Tough defence key for Breakers Locke now a Falcon
Some of the 5000-plus who rolled up at Vector Arena last Thursday night may have seen an ugly, defensive grind of a basketball game. But to Breakers coach Paul Henare it was a thing of beauty.
Finally his Breakers played in the image of their coach in their preChristmas finale against last season’s grand final conquerors the Perth Wildcats: that is to say tough, feisty, bluecollar and a little rugged. It’s no surprise to hear Henare wants more of the same when their Australian NBL campaign resumes in Sydney on December 30.
Henare hopes that in their final home game for 2016 − a dour 69-57 victory over the Perth Wildcats − his team found something to hang their hats on for the rest of their campaign.
It took the surprising shutdown of Corey Webster, most likely for the season to a mysterious series of injuries, and an extremely tight spot, but Henare was at last able to cajole a defensive performance he could be proud of and, more importantly, which would win ball games.
The 57 points the Wildcats scored at a 30 percent shooting clip was easily the Breakers’ best defensive effort of this first part of their season, which sees them delicately poised at 8-9 in a league that has unprecedented parity. They are neither well placed, nor out of the playoff race. The .500 mark might sneak you into the top four when all is said and done.
It was the second lowest total in Perth’s proud history, and the 23 points they were kept to at halftime set a record in offensive futility through two quarters at the club.
Sure, they shot and executed poorly but the Breakers’ defence also had a bit to do with the visitors’ nadir.
And Henare has a message for anyone offended by the down-and-dirty, defence-first style the Breakers employed: sorry, but he wants more of the same from here on in.
‘‘We’ve got a couple of issues going on. We still throw the ball away too much, but defensively it’s just been a little bit fair too easy for teams. That doesn’t with me as a coach and I’m doesn’t sit well with the team.
‘‘We’ll have a good hard look at ourselves but the guys are already saying we want to hang our hat on defence, we want to get after it defensively, and hold each other accountable at the defensive end. If we can do that we have faith our offence can get points on the board.’’
It remains to be seen whether the Breakers can sustain their new defencefirst mode − before the Perth game they had coughed up 90-plus points eight times − but with Webster now gone, and his as-yet-unnamed replacement sure to require a transition period, it may be a necessity. It’s doubtful they have the offensive firepower any more to blow anyone out of the gym.
‘‘We’re beginning to understand the importance of what it means to play defence, and the importance of accountability at the defensive end,‘‘ Henare said.
‘‘That’s been one of the biggest issues over this stretch [of five losses in six games]: we haven’t been up to standard. Part of it is mental in terms of understanding what’s required when an individual falls short of that effort.
‘‘We’ve got our standards and we want to hold each other accountable,’’ Henare said. sit well sure it Rugby league: Manly have not waited long to part ways with Kevin Locke after Queensland Cup outfit Sunshine Coast Falcons revealed the former Warriors flyer has joined them on a one-year deal. Locke began pre-season training with Sea Eagles last month in the hope of winning a place in Trent Barrett’s squad for the trial matches next February. But Falcons coach Craig Ingebrigtsen said Manly did not believe his body was up to the rigours of an NRL campaign.