Maor: Breakers must win six of last eight
Coach outlines tall task ahead of side as NBL playoff chase resumes
New Zealand Breakers coach Mody Maor believes his team must win six of their last eight regular-season games to make the NBL playoffs.
It’s a tall task for a team that have struggled to win back-to-back this season outside of a four-game streak over Christmas which kept them in playoff contention.
The NBL has been tight, with all 10 teams harbouring hopes of featuring in the top-six playoffs, although the Breakers (ninth), Illawarra Hawks (seventh) and Perth Wildcats (second) have games in hand over the rest.
“The NBL season is so short, so compact [28 games], and if there’s one thing we can predict with some level of certainty at the end, it’s that every game will matter,” Maor said.
“In the last three seasons, it has been up to a points differential between the teams that make the play-in and don’t.
“We’ve always had this approach, and this is the same approach we’re going to take into the next game.”
The Breakers host the South East Melbourne Phoenix in Auckland tonight, looking to make amends after being demolished by the Sydney Kings in their most recent outing. The Kings got off to a hot start and won by 29 points.
Heading into the final stretch of the season, the Breakers have only four games against teams in the playoff spots and tonight begin their first back-to-back games of the season at Spark Arena.
The Breakers (8-12) have already met the Phoenix twice this season, dropping a 103-100 game in late October before losing 90-79 in early December.
Both fixtures were away and in the second game of a back-to-back, so Maor hoped his side would show what they’re capable of this time in their bid to edge closer to the top six.
The Phoenix also come into the match without star big man Alan Williams, with the league leader in rebounding out for the season with a knee injury which needs surgery.
“Play-in and playoffs are two games away from us. This is a testament to everyone in this building really caring about everything and that allowing them to overcome the challenges they’ve been faced with,” Maor said.
“That being said, the game against Sydney was not a good game for us. We never want to look like that when we step on the floor. It doesn’t matter what the extenuating circumstances are; we want to represent the Breakers and our fans in a different light. When we lose like this, it definitely [leads to] a few sleepless nights.”