"The shooting will come but I reckon we need to move the ball a bit more because once you do that we've got the shooters to have some open looks to knock them down," said Burton who scored 13 points, collected five rebounds and made four assists.
US import Chris Porter scored a team-high 22 points and 10 rebounds for the team's first double-double this season.
Forward Kareem Johnson, also a US import, scored 10 points in a game where the Hawks only led for about five minutes.
Burton felt the Hawks were creating that time and space with screens to offer shooters a good look in.
"For defence we've got to play 40 minutes. Tonight we played for
20 minutes so that's suspect," he said, emphasising the need to move the ball with more intent to prompt the defence to scramble.
It was vital to read and react, he said revealing players could only put their heads down to drive towards the boards if the defence allowed them to so, again, rotating the defence was critical.
Australian import guard Nick Kay claimed a match-high 32 points but US import Jordair Jett was outstanding as well in scoring 24 points, collecting seven rebounds and chalking up six assists for the victors.
Ex-Hawk Everard Bartlett said the Sharks were in a good space after their third NBL victory and the first on the road after losing to Nelson Giants.
"I just think you've got a glimpse of what they're capable of in this league and that's obviously what Juddy's doing," Bartlett said in his first season with the Sharks after settling with his family in Invercargill.
Jett had made a statement in the ANBL and Kay had won the rookie of the year award so the Sharks coach had recruited well.
"We've got some big boys ... you know, that's something we've always wanted to work on and will continue to do that so as long as they continue to doiminate the boards," he said, adding that physical presence would be vital when playing the likes of Wellington Saints.
The play the Canterbury Rams tomorrow in Christchurch on the way home before the Hawks host the Rams at the arena on Monday in a 1pm tip off.
A second-quarter arm wrestle saw the Indigo Hawks trail by three points but it was a false dawn.
The hosts were only 19-17 down in the first quarter and 24-23 (43-40) in the second spell against the visitors who used their concerted size, built around centre Alex Pledger, to impose their physicality.
Guard Willie Stinnett provided some much-needed zest for the Hawks in their new grey strips, following on from last Sunday's losing game against the Mike Pero Nelson Giants.
The Guam player claimed two rebounds and scored three points off the bench.
Anamata Haku was the other ex-Hawk player in the Sharks' equation.
A modicum of discord surfaced in the third spell among the Hawks as they fell behind, 54-45, just three minutes into the action.
Co-skipper Aidan Daly and Burton exchanged a couple of wayward passes as the Sharks probably picked up the easiest basket from the hosts' defensive line.
Daly copped a personal foul for dissent from referee Yalla Edwards after some backchat as he lost possession on attack. Burton tried to calm him down as coach Kirstin Daly-Taylor called timeout.
When the dust settled, the Hawks were again on the backfoot, 69-55 (26-15).
For the Hawks, it was the same old problem of finding scant sympathy from the rim amid veteran Paora Winitana's pre-match talk of working collectively to create the time and space for shooters to do their job.
Winitana, opening his campign this season because of his inability to play on Sundays due to his religious beliefs, hobbled off after a fall in the third quarter but returned in the final spell.
Point guard Mataeus Marsh, like Stinnett, came on to inject some spark in the tired old legs on the court as the Hawks stole a few points but by then Sharks captain James Paringatai and his men were well and truly home.
