R21 Preview: NZ Breakers v SE Melbourne Phoenix

When: 5.30pm (AEST), Saturday 5 June 

Where: The Trusts Arena, Auckland

Broadcast: SBS Viceland; Sky Sports NZ; SBS On Demand; Twitch

The last time
South East Melbourne 91 (Sykes 21, Adnam 14, Wetzell 12) d New Zealand 82 (Delany 32, Loe 19, McDowell-White 14) – Round 18, John Cain Arena, Melbourne

It was just the three weeks ago when the South East Melbourne Phoenix beat the New Zealand Breakers at home to close in on locking in a playoff berth to start off their season-best winning streak. The game was also the second last Australia for the Breakers for #NBL21 before they got to return to New Zealand for their final seven matches.

Breakers star Finn Delany had a game-high 32 points and Rob Loe added 19 but the Phoenix had seven players score nine points or more then had import guard Keifer Sykes come up big in the final minutes to claim a 91-82 win.

Sykes was back to the type of form he displayed in the early part of the NBL season that had him being discussed in MVP calculations. He has battled injury since that saw him miss 12 of the previous 18 matches. 

But his dynamic play as point guard was on show again at John Cain Arena even if he was still limited to just 21 minutes of court time. But Sykes had 11 of his 21 points in the final term and his energy and nose for the big moment showed how much the Phoenix have missed him.

Fellow point guard Kyle Adham had 14 points and five assists, Yanni Wetzell added 12 points and Mitch Creek had 10 points in his 250th NBL game.

The now

The equation is simple for the South East Melbourne Phoenix, win this game and they go a long way to securing their final position but the New Zealand Breakers won't be in the mood to hand them anything in Auckland.

It's a fascinating game on Saturday at The Trusts Arena to look forward to and there is no question the Breakers will be strongly motivated to send off their season on a winning note in what is sure to be another sold out crowd as they finish the most challenging of seasons back at home.

But for the Phoenix, they just can't afford to drop the game or else all the pressure goes back on them to beat the Brisbane Bullets in Brisbane on Tuesday night if they want to make the finals in their second season of existence.

South East Melbourne still sits inside the top four with an 18-16 record to be ahead of the Sydney Kings (18-17) and Brisbane Bullets (17-17) who play each other later on Saturday night. A win over the Breakers and the Phoenix would only miss the finals with the biggest of losses imaginable on Tuesday to Brisbane.

However, a loss for the Phoenix to the Breakers would mean that they have to beat Brisbane on Tuesday or else they'll lose out on that playoff position to whoever wins the Sydney-Brisbane game on Saturday night.

It has been a fascinating journey for both clubs since they last met in Melbourne back in Round 18.

The Breakers played one more game in Australia after that in Wollongong against the Hawks before getting to return to New Zealand for the first time since the start of December. 

They have been a travelling circus around New Zealand since playing in front of large and appreciative crowds, and they have played good basketball as well winning three of the six games. The losses have come against finals contending Sydney, Brisbane and Illawarra, but New Zealand has taken care of business against Adelaide, Sydney and Cairns even if they haven’t had finals to play for.

That win for South East Melbourne at home to New Zealand three weeks ago was a start to a four-game winning streak which looked like it would help the Phoenix lock in their playoff spot.

But they then had leave Victoria in a rush thanks to COVID-19, lost twice up in Cairns to the Taipans and Bullets after being in winning positions in both games, and now they must win at least one of these last two games to stay where they are in the top four.

The stats

- This will be a first ever visit for the Phoenix to the North Island in New Zealand. They played the Breakers twice on the road last year with each of those games in Christchurch.

- Last time the Breakers played at The Trusts Arena it was their first home game back home in New Zealand this season and they beat the Kings 89-81 while shooting 14/27 from three-point territory. That is the only time all season they've shot greater than 50 per cent from beyond the arc.

- The Phoenix are the highest scoring team in the competition putting up 89.7 points a game while the Breakers are ranked equal last in that category with 81.7 points a match

- New Zealand has shot more three-pointers than their opponents in their past 19 matches this season in-a-row

The key men

Tai Webster – It has been quite the rollercoaster season for the star New Zealand point guard. He made his return from overseas for this season which is his first in the NBL when not a young development player, and his best has been scintillating. Foul trouble and his free-throw shooting have been an on-going battle, but his best of playmaking for his teammates and scoring himself has been dynamic. He was on fire on Wednesday against the Taipans hitting 7/8 from three point range with 23 points. Another similar effort up against Keifer Sykes and the Breakers could win again.

