Basketball: Tamworth Thunderbolts look to step up in defence as finals loom

Since starting the year with two wins and four losses, the Thunderbolts have hit a hot streak that has taken their overall record to 11-8 and propelled them to fifth on the ladder.

But weaving throughout that run of form is a trend that frustrates coach Kane Butler.

"Defensively, we have to get a lot better," Butler said.

"This year, our defensive plays have been pretty awful at times, and we need to sharpen that up - especially when we go to Canberra [for finals]."

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Their propensity to lapse in defence came to the fore on Saturday, when Tamworth lost to competition leaders the Port Macquarie Dolphins, 83-71.

Though they were only separated by 12 points in the end, Tamworth was down by 23 points leading in to the fourth quarter and left themselves a mountain to climb in the final 10 minutes of the game.

"It's an ongoing thing during the year, our opponents get a lead and we have to chase the lead in some games," Butler said.

"It was a case of that, and we didn't have Allante [Harper], but we've got to learn to play without him."

Harper, who averages almost 22.5 point a game this season, is currently dealing with an Achilles tendon complaint, but the Tamworth coach is confident it won't impact his availability for finals.

"He'll be raring to go," Butler said.

"He's doing everything he can to play finals. Hopefully he'll play on the weekend [against Hornsby Ku Ring Gai Spiders], but we'll be monitoring his minutes."

The match against Hornsby Ku Ring Gai, slated to be held at the Tamworth Sports Dome, is the Thunderbolts' last regular round fixture of the season.

The Spiders are currently second on the ladder, making this weekend's final assignment for Tamworth very tough indeed, but Butler is determined to go into finals on a winning note.

And with recent wins over the other two members of the top four (Canberra and Hills), the Thunderbolts have good reason to be confident.

"It's huge ... that's a big confidence boost to the young fellas on the team, to know that we can mix it with those teams and we've proven that we can beat them," Butler said.

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