against change and bet on recapturing the form they enjoyed in the 3-0 run at the start of the season.
They edged the Southland Sharks 86-79 in overtime in late March. They clipped the Manawatu Jets 112-103 in the new month and beat the Wellington Saints 105-98 in arguably the best performance of the season.
That win inflated the sense of expectation among the fans which largely remained undiminished despite a heavy loss to the Bulls and back-to-back losses to the Rams.
The 107-94 win over the Nelson Giants was another contender for best performance.
But the Nuggets laboured to win away from the Edgar Centre and the five-game losing streak that followed was ruinous.
Otago Nuggets’ season
Record
Played 20, won 7, lost 13, finished ninth.
Best game
The 105-98 win over the Wellington Saints in Dunedin highlighted everything that was good about the team. Pity the campaign peaked in mid-April.
Worst game
Spoiled for choice. Both losses to the Whai have to rate highly. But the 66-56 loss at home to the expansion team included an eight-point fourth quarter from the Nuggets. That was apocalyptic.
Leading scorer
American forward Kimani Lawrence muscled his way to the hoop for 21.9 points per game.
Leading rebounder
American shooting guard Zaccheus Darko-Kelly averaged 7.1 boards.
Seconi’s MVP
Lawrence provided the batteries for the Nuggets on the inside.
