Fast Break Report #10: Good Enough is Good Enough
Sydney Kings 74-86 NZ Breakers
The Breakers dropped by Sydney for their one and only battle with recognised NBA talent Al Harrington (Big Al’s last game before Josh Childress returns) and it was a game of many oddities. Great rebounding and poor shooting, there were hints of opposite day about it, but when it mattered most, things came right and the team fly back to AKL with a handy little win.
It was a weird game though. Corey throwing up bricks and Sydney getting out to a quick start, only to be hauled in by the end of the quarter. No lead was convincing in this first half though. Defence did what it needed, only for shots to fly off the rim, this was not a pleasant watch initially.
Like, 1 of 12 from 3pt in the first half!? This needs to stop happening on these tricky away games. They need to figure out a way not to rely on the deep ball to get themselves back into things or they need to start hitting the damn buggers. Corey had his share of tough looks and he’s allowed to shoot what he wants. Still, only four points at the half is far from good enough. Harrington had 14 of them by that stage.
It actually was a pretty poor half from most angles, but what kept them in it without a doubt was Catfish Jackson’s offensive rebound game. He scrapped hard for those spare balls and finished as strong as he always does. Man, he’s fast becoming one of this team’s most important players (as well as most exciting). If the shooting around him could grow to match and the defence could find a way to limit Harrington (they’d done well in most other aspects), then this games was easily winnable.
Unfortunately the second half started with a turnover, so… yeah.
There were good contributions from Pledge and Abercrombie though. TA pulled off a superb leaping block midway through 3Q while Pledger couldn’t seem to miss a shot. Despite that inauspicious start, the Breakers started the quarter on a 9-1 run to open up a lead, Corey sinking a three to cap it off.
However Webster’s touch didn’t return with that treble. Pretty soon he was 4 of 19 for nine points and you just cannot be that bad. 19 shots for 9 points!? That makes 2015 Kobe Bryant look like Steph Curry. Webby’s a bloke who responds to cold shooting by shooting more. He’ll shoot until he gets that rhythm and then he’ll shoot some more. That’s his game, we’ve gotta live with that. But it’s the choice of shots that sometimes lets him down.
Catfish checked back in in the third, then promptly checked back out on account of the fouls. He’s another one with one of those tics that you’ve just gotta live with – he’s gonna pick up fouls. But he’d been a lot better recently and that’d led to some fantastic games. It’s frustrating, it really is.
Despite the struggles the Breakers still led going into the final quarter, 57-54. Hey, you’ve gotta win the ugly ones too to be a champion.
An EB three meant that they were able to hold that lead until Corey came back in but there were some ugly sights when Cedric went down injured driving to the hoop, copping the foul on Harrington but he’d seemingly already done something to his knee. It meant Old Mac, who’d gotten some minutes earlier, got to come in for a few fourth quarter minutes. Cedric had been the best guy on the court for NZB, his transitional play had been monstrous and the way he was going he was on triple-double watch, with 14p/8a/7r. Now the ice pack was out for Cedric’s knee and that meant they were gonna have to do this without their best man. Pressure all on Webster on an awful night…
Yeah, no pressure. Not for Corey. There was also a manic minute for Catfish who hauled in a board, fed Webster the outlet, then picked up the release option with Corey double-teamed near mid-court and he drove all the way to the hoop for the finish, and one. Which he sunk. Of course he then went and picked up his fifth foul and he was done for the game.
Thornton hit a three for the increasingly desperate Kings but Webster countered with a slick look, sliding to the hoop after some tight coverage on the perimeter. Then Bartlett made his fourth three. It was a tough game to watch for three full quarters and even the fourth had its down moments but, damn, this was a fine finish. The fourth began with a 20-5 run and it was pretty much garbage time after that.
86-74, laters bo to Al Harrington, who leaves with 18 points and 6 rebounds in his last game in Oz. Jason Cadee also added 17 and Thornton and Garlepp 12 each. But that was all a little too little. Along with Cedric’s numbers, Tommy added another double-double (fast becoming a regular occurrence) with 11 and 15. 15 rebounds! Plus Catfish had 13 and 7, Pledger had 14 and 9 and Bartlett scored 13 points with all that hot shooting. Then there was Corey, top scoring with 17 points. It may have taken him 25 shots but he came through in the end.
Public service announcement: Next up is Melbourne United. At Vector. By the will of Zeus, do not let yourself miss this one. Be there by hell or high water and let Chris Goulding know what you think of him and his flippity flops.
Stocks:
Movin’ On Up Like Curtis Mayfield – This was the best we’ve seen of the Pledgehammer this season. He got some big minutes and he came through with great numbers. Pledger isn’t the most dominant rebounder but up against a team that seems to have zero knowledge in the dark arts of boxing out, he had great success. Plus his finishing around the rim was simple and effective – exactly what it needs to be. Top work from him. Cool to see Pledge and Catfish playing together for stretches too, that’s a really big lineup but it’s not one always possible as fouls tend to dictate the two share minutes.
Goin’ Down Slow Like Howlin’ Wolf – Mika Vukona, but only from a statistical point of view. There just aren’t enough numbers to go around! Which is why having a player who literally doesn’t care about that stuff is so important. He’ll man the trenches, he’ll play stifling defence. And he’ll come out of it with 0 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist and 4 fouls. No problemo.
Key Stat
The Breakers had 51 rebounds to 29. This isn’t even that great of a rebounding team and they fair dominated the boards like that. (No wonder the Kings are sitting tied-last).
Play of the Game
That is some searing pace from Cedric. He was across that floor and scooping up that ball like an eagle on the swoop and the layup… bellissimo.
Season Standings
Cedric Jackson – 16
Tom Abercrombie – 11
Charles Jackson – 11
Corey Webster – 11
Match MVP Points
Cedric Jackson – 3
Alex Pledger – 2
Tom Abercrombie – 1
Everard Bartlett – 1
Up Next
Sunday, 5pm: NZ Breakers vs Melbourne United, Vector Arena (NZT)