TAIPANS coach Alan Black says everyone at the NBL club needs to lift their performance to help Cairns out of its slump.

But Black said he was not about to start finger-pointing and included himself in the assessment.

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The Taipans’ 101-85 loss to the Perth Wildcats on Saturday night was the club’s seventh in its last eight matches and gave the team a 6-9 record at the halfway point of the fixture season.

Unlike its previous game against the Wildcats in Perth the previous week in which it squandered a significant lead, Cairns was not ahead at a single change on Saturday night, but still suffered a familiar fourth-quarter fadeout.

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There were a few bright spots for the Taipans, including another strong performance from Larry Abney and a breakout showing from development player Kerry Williams whose energy in the third quarter proved the catalyst for a Taipans’ fightback.

 But overall the box scores do not make good reading, the Taipans poor in every statistical category and seemingly bereft of ideas.

Ian Crosswhite has dominated the paint on occasions this season but struggled on Saturday, finishing with two points, five turn-overs and no rebounds and was taken off after being called for an unsportsmanlike foul on Shawn Redhage, who was also given the same penalty by match referees.

Scott Cook and Darnell Mee were also not on song, but it was the team’s collective performance that was the real problem.

Black was not about to turn any of his players into a scapegoat.

"When you’re playing like this you shouldn’t be pointing the finger at anyone in particular," he said.

"I think obviously, we all are not doing well enough and I put my hand up as much as anyone.

"I’ve got to find ways to get the best out of these guys and we haven’t found that over the last eight games."

Black has previously said he was not prepared to use the absence of guard Stephen Black as a "crutch" for the team’s woes.

But he conceded the team had not been able to find ways to make up the scoring difference since he was forced from the court with a back injury early last month.

Black Jr has since had surgery and could return before the playoffs next year but Black Sr had plenty of faith in the players now available to get the job done.

"He’s only one player. We’ve got plenty of other players that can get it done," he said.

"From me down, we’ve all got to do it better. I’m not going to point my finger at any particular player at all but what I’m saying is all of us have been around enough to rectify this.

"I’ve coached enough, these guys have played enough – and played at a high enough level – that we should be able to come up with some answers ... and quickly."

Black pointed to the amount of experience in his squad and said the team had to be able to get things done.

"At the end of the game we really need our big-time players to step up and get it done," he said.

"We’ve got a lot of players that have been in this scenario before.

"We’re not a bunch of 20-year-olds. We’ve got experienced players who know what it takes to win.

"They’re the ones that along with myself and (assistant coach) Mark (Beecroft) have to find ways of getting it done … and collectively we move forward together."

Black said it was not as if he was asking players to do things they were not capable of doing.

"We’ve got people who have won championships, we’ve got All-Stars, we’ve got people that can play basketball and collectively we’ve got to do a better job of just that," he said.

"Offensively, defensively, whatever it takes."

The job gets no easier for the Taipans this week with another double against the South Dragons in Melbourne on Wednesday and the Townsville Crocodiles at the convention centre on Saturday.

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