In the wake of Friday night's devastating loss to the Sydney Spirit, Gold Coast Blaze coach Brendan Joyce has called on his players to do some soul searching before they head to New Zealand to take on the Breakers on Thursday.
After torrid a opening month, the Blaze could be excused for expecting some relief, but they will get the exact opposite with four more testing games in nine days.
Coach Joyce has implored his players to concentrate on improving their performance as individuals as they seem to be lacking confidence when the chips are down.
"(The players) need to evaluate their own game and work on ways they can help the team be successful," Joyce said.
Following the Breakers, the Blaze travel to Cairns to take on the Taipans, then to Wollongong to face the Hawks before heading home to meet New Zealand for the second time in nine days.
"When you look at what we've had and then those four games, it's a pretty tough start," Joyce said.
While other teams are clocking up the wins Joyce maintains that he is only worried about his own backyard.
"All you can do is take care of what you can control, analysing where you need to improve and working hard to get the results," Joyce said.
In further bad news, veteran forward Scott McGregor will go for MRI scans on Sunday after straining a calf during Friday night's loss.
This comes on top of Juaquin Hawkins revealing that he will play New Zealand with the pain of a bone spur in his heel.
When they take on the Breakers, the Blaze will be meeting a team smarting from losing their first match of the season just days after committing to winning their first five at home.
Their next opponent Cairns are the only team to have beaten the ladder leaders so far and also took care of the Blaze comfortably (85-75) in the season opener.