Perth Wildcats centre Luke Nevill is looking forward to his battle with Julian Khazzouh when the 'Cats return to Challenge Stadium this Sunday to host the Sydney Kings desperate to bounce back from two losses on the road.
Click here to listen to Luke Nevill speaking to the media before training on Thursday
The Wildcats' six-game winning run came to an end courtesy of road losses to the New Zealand Breakers and Cairns Taipans over the past fortnight.
The 'Cats do remain in second position on the NBL ladder and will be just a game behind first-place New Zealand with a win over the Kings on Sunday though.
While Nevill is desperate to hit back and return to the winner's list, he also feels the mood within the group remains positive.
"We are upset of course that we lost those two games, but we are keeping pretty positive. A couple of the other teams around us dropped games as well so we are still definitely in the race for that top spot. That's what we are going for," Nevill said.
"The mood in the group is fine. You are bound to lose some games in the season and we just have to get back at it on Sunday. This has been a good week.
"We had a couple of days off so we've had some rest and we are ready to get back into it. All the guys are pretty healthy and we've been doing lots of recovery, getting massages and all of that. We are in good shape right now."
The Wildcats now come up against a Kings team featuring Khazzouh on Sunday and that's a challenge that Nevill is looking forward to once again also as he does battle with one of the league's MVP favourites who is averaging 17.1 points and 10.8 rebounds a game.
"They are a big team as well so we have to take them off the boards, and limit their deep touches inside and make their guards try to hurt us. We have a great defensive unit and if we back each other up, we should be fine," he said.
"He is a great offensive player and he gets a lot of touches from his team. He is able to produce a lot of offensive numbers because of that and it will definitely be a big challenge on Sunday."
Nevill, though, is happy with the way his performances have got better as the 2011/12 season has gone on. He has no doubt that has coincided with him feeling more comfortable within the Wildcats' system after being the last player to sign on before the season began.
His season numbers see him averaging 9.5 points, 5.1 rebound and 1.6 blocks a game, but over the last four games he has averaged 14 points and while he does want to hit the boards more, he feels he is offering the team what they are after from him at the moment.
"Right now I think I am in pretty good shape and form. I feel like I am shooting the ball well and doing what I kind of wanted to do. I just need to up my rebounding, but apart from that I think I am doing pretty well so far this season," Nevill said.
"I just think it's about being more comfortable with the guys and when I get the ball, not being concerned about what they are going to do or if they will get upset with me if I take a shot or anything like that. It's just about being more comfortable and ready to perform when I have an opportunity.
"I just have to up my ante a little bit and when I get the ball be a bit more selfish, but at the same time help out the team. I have to be really aggressive when I get the ball and when I catch it in the post, and go to work."
