Bruton swears he's ready for finals war

CJ Bruton has a simple answer for anyone who wants to know why his game suddenly goes up a level in the playoffs.

‘‘This is where you can go from good to great,’’ said the 37-year-old Breakers guard ahead of what he hopes will be his fifth Australian NBL championship in the grand finals series against the Perth Wildcats starting in Auckland on Sunday.

Bruton is renowned for his ability to elevate his game when it counts. Last year he struggled through the regular season and even had a spell out to rehab his ailing knees. Yet he was fabulous in the playoffs and was named grand finals MVP as the Breakers went back-to-back with an epic 2-1 series victory over the Wildcats.

He’s up to his old tricks again after a regular season where he was content to play a minor role for a side that had plenty of standouts en route to a club-best 24-4 record.

Bruton started quietly in the semifinal opener against the Kings, going zero-for-five from the field for four points; but exploded for a team-high 21 points (5/6 FG, 3/4 3PT) in the close-out game in Sydney on Monday.

That prompted former Breakers team-mate Paul Henare to declare on Twitter: ‘‘CJ has started his season!’’

This elicited a sly grin from Bruton yesterday as he pondered yet another grand final in a career that started in 1994 and has seen more than its share of high points.

‘‘During the season I’ve been floating about and everyone thinks now’s the time when CJ wakes up. But this is what we play for, this is all the marbles,’’ he said.

‘‘You want to be on this stage. I want my kids to know this is where you can go from good to great. This is when people remember you.

‘‘But I want my team to be remembered more than me personally. I want Dillon [Boucher] to go out on a good note, for Will [Hudson] to win his first title, for Corey [Webster] to be playing a major role . . . they’re the special things.’’

Bruton is ready for some grand finals intensity against

``During the season I've been floating about and everyone thinks now's the time when CJ wakes up.'' CJ Bruton

a Wildcats outfit renowned for their physicality, smothering defence and relentless rebounding.

‘‘All season long we’ve been warriors, we’ve all stepped in and we’ve gone to battle . . . our coach has laid the map out for us, and as soldiers we’ve had go to war. This is the biggest challenge and last hurdle to get to, and obviously we’re going out guns blazing. We’ve got our bombs all set and we’re ready to explode.’’

The Breakers have prevailed twice (in the semis 2010-11 and the finals 2011-12) over the Cats at playoff time, but there have been fine lines, some furious contests and a few wounds incurred along the way.

‘‘It’s about one game. We need to get the first game,’’ Bruton said.

‘‘This is why you have home court, this is why you finish first. You put them under the pump.’’