(Daniel Eade is a Melbourne-based basketball devotee, freelance journalist and Melbourne Tigers blogger.)

The effort put forward by the Melbourne Tigers in their season opener against the Sydney Kings last Friday night was the most appalling display I have ever seen from a team in the Tigers uniform.

To say this team sucked would be an understatement as they were destroyed by the Kings, 84-68.

I've witnessed the Melbourne Tigers lose over the years, for heaven's sake I saw too much of it last season, but the total lack of spirit and desire from the 2010/11 outfit was a downright disgrace.

Head coach Al Westover and the team should apologise to all the Tigers fans (especially the ones who paid to see that performance), past players, the NBL, oneHD, James Naismith, Lindsay Gaze and the basketball gods for putting up one of the worst showings imaginable.

The gigantic Tigers roster was put to shame by a more hungry and desperate Kings outfit, and despite having three seven-footers alongside Cameron Tragardh, the Tigers were out rebounded 38-30, allowing the lone wolf in the Kings frontcourt, Julian Khazzouh, to pull down 17 rebounds off the glass to go with his 24 points.

Coming off the bench, Matt Burston had 13 points but only four rebounds in 23 minutes, and after the game he was upset with what had transpired. "The disappointing thing is they (Sydney) probably wanted it more, they were getting on the loose balls, they were hustling, pushing us out of our stuff,'' he said.

"I think defensively we let ourselves down. Should have communicated more, should have rotated better, should have done a lot of things.

"It's disappointing for the crowd, it's disappointing for the people that watched that and for the Melbourne supporters. That's not the way we want to play and that's not the way we're going to play in the future.''

But the Melbourne Tigers decision to start the three bigs, Luke Nevill, Wade Helliwell and Cameron Tragardh (all three who could play centre in the NBL), backfired for the home-team the moment the game tipped off.

When teams have pressured the Tigers full-court in the past, the Tigers have always thrown the ball back to a safety release, be it David Barlow or Mark Worthington last season, two players capable of handling the rock and getting the ball over half-court. But the Tigers were forced to kick the ball back through the game to Helliwell and Burston, and it was ugly to watch the behemoths attempt to navigate their way through the pressure with the ball.

Who knows if Westover will eventually change this tactic, when the Tigers are 0-3, 0-4, 0-5? But this team will not defeat the defending champion Perth Wildcats next Sunday. They won't even come close.

In Daryl Corletto's 250th game he was letdown by his teammates, although passing grades could be given to Nevill (17pts, 12rebs), Burston, Lucas Walker and Corletto himself, all around the team was so bad that the end could not have come soon enough.

Imports TJ Campbell and Eric Devendorf also struggled in their debuts, and I mean they really struggled. In fact they struggled so much, the Tigers have already been contacted by another import to see if a position might come up in the near future.

Campbell (5pts, 2/10FG, 3ass) failed to get the Tigers into any kind of flow offensively or out in transition, and Devendorf (10pts, 4/18FG) would have struggled to pin the tale on the donkey without wearing a blindfold.

Before God saves the Queen, can God save the Melbourne Tigers?

"If we don't play any better than that we'll never win a game," said Westover after the game.

But can I beg, plead and ask the Tigers just to care because last night it looked like they didn't give a sh*t.