Preview: Adelaide v New Zealand (Round 5)

When: 7.30pm (AEDT), Friday 28 October, 2022
Where: Adelaide Entertainment Centre
Broadcast: ESPN; Kayo; Foxtel, Sky NZ

Who won last time?

Adelaide 93 (Dech 19, King 15, Withers 14) d New Zealand 60 (Bach 14, Randle 14) – Round 21, NBL22 at MyState Bank Arena, Hobart

The Breakers’ nightmare NBL22 season came to a crashing end in Hobart as the 36ers took out some frustrations for their own disappointing year. Five Sixers scored in double figures as they won the second half 52-26, led by a red-hot Sunday Dech who had 19 points at 77 per cent, seven rebounds, four assists, four steals and went +30 in 25 minutes on court.

What happened last game?

Adelaide made a statement of star power in Sydney last round, their starting quintet combining for 84 points at a smoking 44 per cent from the arc en route to a memorable victory. New Zealand’s Round 4 didn’t start so well, destroyed by South East Melbourne then scoring just five points in the opening term in Cairns. Somehow, however, Mody Maor’s brave Breakers applied the clamps to claw their way back from 13 down and steal a rare Far North W.

What’s working?

Defending the inside – The Breakers gave up just 14 points in that final term, holding Cairns to just 2/8 from inside the arc, with one of those makes being a fast-break lay-up. New Zealand are second in the NBL at restricting opposition two-point makes (18.5 at 46 per cent), while in fourth quarters those numbers shrink to 3.2 deuces at 33 per cent.

Shooting with confidence – Adelaide could have gone into their shells after being outscored 36-20 in 12 minutes surrounding half-time. However, 10 of their 17 shots from that point on were triples, dropping five of them as CJ’s men stuck to their plan of living by the sword. Of their 31 three-point makes this season, 13 have come from a step or more beyond the arc.

What needs stopping?

Brown downhill – In a game where physicality ruled, Barry Brown managed to score 16 points inside the arc, while the entire Taipans team managed just 24. The slippery import, who loves slicing to his left hand – or snake dribbling back to his left – has 31 per cent of New Zealand’s scores from two-pointers in his three games, so turning him into a shooter is a must.

Randall’s range – Au contraire, Mr Randall loves nothing more than flexing his long-range muscle, with 68 per cent of his attempts and 59 per cent of his makes coming from deep. In three wins on either side of the Pacific, Randall has averaged 29ppg on 21/41 outside. The question is, how do you turn him into a driver when he has range almost to half-court?

Who’s matching up?

Daniel Johnson v Dererk Pardon – Talk about contrasts, this pair couldn’t go about it more differently. Pardon loves finishing dump-offs and o-boards – where he ranks second in the NBL – so expect him to set countless on-balls and dive to the basket. Dererk doesn’t like the perimeter so much, where Johnson is shooting 38 per cent to rank second amongst centres, so watch for DJ to be in perpetual motion to get to shooting spots and open up lanes.

Robert Franks v Jarrell Brantley – While Brantley is shooting a solid 36 per cent from deep, 70 per cent of his points are coming from ‘ones and twos’, thanks largely to his 61 per cent two-point conversion. While Franks is a marksman, he’s only hit at 25 per cent outside so far in NBL23, and 73 per cent of his scores are from ‘ones and twos’, making 54 per cent inside. Can Franks finally go off from long range? And can his length deter Jarrell’s interior touch?

Antonius Cleveland v Izayah Le’afa – In New Zealand’s win over Illawarra, both Le’afa and Tyler Harvey played 30:46, the Kiwi hounding T-Raw into a 5/15 night. Have no doubt coach Maor will have him shadowing Randall in the same way. Cleveland will be the man to match Brown’s long-striding athleticism and contest his tough twos, while offensively AC will be in attack mode, having shot 7/12 inside and 8/11 from the foul line the past two games.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Quick hands + Nice slams.<br><br>? - ESPN + Kayo Sports <a href="https://t.co/mxZ3nMLdsW">pic.twitter.com/mxZ3nMLdsW</a></p>&mdash; Adelaide 36ers (@Adelaide36ers) <a href="https://twitter.com/Adelaide36ers/status/1583386706128306176?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 21, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Who’s saying what?

