Friday, 17 November 2017: Sydney coach Andrew Gaze is concerned about how the Kings will cope with losing to Illawarra despite holding a 16-point advantage at the last break.

Sydney Kings coach Andrew Gaze fears his team will be haunted by "mental ogres" heading into their road duel with the Adelaide 36ers.

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The Kings remain alone at the bottom of the NBL ladder with two wins from 10 games after Thursday night's 97-93 overtime loss to the Illawarra Hawks.

Leading by 16 at three-quarter time, Sydney were mowed down in the final period, ruining the Kings debut of former Adelaide star Jerome Randle.

"The thing about this game is that we have to put it behind us and move on real quickly, but they're the sort of games that are hard to move on from," Gaze said.

"How we recover from this is going to be a test for us. It's the mental ogres that are going to be the biggest challenges we face."

Randle showed why he is so highly rated, finishing with 28 points, nine rebounds and five assists.

"I thought he was fantastic tonight on very limited preparation" Gaze said.

"The way he's engaging in the group, not just on the floor but off the floor. He's really holding players accountable, being positive and trying to lift the spirits."

The Kings missed last season's playoffs in Gaze's first year at the helm and are under pressure to keep this season's finals hopes afloat.

"We've got some new pieces that have come in and Kevin's [captain Kevin Lisch] coming back [from injury], so there's some light at the end of the tunnel," Gaze said.

Sydney guard Jason Cadee believes the Kings will claw their way back into contention.

"Honestly, I've seen enough to know we are a good basketball team," he said.

"Our record's not great, but winning is a habit, and for us now it's about building that habit.

"If we can get one against Adelaide and split this weekend I think we'll be better going into the back half of the season."