Breakers coach: ‘We need to fix this now’ Chisora is looking past Parker
Breakers coach Dan Shamir is not hiding from the realities of the early-season hole his battered team has dug in the Australian NBL. ‘‘We’re struggling,’’ he conceded after their fifth defeat of the season.
The Breakers were shaded 104-101 by Melbourne United in Auckland on Thursday night to sink to 2-5. The situation is not terminal yet, but it is fast approaching that point and Shamir conceded some fundamental things needed fixing, and quick, with another game at South East Melbourne Phoenix tonight across the ditch.
There were positives, as there have been in all five defeats this season for this new-look and everchanging Breakers lineup. They mounted a fierce comeback after a disastrous third quarter in which a 33-14 burst by the visitors eased them out by 17 (84-67) at the final break.
That deficit grew to 21 early in the final period, before the Breakers came home with a withering RJ Hampton-inspired burst to get as close as two points inside the final minute. But Melbourne made their foul-shots when it mattered and the Breakers suffered their fifth defeat by 10 points or fewer this season.
‘‘It’s always good to make a comeback, and our players showed a lot of effort in the fourth quarter,’’
Melbourne United 104 (Chris Goulding 24, Shawn Long 22, Melo Trimble 16, Shea Ili 13, David Barlow 12) NZ Breakers 101 (Glen Rice Jr 26, Corey Webster 20, Tom Abercrombie 16, RJ Hampton 16, Brandon Ashley 10).
Tonight, 7.30pm: South East Melbourne Phoenix v Breakers, in Melbourne.
Shamir said. ‘‘But we’re struggling. There’s no way to hide it. The comeback was not a lot about basketball . . . we played very simple stuff, the guys made a few shots and they attacked.
‘‘If we want to be a better basketball team, we need to solve a lot of basketball issues, and it’s not easy right now. We need to try and survive this period, get a few weeks where we can fix a few things, get a few players back and get a few positive things basketball wise.
‘‘In the meantime we’ve got to try give ourselves a chance to win. Major changes are not going to happen in how we play but hopefully we can somehow find a way to get a ‘W’.’’
The Breakers are hurting right now, in more ways than one. They have Finn Delany (ankle), Rob Loe (fractured skull) and Scotty Hopson (knee) all out of action at present and have just brought in former NBA player Glen Rice Jr as an injury replacement.
Rice, who has a checkered past in a pro career that now includes eight stops over the last three years, made an immediate impression little more than a day after flying in from the US with 26 points in just 19 minutes at an efficient 6-of-10 shooting clip. He made two of his four attempts from beyond the arc and, in a welcome sight, converted all 12 of his free-throw attempts.
The Breakers looked better with the athletic swingman on the court (they were plus-seven over his time on the hardwood) and Shamir said he hoped Rice would help them make a much-needed correction as they search for some wins to nudge back closer to that .500 mark.
Dereck Chisora appears ready to move on from a proposed showdown with Kiwi heavyweight Joseph Parker as his team chase a potential WBO title tilt against Oleksandr Usyk next year.
The British slugger was scheduled to face Parker in London last month but the New Zealander pulled out because of illness following a suspected spider bite.
Chisora (32-9, 23 KOS) went on to demolish late replacement David Price inside four rounds and immediately called out former WBO world champion Parker after the fight, much to the Kiwi’s delight.
But Chisora’s manager David Haye now seems keen to put the Parker fight on the backburner as he revealed to Sky Sports in the UK that unbeaten Ukrainian star Usyk (17-0, 13 KOS) was ‘‘interested’’ in fighting his man should the WBO title become vacant.
Former cruiserweight king Usyk is the WBO’S mandatory for the winner of next month’s rematch between Anthony Joshua and Andy Ruiz Jr, in which the the IBF and WBA belts will also be on the line in Diriyah, Saudi Arabia.
The winner of that highly anticipated clash will have Usyk and Kubrat Pulev as mandatory challengers, so may be forced to vacate one of their belts. Haye believes Joshua and Ruiz will be keen to avoid the skilful Usyk and may vacate the WBO crown, with Chisora a likely opponent for the 2012 London Olympic gold medallist.
Haye told Sky Sports that ‘‘Usyk’s people have been in contact with [Matchroom promoter Eddie Hearn] to say they are interested’’.
‘‘The WBO have a convention in Tokyo where I will lobby them. The
WBO want exciting fighters, and it makes sense for them to sanction Usyk v Chisora.’’
Fellow Brit Tyson Fury is currently No 2 in the WBO rankings, behind Usyk, but given that he is targeting a rematch with WBC champion Deontay Wilder, a shot at their title could become available.
‘‘My gut says the WBO [will be vacated] because Usyk is a tricky customer,’’ Haye told Sky Sports. ‘‘I believe Joshua will go the Pulev route, a bigger guy who will stand and fight, rather than the Usyk route.’’
The news that Chisora plans to pursue Usyk will come as a blow to Parker’s team, who had hoped to reschedule the cancelled fight for February.
Parker is one fight into a threefight deal with Hearn’s Matchroom Boxing and is desperate to get back in the world title mix.
The Aucklander has fought only once this year, stopping tough Samoan-australian veteran Alex Leapai in the 10th round back in June.