We can bounce back: Henry
Stand-in point guard Sek Henry has not given up hope that the Breakers can save their faltering NBL season, but he understands why others might be wavering in their faith.
The Breakers head into their final two games before Christmas this weekend – against South East Melbourne Phoenix in Christchurch on Friday night and then at the Illawarra Hawks on Sunday – with their playoff hopes hanging by a sliver.
At 4-10, coming off a heartbreaking 99-96 home defeat to Adelaide on Sunday, they have hit the halfway point of their season in the pit of a large black hole. It’s a long climb out, too.
They face having to go 10-4 from here to have any hope of slipping into that fourth playoff spot.
Henry, the lefty American guard playing the best basketball of his first season with the Breakers, firmly believes the club has the ability to make the sort of run they need to over the second half of the campaign, though appreciates they are almost out of wriggle room.
‘‘We have the talent to do it,’’ said Henry who scored 18 of his 20 points against the Sixers on
Sek Henry, right
Sunday in a sizzling second half. ‘‘I really believe we can. We’ve just got to stick together, play hard and learn from our mistakes.
‘‘But it can happen. We can win 10 games in a row. Everybody would be surprised, but if we do something like that it won’t be a surprise to me because I know we have the talent to do it.’’
There are certainly signs that talent is starting to express itself, even if injuries and the rub of the green with referees continue to conspire against the Breakers.
They have just got Scotty Hopson and Rob Loe back on the hardwood off long-term injuries, but last Sunday had to play without NBA Draft hopeful RJ Hampton and Tall Blacks guard Corey Webster.
Hampton is expected to be out at least a month with hip soreness while Webster was dealing with a back strain that came after a fortnight out with an ankle sprain.
The Breakers have not once this season had their full roster on court at the same time, and amidst a horror run of injuries rolled the dice with serial bad boy Glen Rice Jr as a temporary replacement which did not work out well.
The Kiwi club played well enough Sunday once they snapped out of their early funk. Tom Abercrombie poured in a season-high 22 points, while Henry took out his frustrations after the break to finish with 20 on just 11 shots.
Breakers coach Dan Shamir is done using injuries as excuses. He says he has a ‘‘functional’’ roster of fit players and now it’s about finding ays to win and staying professional in a tight position.
‘‘We can win 10 games in a row. We have the talent to do it.’’