Fast Break Report

Stat Line

Points M.Worthington 21 (MEL), G.Wilkinson 20 (NZB), M.Farrahkhan 20 (MEL)

Rebounds M.Vukona 10 (NZB), S.Morrison 7 (MEL), L.Walker 20 (MEL)

Assists M.Farrahkhan 6 (MEL), C.Bruton 4 (NZB), 2 with 3

Steals C.Bruton 3 (NZB), several with 2

Blocks S.Morrison 2 (MEL), several with 1

How It Unfolded

Another away game, another tight loss. And this was a game that was there for the taking, one that the Breakers of old would definitely have closed out. But playing their second game in 3 days, the kiwi team fell apart offensively down the stretch to lose narrowly in a game that they led for most of the second half. CJ Bruton made some history, playing in his 500th career NBL game, though it wasn’t the fairytale he’d hoped for, going 0-6 from 3pt zone, including a couple late efforts that would have been crucial.

Both teams were on fire with their shooting in the opening quarter especially, though both cooled off as the game progressed. Melbourne padded an early lead, until the Breakers came back strong in the second, on the back of Gary Wilkinson (20pts 6reb), Tom Abercrombie (18pts) and Mika Vukona (8pts 10reb) especially. NZB held a 51-47 HT advantage.

Melbourne made some defensive adjustments after half time, crowding the rim and forcing the Breakers to change up their tactics of driving to the hoop. It was not uncommon to see three guys standing beneath the basket, and it kept the likes of Kerron Johnson and Mika Vukona from moving the ball around swiftly, having to retreat to the perimeter often. It also meant that the Breakers weren’t getting to the foul line as they couldn’t initiate any defensive contact. At the other end that wasn’t an issue, the issue was the shooting when they got there. The Breakers only scored a paltry 11 4th quarter points, and this game should have slipped away much earlier but for some very average FT shooting from Melbourne (14/26 total). Tom Abercrombie had his best game in Oz this season, but he missed a jumper that would have tied this game up. With the Breakers able to rely on quick fouls, they tried to force the issue on offence but the clutch finishing wasn’t there. Wilkinson gave NZB another late lead with a deep corner two, but that was where the offence stopped – CJ Bruton having his final second hail mary 3 blocked and the Breakers falling to 4-8, with the possibility of missing the playoffs now very much a reality.

The defence was able to keep league leading scorer Chris Goulding to just 14 points, but American import Mustapha Farrakhan was superb, scoring 20 points with 6 assists, and shooting 9/10 from the field. Once again, it was a winnable game, but the 2013 Breakers just don’t quite have the cutting edge they’ve had in the past. Hopefully they can bounce back on Friday against 11-1 Perth at Vector.

Stocks Up

CJ Bruton. For sentimental reasons. He’s got 6 championships, and is now in his 19th season in the ANBL. CJ is undoubtedly one of the best players in the history of this league, and he reached another milestone by playing his 500th game here. Probably in his final year, the 37 year old is just the 12th player to reach that mark. He’s also 20th all-time in scoring (7,570) and 12th all-time in assists (1816). A legend if ever there were one.

Stocks Down

Dean Vickerman. Another game where this team couldn’t close, and some of this pressure needs to fall on the coach. It’s a tough gig taking over from the great Andrej Lemanis, but you can’t deny this team in underperforming. A morale boosting win on Friday could go a long way to fixing this.