Breakers expect backlash from familiar NBL foe
The Breakers are expecting a completely different Perth side to the one they have beaten twice this season as the two Australian NBL heavyweights gear up for round three in Auckland tonight.
Back from the international window, there is no easing into things for the league-leading Breakers as they put their ninegame winning streak on the line against the second-placed Wildcats at a near-capacity North Shore Events Centre.
The Kiwi outfit delivered a major statement three weeks ago when they recorded back-to-back, home and away victories over the defending champions.
In fact, the Breakers have owned their Western Australian rivals in recent times, winning the last five meetings, while Perth have not tasted success in Auckland in four years.
However, the Wildcats have regrouped well since losing 88-82 at ‘The Jungle’.
While their offence is led by import duo Bryce Cotton and JP Tokoto, Lucas Walker, Jesse Wagstaff and Damian Martin have stepped up to help ease the scoring burden.
As a result, they have responded with successive road wins, including a 32-point demolition job of highly rated Melbourne.
Perth have also had the luxury of arriving earlier than usual thanks to the two-week break as coach Trevor Gleeson looks for any advantage to end their horror run in Auckland.
‘‘We’re not looking at we beat them twice in a row, that’s out of the way,’’ Breakers guard DJ Newbill told Stuff.
‘‘They have good coaches, great players and they’re going to make adjustments.
‘‘Just watching their last couple of games, a lot of the other guys on their team are starting to step up and take more shots and not just relying on the imports for a lot of the scoring.
‘‘We have to be ready for them.’’ With the majority of their squad, including coach Paul Henare, involved in the Tall Blacks, and a trip to Brisbane to take on the Bullets on Sunday, this is a testing period for the Breakers.
The national side only arrived back from Hong Kong on Tuesday, with the Breakers contingent heading straight into training the following day.
It does put added pressure on the likes of Newbill, fellow import Edgar Sosa and a healthy Kirk Penney, who has recovered from a back injury, to lead the way.
But Henare has no plan to limit any of his players’ minutes and Newbill expects it to be business as usual against Perth.
‘‘We’re always going to try to lead but our leadership comes from a lot of different guys,’’ the American said.
‘‘For the most part, we expect everyone to be 100 per cent and still chip in the same way we were doing before the break.’’