It may not have been a serious comment, but Mitch McCarron was quick to shoot down any comparison to the NBA champs after his team shot down Paul Smith’s Kings last round.

“No, we’re not the Warriors,” he said sternly.

McCarron went on to say “this isn’t the NBA where you can just jack all the time”, but funnily enough the comparison with Golden State is a fitting one.

While many NBA teams have tried to emulate the free-wheeling style of Steph Curry and Co, few have succeeded.

One of the reasons for that is the incredible balance the Warriors have achieved between shooting when open, but also being selfless and giving up good shots for great ones.

It’s the exact balance the 36ers want to find in an NBL competition with fewer teams, which results in a much higher level of opposition scouting during the regular season.

“We do have a lot of guys who have scored the ball well in their career so far or have developed skills in the off-season they want to go to and we love that, we love the different tools,” McCarron said.

“Unfortunately, teams are going to take away what you want to do most of the time, so we really want to spread the ball, share it early and get everyone involved in the game and let our main guys take over when the time is right.”

It’s a message coach CJ Bruton is preaching relentlessly.

“I’d like to have seven players in double figures,” he said.

“I think our starters are good, so getting to double figures I think all of them can do that, and have proven that in the past.

“As for Sunday Dech and Anthony Drmic, I've got two guys who started last year, and having that depth off your bench, as time goes on they’ll play a bit more I hope and reach double figures as well.

“When you have seven or eight guys in double figures it’s hard (for opponents), how do you pick your poison?”

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">It&#39;s what 12 does.<br><br>? - ESPN + Kayo Sports <a href="https://t.co/xtP8o8hSFY">pic.twitter.com/xtP8o8hSFY</a></p>&mdash; Adelaide 36ers (@Adelaide36ers) <a href="https://twitter.com/Adelaide36ers/status/1583401597018968067?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 21, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

While some questions have been asked of Craig Randall’s shot selection, given he is attempting whopping 11.7 triples per night, Bruton wants him to keep taking the deep looks he’s comfortable with until the defence adjusts.

“I would have loved for Dusty (Hannahs) to take 10 or more threes a game,” Bruton said.

“For a player like myself, 10 threes is nothing if you can shoot it, but you’ve got to shoot at a good clip. Let them fly, it’s worth an extra point.

“Guys like them you’ve got to defend them, chase them, they can turn corners and create plays.”

With Randall, McCarron, Drmic, Antonius Cleveland and Daniel Johnson all shooting 37 per cent or better from distance, and Robert Franks and Dech more than capable of doing so, it presents a big challenge for the paint-packing Breakers.

Like Scott Roth last year, new coach Mody Maor is building an identity for his team around physical defence.

With the offensive player’s right to a cylinder not being enforced so far this season – as it wasn’t in the dour first half of NBL22 – the Breakers have done an outstanding job of making player movement tough for opposing sides.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Defence is definitely reigning supreme in this one, and we&#39;re LOVING this individual match-up ?<br><br>Watch live &amp; free ? 10 Peach &amp; 10play | Every game live on ESPN via Kayo &amp; Foxtel. <a href="https://t.co/4YQd2sab1d">pic.twitter.com/4YQd2sab1d</a></p>&mdash; The NBL (@NBL) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBL/status/1584024940960837634?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 23, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

They constricted the Taipans to just 64 points last week, their hosts almost giving up on the idea of getting to the basket late in the game.

“I am very proud, it’s the bedrock of who we are. It’s a real challenge to perform this way against such opposition,” Maor said.

“It’s not about talking about our defence, it’s about executing and doing, we had a great defensive effort across the board, came in and competed and gave us energy and gave us toughness.”

Of course, against a better organised offensive unit in South East Melbourne, who spread the floor and moved the ball, New Zealand were left reacting rather than dictating.

“It’s on us to make everything tough, to make everything contested. It’s not what we did today, it is what we’ll do next time,” Maor said post-game, with his team delivering on that promise three days later.

Can they do likewise against arguably the league’s most talented offensive team? New import Barry Brown thinks his group will stick together through any challenge.

“We’re a tough, tight-knit group,” he said.

“Our bond off the court helps us be there for each other on the court, and it’s only going to get stronger with the experiences we have as the season goes.”