Once were champions: Breaking point for Kiwi franchise
OPINION: It’s time for the Breakers to take some advice from Illawarra Hawks coach Rob Beveridge and take a good hard look in the mirror.
The Australian NBL’s lone Kiwi club, grand finalists five of the previous six seasons and champs four of them, have plunged to the bottom of the table with a fourth straight defeat − a 98-74 Sunday loss to Melbourne United at Hisense Arena.
It is just the second time in the last 263 rounds that the Breakers have finished up bottom of the ladder. The other occasion was after week three of 2014.
The Kiwis aren’t just dropping games either, they’re getting embarrassed. They were beaten by 31 in Illawarra, by 11 in Cairns, by five again by the Hawks at the NSEC on Friday in a result that was more lop-sided than that score indicated, and finally by 24 in Melbourne against a team they had won seven in a row against.
At 6-8, and in an impossibly tight league, the season is still salvageable. But not unless the Breakers make some drastic changes in a laundry list of shortcomings, ranging from attitude and intensity to ballsecurity and defensive execution.
Their defence of late has been abysmal and turnovers just as bad. Opponents are averaging 98 points against them in these four straight defeats, while the Breakers are running at minus-8 a game over that span in giveaways (18.5 turnovers conceded, 10.5 forced).
These are effort and concentration areas, and their numbers are simply not good enough.
To compound matters coach Paul Henare has to prepare for a massive home clash tomorrow against the Brisbane Bullets with his premier offensive player making a court appearance to face an assault charge. Corey Webster did well to lead the team in scoring in Melbourne with 15 points on seven-of-17 shooting off the bench, but his situation hovers over the team like a long, black cloud.
Henare indicated as much when he responded tersely postgame in Melbourne to questions about what he had seen from Webster on the back of his onegame club suspension.
‘‘I just saw Corey being Corey,’’ said the coach. Business as usual, he was asked? ‘‘Yeah.’’
It’s pertinent to note the words of Hawks coach Beveridge on Friday night as he reflected on the 15-point defeat his team suffered at the hands of the Breakers at the NSEC on November 18. His 7-6 club started the year 1-4, and are now second after winning five of their last six.
‘‘Last time we were here two weeks ago we spoke as a group that we had to have a good look in the mirror at ourselves,’’ Beveridge said. ‘‘We were outworked everywhere and had our arses handed to us on a platter.
‘‘Two days later we put on a performance at home and it was a 46-point turnaround in two days that shows me what a mental game basketball is ... it’s the mindset of how you apply yourself to the game.’’
The Breakers’ mindsets need a makeover.
Henare had indicated after the latest Hawks defeat he needed to ‘‘make some changes’’.
But they weren’t evident in Melbourne (10 first-half turnovers; four-of-18 field goals in a 13-point third quarter), leaving the frustrated coach to turn the focus on to himself.
‘‘Our Achilles came back to haunt us,’’ Henare reflected of a game that turned on an 18-5 Melbourne run over the back half of the second period.
‘‘We had seven turnovers in that second quarter and that allowed them to get going, and obviously we weren’t executing for whatever reason down the other end.
‘‘It’s been one of those constant things, and as a coach you’ve got to
The season is still salvageable. But not unless the Breakers make some drastic changes in a laundry list of shortcomings.
ask the questions of yourself as well. Are we doing the right things during the week?
‘‘Possibly there are some things we can work on to rectify that issue, because it’s a big issue and it’s hurting us.’’
Even the normally upbeat Kirk Penney appeared disgruntled after being held to just two points over the final three periods, following a dozen in the first stanza.
‘‘Turnovers are really hurting us right now. When you keep giving the other team the ball it just makes it difficult, and it’s snowballing into some defensive areas too,’’ Penney said.
‘‘We had a good thing going, and now the last four games have really, really slid and we’ve got down by much bigger margins than we would expect. We have some serious improvement and work to do.’’
The Breakers host the Bullets in Auckland tomorrow and then meet the resurgent 36ers in Adelaide on Saturday in two games that could make or break their season.