Canadian coach James Duncan's arrival in Kyushu signaled the start of the Rizing Fukuoka's revival in the second half of the season.
The Rizing, who were the 2012-13 bj-league championship runnerup squad, needed a strong turnaround to extend their playoff streak to seven seasons.
Despite an 11-17 start under Kimitoshi Sano, who became Duncan's assistant, the Rizing finished strong, going 15-9 to close out the season. (Sano had replaced Mack Tuck, who stepped down without ever actually coaching a regular-season game for the Rizing, and he had taken over for Atsushi Kanazawa, who had left the franchise for a new coaching gig in the NBDL, the JBL2's successor.)