Dean Vickerman isn't panicking just yet but he knows his team must find their form quickly if they are to play a role in this season's NBL finals.
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Melbourne United stumbled to a 1-4 record on Monday night following a shock 90-85 loss to the Cairns Taipans in Cairns.
Last year's grand finalists led by 12 points at quarter-time and looked set for a confidence-boosting victory against the struggling Snakes, but reverted to the the type of play that has led to their form slump after the first break.
Cairns outscored Melbourne 71-54 from the beginning of the second stanza, to the disappointment of Melbourne coach Dean Vickerman.
"We turned the basketball over and we gave up offensive rebounds which are two of the areas we are trying to improve on," he said.
"I thought we gave them some life.
"We needed two (wins) this weekend. This is one we certainly pencilled in to say 'this is a must-win, a double weekend for us'."
United big man Shawn Long was dominant in the paint early, scoring 10 points and grabbing six rebounds in the opening term before finishing with 21 and 18.
Melo Trimble, playing against his former club for the first time, received a chorus of boos from the Cairns crowd each time he touched the ball. He finished with a respectable 21 points.
United stars Chris Goulding (10) and David Barlow (5) were well down on their usual output.The Melbourne skipper lamented his own form.
"I was trying to be aggressive and gauge what we needed at the time and they weren't dropping," Goulding said of his three-point game after making just two of eight attempts from the perimeter.
The Boomers star said his side dropped its intensity after quarter-time and gave the home side momentum.
"We gave up a lot of offensive rebounds and gave them second-chance points and second-chance opportunities to get their confidence going," Goulding said.
"There are no bad teams in this league. If you give teams a second or a third chance at the one possession they are going to score.
"We did that a little too much (and) turned the ball over at key times which drained a bit of momentum."
United returns to Melbourne this weekend for two blockbuster duels against cross-town rivals South East Melbourne Phoenix on Saturday before another Monday night match against the unbeaten Sydney Kings.
Australian Associated Press
