NZ Breakers 76-71 Melbourne United

There are plenty of little things to watch with this new Breakers team, plenty of sneaky little factors that could have a big ol’ impact on how things go this season. There’s a new coach, a new GM, several new players. A new – or rather reinforced – kiwi emphasis to things. It’s really exciting but that may or may not translate into Ws on the court.

So far so good. The Breakers weren’t quite a well-oiled machine in their opener against Melbourne at Vector but a strong fourth quarter proved the difference. Defence was the difference – which is weird because the main focus of this 2016-17 roster was to bring more weapons to the offence. But when you’re best weapons have been injured through pre-season maybe that will take a little time.

Corey Webster for one. He started on the bench apparently still feeling the hip knock that held him back over the last few weeks. Coach Henare’s balance of this rotation is going to be one of those sneaky factors and because of the injury punctuations the team was dealing with we didn’t really learn all that much. Well, other than that the three kiwi youngbloods are gonna be sitting at the bottom of the rotation, but you could’ve guessed that already. Jordan Ngatai, Finn Delany and Development dude Ethan Rusbatch all rode the pines throughout, while Aussie cover-guy Isaih Tueta only got six minutes with Kirk Penney and Corey Webster covering a lot of the back-up point guard duties. Poor fella, Tueta was keen and aggressive, taking four shots and from a variety of looks but he missed them all. He just wanted his first NBL points is all. Maybe next time.

So anyway the starting five read: Woodside/Penney/Abercrombie/Vukona/Pledger. It’d be five minutes before we saw Corey on the floor. Meanwhile Chris Goulding started the season off with a bomb for three… which was hardly emblematic of what’d follow for the lad. He only scored 9 points, shooting 3/13. Who gets the credit for that? After all the changes, it was a fella who’s been there for ages in Tom Abercrombie. TA stuck to the sucker like glue and he shot well at the other end as well. 14 points for the game. Good on ya, champ.

Having said that, despite a few early flourishes, Kirk Penney wasn’t a lot better: 3/12 for 9 pts. Just the one turnover (with 5 rebs & 3 ast) compared to Goulding’s three (2 rebs & 2 ast) splits the pair nicely though. He still looked sharp when open and made some gorgeous passes – he didn’t look 100% either, whether that’s down to lingering injuries or match rhythm with his new teammates, we’ll see. He was 1/5 in the first quarter trying to get this team off to a hot start, as it was they still held a 17-16 lead after 1Q.

A major storyline here was the return of Cedric Jackson. It was about as you expected. He missed some jumpers and did some amazing stuff off the dribble. He defended well enough and he missed a free throw. 14 points off 15 shots (6/15) with 13 rebounds and 6 assists. He’s a class act, he was always going to be trouble… but the bigger worry was the other one that got away: Tai Wesley. This guy, mate. 15 points in 14 minutes off the bench, hitting 4/4 from deep. It was interesting to see the way that Melly used him as more of a spot shooter rather than the post presence he became with the Breakers.

At half-time the Breakers had squeezed out a 40-31 lead and we’d all been introduced to Akil Mitchell. The US import is exactly as advertised, a monstrously good defender who can rebound at both ends but needs to learn how to finish around the rim to make the most of that. He split duties with Mika Vukona and each were quite brilliant in their defensive efforts. Mitchell made this one block that, like, wow. Vukona picked up four personal fouls but was instrumental in closing this one out in the fourth. Each did a great job at limiting the dangerous David Andersen.

But it took a while to get to that point. Cedric and Goulding both made quick shots to start the third and while Penney drained a three in response there was then a two and a half minute stretch where neither team could score. Then Tai Wesley did few things and what had been a nine-point HT lead was now a four-point deficit going into the final frame.

Which was when Webster took over. In the space of about 100 seconds he scored eight points and when Mika Vukona sunk a two pointer with 4:24 remaining the Breakers were up 65-54, capping a 15-0 run in the fourth quarter. Now, this Melly team are definitely gonna be up and around those playoff spots with such a great team. But you go over four fourth quarter minutes without scoring and conceded 15 in that same time then you are not going to win many games. It was a close thing up until then and that stretch just blew it wide open.

Melbourne got it back as close as three points but hitting the bonus with a few minutes left meant the Breakers were able to keep manufacturing a bit of offence, getting to the free throw line 15 times in the last five minutes – having shot only five in the previous 35. Most of that was intentional stuff on Melly’s part but the all offer the same reward. There were worries when Abercrombie missed two in a row, so good on the bloke for making four of his next four. Mika made some, Woodside made some (on what was an impressively controlled debut – 8 pts (3/4), 7 reb, 2 ast, although he got picked on a bit by Cedric in the 3Q). Mitchell missed a pair though by then it was done. A five point win and the season is off to a decent start.

Great to get that first win at home! Vector was buzzing 🔥 See you for the next one #breakernation @NZBreakers
— Thomas Abercrombie (@tomabo10) October 7, 2016

Stocks:

Movin’ On Up Like Curtis Mayfield – Rob Loe didn’t feel like he had a stand out game, shooting 3/10 including 2/8 from 3pt for his 8 points. However he did take in 5 rebounds and most impressive was that he had a +/- of 30, which is insanely good. The Breakers outscored Melbourne by 30 points with Low on the court! That’s what can happen when you have a floor-stretching centre. You drag the opposition out of shape and so long as Lowe can hit a few shots then others are gonna benefit too. It helped that he played against the MEL bench unit as well.

Goin’ Down Slow Like Howlin’ Wolf – This was an odd game in that nobody really struggled but nobody thrived either. Abercrombie was the best on show, and Vukona quite good as well. However Webster only scored three points in the first three quarters, Penney missed a lot of shots, Mitchell couldn’t finish in the paint, Woodside’s lack of athleticism was an issue at times, etc. The guy who gets highlighted here though is Alex Pledger, who started yet only played a shade under 16 minutes (6 pts, 4 reb). He did alright. However with Loe and Mitchell each seeing time at the five, his role looks like it might be a slightly limited one this season. Then again, he sunk a flippin’ ten foot jumper at one point, keep doing that son and you’ll be undeniable.

Key Stat

The Breakers shot 9/12 from the free throw line in the final two minutes of this game. Not exactly perfect but given certain proclivities from last season it was music to the ears hearing that sweet swish through the net so many times.

Play of the Game

AKIL, MATE! SWAT THAT SONOFAGUN!

Nope, not in my house. ✋ @ajmitchell25 says no. @NZBreakers up by 11 points with 3 mins remaining. #Yourgame pic.twitter.com/1Lq2V5Q9LK
— NBL (@NBL) October 7, 2016