Preview: New Zealand vs Cairns - Round 6, NBL24

Wednesday, November 1, 2023

The Breakers are flailing at the bottom of the NBL ladder - can they live up to their potential?

Friday, November 3 at 5:30pm AEDT | Wolfbrook Arena

Watch: Live on ESPN via Kayo Sports | Sky Sport in New Zealand - International viewership details
Box scores: Download the free NBL App

New Zealand and Cairns are set to meet for the second time this season, but plenty has changed since their clash in Round 1. The Breakers have added Anthony Lamb to their team, while Will McDowell-White is fit again. Justinian Jessup and Zylan Cheatham will be absent.

Former Taipan Tad Dufelmeier joined Cairns training this week to help the club manage its injuries, however Tahjere McCall and Taran Armstrong are expected to return this game.

Mody Maor discussed the “circumstances” around his side’s slow start to the season following the loss to South East Melbourne and blamed injuries and consistent interruptions for the 1-4 start.

Bul Kuol was the first player to put in an ‘iron man’ performance this season in Round 5, when he played all 40 minutes of the win over Sydney for the Taipans.

New Zealand
100-103 loss to South East Melbourne
85-97 loss to Adelaide
88-97 loss to Melbourne

Cairns
87-80 win over Sydney
83-84 loss to Illawarra
89-86 win over Brisbane

Parker Jackson-Cartwright
It would have been just as easy to select Will McDowell-White here, because the numbers New Zealand’s starting frontcourt pair have been putting up are incredible – yet the Breakers find themselves at the bottom of the ladder.

Jackson-Cartwright currently ranks first in the competition for points, second in assists – behind only McDowell-White, and second in steals.

It feels almost like a case of ‘when’ rather than ‘if’ the Breakers can bring everything together to start on a winning run at some point in the near future, and a lot of that depends on not only Jackson-Cartwright maintaining his current MVP-calibre form, but also the rest of his team rising to match his output on the offensive end and intensity on the defensive end.

“Parker Jackson-Cartwright and New Zealand have had an interesting start to the season ... don’t be too hard on the Breakers, they’ve got enough good around them to know they’re better than what they’re showing on the ladder ... New Zealand might just take that little bit of extra time for their superstars to shine with each other.” - Damian Martin on NBL Now.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Parker Jackson-Cartwright cuts the deficit to 5?? points ??<br><br>The <a href="https://twitter.com/NZBreakers?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@nzbreakers</a> trailed by as many as 26 points in the third quarter ?<br><br>Catch the action live on ESPN via Kayo | SkySport in NZ ? <a href="https://t.co/WDVaC36N5o">pic.twitter.com/WDVaC36N5o</a></p>— NBL (@NBL) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBL/status/1718183011210899567?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 28, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Bul Kuol
The handsy, in your face style of defence Bul Kuol exhibits so well often means he toes the line with the referees, and he’s one of the players in the NBL who most easily finds himself in foul trouble. When he find the perfect balance between physicality and clean hands though, he’s one of the best defenders the competition has to offer.

The all-action style of Kuol on both ends of the floor makes it that much more impressive that he could put in such a good performance against Sydney, while playing all 40 minutes.

His ability to defend one through four – and even some undersized centers – and make his presence felt on the offensive end provided a crucial x-factor for the Taipans to win in the absence of Tahjere McCall.

Now that McCall is expected to return, it’s far less than likely Kuol will be required to play all 40 minutes once again – but it seems like whenever people start to sleep on the former Rookie of the Year’s quality, he puts in a performance like he did last week to remind everyone just how good he is.

“You try and taper him back and he can’t help himself. The reality is I’d never sub him out if he didn’t get in foul trouble, so the fact he kept his hands out and was able to play the entire game, and not skip a beat at practice, is just a credit to him ... he’s the ultimate pro so the fact he can still go and we’re so dependent on him speaks volumes.” – Adam Forde on Bul Kuol.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">The NBL’s iron man resides in Cairns ?<br><br>Bul Kuol became the first player this season to play all 40 minutes of regulation time … and he scored a game-high 24 points ?<br><br>Brought to you by <a href="https://twitter.com/HungryJacksAU?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@HungryJacksAU</a> ? <a href="https://t.co/uJWQtpMZTd">pic.twitter.com/uJWQtpMZTd</a></p>— NBL (@NBL) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBL/status/1718886400421142547?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 30, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Mody Maor vs Adam Forde
The two remaining Coach of the Year nominees from last season both re-tooled their teams heading into NBL24, and neither has experienced the jumpstart they would have been hoping would come after last season’s successes.

The Breakers have followed up their NBL23 Championship Series appearance with a win in their opening game this season – which was incidentally against the Taipans – but have since lost six games in a row, if you include their NBLxNBA experience.

The Taipans have fared better so far this season, but the injury bug has been biting the side and point guard Taran Armstrong is yet to make an NBL appearance this season.

New Zealand currently sit bottom of the ladder, but the balance of play this season should have meant they were flying just a little bit higher. Cairns, on the other hand are faring better with a 3-2 record but will have rued their missed chances to win against Illawarra and the Breakers.

Two of the top young coaching minds in Australian basketball will once again face off this week, and after the trio of classic matchups they provided last season, hopefully we’ll see some fireworks.

The away team has won six of the last seven fixtures between New Zealand and Cairns. The only home win in that time was the Breakers' Round 1 victory this season. Before that it was New Zealand’s six-point win over the Taipans in Round 21, NBL21.

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Tai Webster top scored for New Zealand in its Round 21, NBL21 win over Cairns.