Cairns Taipans coach Mike Kelly is lucky he already had grey hair before he took on his first NBL coaching job.
Since taking the reins of the competition's most northern franchise, Kelly has endured a frustrating run in the tropical city.
Cairns began the season strongly, defeating Brisbane 88-70 on the road in round one, but have since lost their past nine matches.
The Snakes boast one of the competition's most prolific scorers in American import Melo Trimble, who is averaging 23 points per game, but lack the ability to shut down the opposition in transition.
Making matters worse for Kelly's men are the constant turnovers.
In Friday night's 95-84 loss to Illawarra, the Taipans conceded 13 turnovers, giving up 17 points in the process.
In the first half, Cairns gave away three possessions for stepping over the sideline when running an offensive play.
"It's frustrating and I do think sometimes those things build on each other," Kelly said.
"(Those are) fundamental errors that as a coach you kind of go back and think how can we help each other? How can we do this better?
"Maybe every loss in a row adds a little bit to that feeling of frustration.
"We felt like we had a good shot at winning and we had a good preparation.
"We had two weeks to prepare, with most of our guys here and healthy ... it was a tough way to lose.
"There is no relief in sight for the Taipans, who travel to Perth to take on the ladder leading Wildcats on Sunday.
From there, four of their next five matches are at home. Kelly and his gang will be eyeing those games as opportunities to add to the slim win tally.
Australian Associated Press
