Penney ready to fire against Bullets
Kirk Penney is going to try to help the Breakers snap out of their Aussie NBL funk the best way he knows.
Almost certainly, that will involve the veteran Kiwi hoops great coming off the bench in tonight’s clash against the Brisbane Bullets at Spark Arena and doing what he’s done thousands of times in his 20 years playing this game at a high level.
He’ll get his feet and shoulders square, he’ll bend those knees, and then rise up with that classic shooting motion and flick the wrist in a pronounced inverted V that sends the ball soaring towards the hoop.
Last Sunday in Brisbane he tried just four shots and clunked them all to end up with the first scoreless game of his 174-game ANBL career (three was his previous low). More to the point the Breakers slumped to an 0-2 weekend to give up their first two defeats since opening round.
At 9-3 the Breakers still sit atop the standings, but suddenly their place is not quite as secure as it was when a nine-game win streak had them resembling a runaway caboose. Suddenly the pursuers, headed by heated rivals the Perth Wildcats (8-3), have some hope.
Penney, who went two of 12 shooting the ball for the round, is the most obvious source of improvement, but far from the only one. Only imports Edgar Sosa and DJ Newbill and maybe league most improved candidate She Ili produced anything resembling an acceptable level of output over a disappointing weekend.
Asked how he would look to get back in the shooting groove, and do his bit for the team, the 37-yearold second ever Kiwi to play in the NBA just smiled.
‘‘Every shooter will say just see a couple go in, then suddenly your confidence goes sky-high,’’ he said. ‘‘It’s amazing how it works in sport. Confidence is a fleeting thing, and once you see it a little bit you take it for everything it is.
‘‘We will all be going in wanting to get our mojo back. A few of us feel we’re a bit out of rhythm. We want to find it again and get some more wins.’’
No one doubts Penney’s ability to refind his groove. It’s been a tough last month or so with his father’s death, time missed then, followed by a back injury (more time out), then the Fiba international window.
‘‘He’s a scorer, that’s what he does really well,’’ reflected coach Paul Henare. ‘‘He’s gone through some disruptions over the last month, and it’s just a matter of time. Shooters keep shooting, and eventually the numbers turn back around.’’
Both Penney and Henare accepted the new international window had done them no favours, with their heavy contingent of Tall Blacks. But also that it ewas something they had to learn to deal with.
‘‘We’ve learned a lot from it,’’ said Penney. ‘‘We want to make sure when it comes round again (in February ahead of the playoffs) we’re in a better position.’’
Tonight’s clash presents an ideal chance for the Breakers to measure themselves, getting right back in the ring with the 4-7 Bullets on the back of that Sunday defeat.
Henare acknowledged complacency may also have been a factor in those twin defeats. And you know that’s something he would have addressed this week.
‘‘We were below our standards, and that’s disappointing,’’ he said. ‘‘The league is too good to relax. Sometimes when you’re humming along you overlook a few things and that’s on us as coaching staff to make sure we stamp that out.
‘‘But it’s sport. I doubt we were going to win 27 games in a row. It’s how you absorb that disappointment and focus on making improvements is how we judge ourselves.’’
Last time out the Breakers, and Penney, whiffed against the Bullets.
Let’s see if they’ve learned their lessons.