Buckets of room to improve

BREAKERS COACH Andrej Lemanis tends to say a lot after a game. His mind is racing, the emotions are fresh, and clearly he has a lot to get off his chest.

But it was an atoll of three words in a sea of reflection that stood out in the wake of Friday night’s surprisingly tricky 73- 71 Australian National Basketball League victory over the Townsville Crocodiles.

‘‘ We’re getting better,’’ said Lemanis when asked to sum up where his threepeat-chasing club is at after a three- game home stand to open the season. They won two of those matchups, even without threatening to get out of second gear.

They’re still incredibly patchy with their intensity, are not shooting the ball well at all, and have yet to consistently convert their pressure defence into easy buckets.

Yet, after that season-opening reality check at the hands of the Perth Wildcats, they’ve found ways to win two on the trot and, according to Lemanis, are improving incrementally with every outing.

‘‘We showed in pre-season we can be a great defensive team, but it’s a mentality. I wasn’t happy with how we came out [against the Crocs] – giving up 26 points in that first quarter.

‘‘I think Mika [Vukona] got angry about the way we gave them up. It was attention to detail on scouting, giving up open threes, switching when we’re not supposed to, and wide open layups. That was disappointing.

‘‘But what we were able to do was address it, and get back to being that miserly defensive team which I think we can be.’’

The other real positive from Friday night for the Kiwi club was the emergence after a slow start of three players crucial to their threepeat ambitions – power forward Vukona, swingman Tom Abercrombie and combo guard C J Bruton.

Vukona blasted his team at one early time- out, but also set the standard on the court, with 15 points and 15 boards. His imprint was all over the contest, with Crocs coach Paul Wolpert labelling him ‘‘the difference’’.

But Abercrombie and Bruton also suggested they’re arising from their slumber. Abercrombie faded a little but flashed some of his athletic brilliance en route to 15 points on six-of-16 shooting; and Bruton had an aggressive and influential nine points.

Lemanis refers to the ‘‘ebbs and flows’’ of a game, and a season. Right now they are ebbing and flowing too much. But, with a trip to Melbourne looming on Friday, there is improvement.