The purple and gold have six games left and must win them all to have even a  sliver of a chance of making the finals. Injuries have inopportunely wiped out their superstar import Josh Childress and powerful big man Angus Brandt.

At the team's helm, is coach Damian Cotter. In his first season as a head coach in the National Basketball League he has overseen some successes: the recruiting of NBA veteran Josh Childress, the defeat of the top three teams at the Kingdome and the end of 16 straight losses to the Perth Wildcats.

But there have also been some low points: a roster plagued by a string of injuries, a lengthy losing streak and a failure to win more than two games in a row.

Cotter, who was promoted from assistant coach to the position, said the season had been a steep learning curve.

"To get the opportunity to work with such good players is fun and I think I've been really fortunate," Cotter said.

"I think the blokes have been terrific to work with and I can't fault how supportive they have been. They have been very loyal to me and a coach can't ask much more than that."

Growing up in a working class suburb on the fringes of Melbourne, Cotter developed a love of basketball. This passion was perhaps heightened when a bout of glandular fever and an arthritic condition suddenly put a stop to his playing days as a teenager.

"I had a dozen operations, 10 below the knees before I was 21. I was told at the time it was lucky it didn't cripple me," Cotter said.

"I wanted to be a player. I think the best part of basketball is being able to play it, I've never forgotten that since I coached. Even though some of my blokes might think I have."

His health problems saw him move into coaching. Cotter's extensive resume now includes leading the Knox Raiders, the Australian junior team, and working as head coach at the NSW Institute of Sport. From Romania to Sri Lanka, he has run coaching clinics around the world.

Cotter is also the assistant coach for the Australian Opals women's team who are preparing for their 2016 Olympic campaign in Rio de Janeiro.

"I got involved with coaching because I loved the game. The game has given me a lot. I love the game and I love what it has given me," Cotter said.

In taking over as coach of the Kings, Cotter has been emphatic about one notion: he wanted his team to be "good blokes".

"For me, it's like any positive workplace. It was very important that we set up a culture of respect and hard work. We've had legitimate adversity, but the guys are just chipping away and I feel like we're really building a positive platform and from that we can have ongoing success."

Cotter said he felt no need to change his coaching style when it came to overseeing such a high-profile and experienced player as Childress.

"I think really good players want to be coached and treated the same and Josh has been like that," Cotter, who recently completed a Masters of Education (sports coaching) at the University of Sydney, said.

"Whether they are elite or just coming into it, the most important thing is you work it out so everybody has got their dignity and I think when you do that, players respect you. Josh [Childress] certainly fits into that. He's been good to coach. I feel like I haven't had to measure what I say or change anything I say to him and it's a positive reflection on him as much as anything."

While Cotter is disappointed that the Kings have slipped down the ladder to sixth place over the past six weeks, he is proud of how his relatively young team has held up in the face of adversity.

"They've had a bit of rotten luck with the timing of injuries and the significance of it. We've trained hard this week. We know we're going into a challenging situation and we're going to give it a crack."

The challenging situation is an away game against the third-placed Wildcats on Sunday afternoon. The Kings have lost two of their three games to the Wildcats this season.

It's unlikely they will be able to replace Childress. Under NBL rules, a new player cannot be signed if a team has played equal to or more than 75 per cent of their games, unless there are "extenuating circumstances". The game in which Childress was injured was the club's cut-off to bring new blood to the team.

Their last-minute signing Nick Horvath, who played three games with the side before returning to his teaching job in New Zealand, is also unlikely to make a return due to a knee injury.

But to this Cotter repeats what has almost become his catchphrase: "There's no point crying into your soup".