Harbour Heat find themselves needing to finish the season as they started it, with a series of wins starting tonight against the visiting Christchurch Cougars at the North Shore Events Centre. The early season pace setters are struggling to come out of a mid season slump that saw them lose 5 on the trot, a slide arrested thanks to the road win over Otago last weekend.

Nothing less than a comprehensive victory over the Christchurch Cougars at the North Shore Events Centre tonight will suffice for Judd Flavell’s side, one that possesses the talent and in particular offensive threat to challenge any team, it is however a side that has been struggling for confidence in recent weeks and leaking too many points at critical times to stay competitive.

However Flavell knows that his side is as close as one strong performance away from rediscovering that early season spark that saw the Heat go on a 7 game unbeaten run start to the season.

“The boys are working hard in practice and trying desperately in games to find that rhythm again, sometimes maybe they are trying too hard and forcing the issue rather than trusting their instincts and those around them. We have shown in patches that ability in recent games, only to let ourselves down with one bad quarter or a lapse in concentration at the defensive end of the court let’s the opposition get away from us. Tonight the catch cry will be consistency throughout the 40 minutes, we must apply pressure at both ends of the court throughout and impose our personality on the game.”

Flavell is not getting caught up in the talk of the play offs though, he says that is a sure fire way to take your eye off the ball in the only game that matters, the next one.

“The play offs will look after themselves, the only way we can get there and grab as high a finishing position as we can is to win each game one by one. It is foolish to look ahead and make calculations; that is energy wasted. It is obvious I know but still players can be distracted and look too far ahead, the only game we can influence right now is tomorrow night against the Cougars; that is where all of our energy must go.”

The Cougars will bring a similar attitude knowing that nothing less than a win will keep their slim play off hopes alive in what has been a disappointing season for the Christchurch franchise. They do however have the edge over the heat thanks to the 91-82 win at home in Round Nine, a game notable for the fouling out inside 12 minutes of BJ Anthony.

The Heat must work on their defensive intensity if they are to finish the season strongly, starting with the Cougars. The North Shore side is leaking 90 points a game, simply too many if they are to earn post season play, let alone contend once they get there. The Cougars struggle at the other end of the court, scoring just 80 per game making for an intriguing battle between two desperate sides.

Head to Head Wins*: Heat 0 - Cougars 4

Last Meeting: Cougars 91-82 (Round Nine: 30/04/2010)