Maor claims responsibility

The Breakers were just minutes away from a first NBL title in almost a decade at the end of NBL23, and after finishing bottom of the ladder the season prior, Mody Maor had almost led the side to the unlikeliest of championships.

This season though, Maor’s men have faltered. Key departures Jarrell Brantley, Dererk Pardon and Barry Brown Jr were replaced by the currently sidelined Zylan Cheatham and Justinian Jessup (replaced by Anthony Lamb), and Parker Jackson-Cartwright, and the Breakers sit ninth on the ladder with a 2-6 record.

The bottom-placed Illawarra Hawks parted with head coach Jacob Jackomas on Tuesday, and although Maor likely has far more currency with the Breakers organisation due to last season’s immense achievement, he says it’s his responsibility to ensure the team turns its fortunes around.

“It’s my job to shoulder the blame and responsibility when things don’t go well,” Maor said.

“I think my players understand the difference between blame and responsibility. I am responsible for them performing at a high level and together we need to achieve our goals – not in a separate way.

“Intensity and effort needs to come from a commitment to doing things the right way … in the process of a season you learn these lessons and I hope this lesson is learnt.”

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Mantas will not be in the roster for the game against the Tasmania Jackjumpers tomorrow night in Launceston due to a lower leg injury. <a href="https://t.co/yiBGrxJ9Ng">pic.twitter.com/yiBGrxJ9Ng</a></p>&mdash; BNZ Breakers (@NZBreakers) <a href="https://twitter.com/NZBreakers/status/1724669217855938790?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 15, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Despite the poor ladder position and run of losses, everything certainly isn’t doom and gloom for New Zealand at this point in the season.

Jackson-Cartwright has become one of the most impactful players in the NBL this season, while Lamb has taken the league by storm since arriving to replace the injured Jessup.

Cheatham was also starring for the side before he suffered a foot injury, however he is not expected to return until Round 12.

Maor believes the signs are there that his side can once again return to being one of the NBL’s most formidable opponents.

“One of the best connectors and one of thie things that force teams to come together is adversity, and we’ve created a fair amount of adversity now," he said.

“The fact they are doing well from an individual standpoint means that we have the tools, and the team is doing some things the right that are allowing these tools to flourish.

“But we haven’t been putting complete games together so an individual standout doesn’t mean anything.

“We’re still not where I want us to be as a team … but I definitely saw a few steps forward as we go.”

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Look mum we’re on TV!!<br><br>And the cartoon version is better ?‍???<br><br>Last Week Tonight with John Oliver<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/UNBREAKABLE?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#UNBREAKABLE</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/UPTHEKEA?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#UPTHEKEA</a> <a href="https://t.co/icm5eZkiyQ">pic.twitter.com/icm5eZkiyQ</a></p>&mdash; BNZ Breakers (@NZBreakers) <a href="https://twitter.com/NZBreakers/status/1724163746854265007?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 13, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

The Breakers travel to face Tasmania on Thursday night to open Round 8, before they take on an Illawarra side preparing to play its first game under interim head coach Justin Tatum.

“It’s a pretty known thing in basketball, once a coach gets fired the game after the players respond,” Maor said.

“I don’t know the coach, he’s never coached before so there’s no film I can go and study, but he has a week to prepare for us and we have 24 hours, so I am sure in his preparation he is going to have his fingerprints on the things he wants to see.”

New Zealand plays Tasmania on Thursday night at 7:30pm AEDT live on ESPN via Kayo Sports, and Sky Sports in New Zealand.

Then the Breakers will host the Hawks at 2pm AEDT on Sunday afternoon, live and free on ESPN via Kayo Freebies, 10 Peach and 10 Play, and Sky Sports in New Zealand.