The Nagoya Diamond Dolphins endured a difficult December, winning just two of 10 games. They have lost six consecutive games, and veteran forward Justin Burrell challenged his team to improve its level of play when it returns to action against the visiting Kyoto Hannaryz on Saturday.
"At the moment, we are very far from where we want to be," Burrell said on Sunday after the team's latest loss, a 96-77 setback against the Sunrockers Shibuya. "We are not playing the level of basketball we are accustomed to. We are defensively a step behind, maybe a step and a half. Offensively, we're not able to find the shots that we like consistently. Both of those, defensively and offensively, we're (not playing) consistently to play at a high level.
"We ought to look at ourselves in the mirror and figure out what's going on from top to bottom. Consistently we're not playing the style of basketball that we are accustomed to and the identity that we're trying to build."