Fast Break Report #9: It’s Better At Home
NZ Breakers 88-80 Perth Wildcats
Fresh off of a burgeoning new rivalry with Melbourne, the Breakers returned home to do battle with their traditional enemies, the Perth Wildcats. Between them these two hold the last six NBL championships. Over 6000 people packed into Vector Arena to see this one.
Mika Vukona returned after missing the last two games with that dodgy hammy, although Tai Wesley was out. Big congrats to Tai and his wife on the birth of their child, however it seems TW used the hospital time to also get his appendix out and he’ll miss the next couple weeks as he recovers.
So what we got was a starting five of Cedric / Webby / Abs / Mika / Catfish. Perth were without Damian Martin after his jaw was shattered by Brian Conklin the other week. It was brutal, look it up. Jermaine Beal was the man to watch out for, at least his was the name that leapt off the team sheets, though arguably the toughest matchup was Nate Jawai.
True to that fear, Jawai’s early post game was pretty unguardable. It helps that he can pass the thing out as well, though that’s not a strategy many teams would wanna try. Once you get it inside, you let him go to work. He did. Though we have to credit Catfish Jackson’s efforts on him in doing what he could to make it tough on ol’ Outback Shaq while also knowing his limitations and not fouling. Every time he’s struggled this season it’s been down to his foul count. Here he was guarding a dude who could post up a grizzly bear (of the ursine or Memphis variety, perhaps) and he kept things clean.
Jawai scored a couple early ones but the Breakers were making their offence count with the second chance looks they were getting off the boards. Finishing was a problem for both teams, but more so for Perth who were doing well to get the ball where they wanted it in the paint and simply not making their layups, allowing the kiwi side to get out to an early lead.
It also helped that Corey Webster started red hot, he had 8 points in the first quarter and a Cedric drive to the hoop made it 18-10, Perth pulling a basket back by the end of the first.
Trevor Gleeson, Wildcats coach, laid into his lads during a timeout for their lack of effort going for rebounds. They never quite solved that issue but they certainly got better, hauling in a selection of offensive regathers themselves. That was what got the Breakers off quickly and it was what kept the ‘cats in close. NZB began settling for threes instead of looking for the extra pass and they weren’t able to hit enough of them to get away. Except for Tom Abercrombie, that is, he nailed a slick triple midway through the second to add to what became a very nice shooting night for the fella.
However Tommy did need some running repairs before the half, getting absolutely clattered by Jawai (who’s about seventeen weight classes out of TA’s max catch-weight), copping an arm to the head and landing on his elbow – which split on impact with the floor and started dribbling blood. He’d shake it off and come back with no apparent lingering damage. On the next possession Mika went tumbling a couple tables back into the courtside corporates trying unsuccessfully to save a loose ball. The effort was there.
The score read 41-33 at the half, Jawai with 12 points but otherwise it was a very fine defensive performance. Cedric’s off-ball game was superb. Plus as a team they only had three first half turnovers. Perth were 0 of 5 from deep and Jermaine Beal was nowhere to be seen.
Nothing prepared us for the third quarter breakout of the Catfish though. Out came Charley, who picked off Nate Jawai to set the tone and within a minute of the restart he’d added two steals, four points and drawn an offensive foul. He was thumping the ball home at the rim and the lead blew out to 15 points.
Hey but Perth are sitting second on the table and they weren’t going away easy. At the end of the third it was 67-59 and soon Casey Prather got to work. He and Everard Bartlett traded threes at each end but it was Prather in a rhythm and he hauled the lead back to only three. Six minutes left, suddenly a game they’d been in vague control of most of the way.
With the Wildcats sniffing the comeback, they pulled out a fantastic defensive possession that had Webster scrambling for space with little help… but he found just enough of it, stepping forward and flipping up a desperation floater that landed in as the shot clock expired. It was a massive momentum shift.
And just in case that didn’t kill the ‘cats, then he added a corner three soon after. Then another three. He finished with 28 points, shooting a high volume (24 shots) but making them count. The Breakers iced it from there.
Catfish also had 15 and 10, while Cedric had 8 points, 11 assists and 4 steals. Tom Abercrombie shot 9 of 14 for 20 points as well as his 11 rebounds. For the visitors, Prather topped with 15, Jawai had 14 (he always tires in the second half) and Matty Knight added 11. Beal shot 3 of 13 for 9 points, though he did add 8 boards and 6 assists.
Stocks:
Movin’ On Up Like Curtis Mayfield – That third quarter from Catfish was monstrous but don’t discredit the composed defensive performance of the first half that made it possible. This guy has to be a fan favourite (he already is in these pages), he plays with such fire and energy. When he’s on the court, things happen.
Goin’ Down Slow Like Howlin’ Wolf – Haven’t seen much of Old McDonald in a while. Kind of a shame, but that’s how it goes when you back up Cedric Jackson. There aren’t many spare minutes. (Cedric playing almost 35 of the 40 mins – and Corey getting the other PG minutes).
Key Stat
For the first time in their history, the Breakers have started a season 5-0 at home. As the title says, it’s better at home. (They’re 0-4 on the road so far).
Play of the Game
Catfish with the pick six. Kaboom.
Season Standings
Cedric Jackson – 13
Charles Jackson – 11
Corey Webster – 11
Match MVP Points
Corey Webster – 3
Tom Abercrombie – 2
The Jacksons – 1 each
Up Next
Thursday, 9.30pm: Sydney Kings vs NZ Breakers, Qantas Credit Union Arena (NZT)