"There were some smiles at the end, when you actually realise you get four points for that performance," he said.
Nicks acknowledged Adelaide's slogging nine-point victory over cellar dwellers Richmond - 9.9 (63) to 7.12 (54) - was ugly.
"If you play that way and win, maybe it's a good sign," he said after the rain-marred Adelaide Oval fixture.
"That even when we're nowhere near our best - and that was ugly tonight, unfortunately - and yet we still got the job done.
"There will be some guys that are challenged out of this one. And  we'll learn from that and get better."
The Crows will simply have to be better to make any inroads in their upcoming finals campaign, let alone their next task: taking on ladder-leaders Fremantle in Perth on Friday night.
"We have got a short break into Freo," Nicks said.
"And there will be some changes to our side, everything going well."
Adelaide forward Darcy Fogarty has served his three-game suspension and first-choice ruckman Lachlan McAndrew will return from a rest.
Key defender James Borlase will be available after a hamstring scare and utility Luke Nankervis should return from a chest injury.
But the fifth-placed Crows, on 56 premiership points, blew a chance for a significant win that would have taken fourth spot from Brisbane - they trail the Lions by 0.2 per cent.
Nicks rejected any suggestion his team suffered from an attitude problem against the 17th-placed Tigers.
"It's not an attitude, it's never an attitude thing - that is not out group," he said.
"People have got it a little bit wrong: the competition is not that uneven.
"There are talented players on every team in the comp.
"There are some that have got a little more experience than others, and and a little bit more talent here and there.
"It was always going to be a tough game."
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