Huskies hurting but not unhappy

PLAYOFF hopes might be extinguished for the Southern Huskies but coach Anthony Stewart still wants to finish the club’s inaugural venture in the NZNBL in positive fashion.

However, exactly how many players he will have at his disposal for the remaining four games remains to be seen after last weekend’s taxing road trip.

The Huskies lost both clashes to top-four sides Canterbury and Southland, leaving them two wins behind the Sharks having played an extra match.

While it remains mathematically possible for the club to feature in the finals, it would need to finish the regular season on a four-game winning streak and rely on Southland to drop four of its last five.

Compounding problems is starting point guard Tre Nichols could miss the remainder of the season after chipping a bone in his ankle against the Rams on Friday night, while Bryan Michaels declared himself unfit on Saturday as struggles with a persistent knee problem.

“I said all along we wanted to try and make playoffs. We only have four games left and if we had of won [against Southland] we are right in the mix,” Stewart said.

“We are around about, I didn’t expect us to have the injuries we have had and losing Craig [Moller] on the weekend has certainly impacted on the group.

“It has been a learning curve for me as a coach, understanding the league, the umpires, the players in the league. Certainly next year we will be a lot better prepared come round one.

“Ideally we want to get back to 50-50, nine wins and nine losses at worst. We should be able to take care of the next home game against the bottom placed [Taranaki] Airs and then we come on the road again against Nelson Giants, who we have already beaten, and Southland.

“That pushes us back up around the 50-50 mark and for a first-year franchise you have to be pretty happy with that.”

The Huskies a break before hosting Taranaki in Launceston on June 29.