(Daniel Eade is a basketball fan, freelance journalist and BPL contributor.)

The Sydney Kings didn't drop the axe on head coach Ian Robilliard when they lost 14 games in a row and now they have been victorious in five of their last eight appearances, to improve to 6-17 on the season, there's a possibility the club might even extend his contract through to 2011/12.

The Kings' recent success has also moved them into the rear-view mirror of eighth-placed Adelaide 36ers (8-14). And there's now a chance, however miniscule, that the Kings will be able to climb out of the basement before the end of the season and sentence the 36ers to back-to-back seasons in the bomb shelter.

To close out the season, the Kings go up against the Melbourne Tigers (home), Adelaide 36ers (home), New Zealand Breakers (away), Wollongong Hawks (away) and the Gold Coast Blaze (home), and would need to win four games (including their March 13th home-date v Adelaide) to be safe and escape the wooden spoon. Although if Adelaide fail to win another game, the Kings would need to win only three of their remaining five games to move up the ladder.

For a team that re-entered the NBL this season, after a two-year hiatus, the Kings have been far from stable with a rotating door ushering players in and out throughout the season. The team has suited up 17 players this season, chopping imports Rod Grizzard (8.8ppg, 6.0rpg) and Taj McCullough (pictured above, 11.6ppg, 4.9rpg), allowing Damien Ryan (6.7ppg) to leave the team and pick up a contract in Italy, and unfortunately losing promising rookie Luke Cooper (11.5ppg, 4.0rpg, 4.3apg) to a foot injury after just his fourth game.

Even Mark Dickel (4.3ppg, 5.0apg), who was signed mid-season, has been disabled by calf-injuries and has suited up in only four games.

The Kings have received impressive seasons from big man Julian Khazzouh (17.0ppg, 10.1rpg) and rookie Ben Madgen (9.0ppg), but with such changes to the team personnel upsetting any rhythm or cohesion that the Kings ever built, their season faded away fast when they lost an unforgiving 14 consecutive games.

Going forward, the Kings only have Khazzouh signed for next season, and the direction the Harbour City embark on will revolve around who they can add around Khazzouh and if they are capable of building a championship-calibre team within the next few seasons.

So where does that leave Robilliard?

The market for available coaches is slim, but it's not an empty pool. After severing ties with the Tigers in early February, Al Westover is available, and so are the usual suspects Ian Stacker and Guy Molloy. Or even current Kings assistant coach Connor Henry.

Shane Heal?

Even the possibility that Andrew Gaze will one day move to the sidelines is an option that should be explored.

But has Robilliard done enough to keep his job for another year, or will the 14-game losing streak come back to haunt him, no matter how strongly the Kings finish the 2010/11 season?

Robilliard's in-game coaching is more motivational that tactical, a far cry from the Kings' previous head coach Brian Goorjian, but that's not necessarily a bad thing for Robilliard if the team is successful.

So the question is has Robilliard been successful enough to get another year in charge of the Sydney Kings?

Leave your comments below: who do you think will coach the Sydney Kings next season?