Ryan Broekhoff – He remains that largely untapped X-factor for the Phoenix this season. The regular Boomer and former NBA sharpshooter had one breakout game with 26 points against the Hawks but that was now way back on April Fool's Day. He has shown some glimpses since including 12 points and seven rebounds on Wednesday against Brisbane as he prepares for his first NBL game in New Zealand. So far he has scored nine points in three games against the Breakers, they need more from him to win on Saturday.

The quotes

Six-time NBL champion and six-time Best Defensive Player Damian Martin offered his thoughts on what he's expecting from the game.

"For me the Breakers have been the most disappointing team of the season just because they've got so much talent. Now I know they've had injuries and have gone through way more adversity than any other team so don’t get me wrong, but now they are home that talent that I expected to get them wins all season you are now starting to see it," Martin said on Hoops Heaven Basketball Hustle, which you can listen to by clicking here.

"The Websters are dangerous, you don't necessarily know what you'll get from everyone else aside from those two, but when other guys get going they are still a very good time. I just think the Phoenix have too much lose and they are going to get it done, but anyone who thinks South East Melbourne will do it easy are kidding themselves. I think they'll get it and lock in that spot in the playoffs, but I'm talking marginal and a six-point win."

Damian Martin also talked about what change he'd like to see the Phoenix begin to make on their offence.

"One question about the Phoenix I have is why is Ryan Broekhoff purely used as a space guy in the corner. I get that South East, they do base a lot on their middle pick-and-roll, and the side pick-and-roll so having a guy that spaces it makes it easier for drop off passes and to get on the rack, but he is a guy who would make my eyes light up as a point guard," Martin added, click here to listen to more.

"We used to have our shooters come off a single or double staggers, and I'd be using him in those or running other parts of my offence for him where I have him coming off pindown weaksides or staggers. That's what surprises me the most is that he's not being utilised as much as he can be because he can create off the dribble and get to the rim. Right now I'd just be saying Creek will get his because of his attacking mentality which I've always loved, Adnam has a similar mindset but I want to see the point guards getting some pindowns for Broekhoff."

Breakers coach Dan Shamir knows that this late season run of games back in New Zealand has been more about executing perfectly on the court, and they certainly plan on putting on a show again on Saturday for their fans in Auckland.

"This is not a lot about basketball right now. Those were the two things that on the tail of the season with everything we've been through, I'm happy if we win and put the effort in even if we aren’t always extremely impressive probably this whole season," Shamir said.

"We all have to take the circumstances into consideration but also look in the mirror, but this game was important in a full house with a lot of good people here to watch a game. I think it was a good game with both teams competing which is a great thing and I'm happy that we got 17 offensive rebounds and we put in the effort. 

"But it's not too much about basketball, they played almost 40 minutes of zone against us and packed it in, so we just had to make a few shots and create the right space. We weren’t great with it but it's not too sophisticated, it's more about just being professional until the end so that was very important and I'm happy that the team got it done. 

"At this point, all I'm thinking about after all that we've been through we want to win this last game in Auckland, play well against a good team, and finish things the right way."

New Zealand forward Finn Delany has had the best season of his NBL career and there are plenty of reasons why he and his Breakers teammates want to finish on a good note on Saturday.

"It's about pride and professionalism for sure, and whenever we hit the floor or prepare we are going to do our jobs and we need to do it to the highest level we can," Delany said.

"We've had a lot of support since we've been back in New Zealand and everywhere we've played we've got great support from everyone. We want to play the right way no matter what the circumstances are. That doesn’t change our preparation or anything. But it's about pride and professionalism for sure, and for the people who come out and for ourselves."

Phoenix coach Simon Mitchell was frustrated after losing the two games up in Cairns after being in winning positions in both games against the Taipans and Bullets, but now they are focusing on feeling as good as they can about themselves entering the clash with the Breakers.

"It's a difficult one, we talk about when we're good and we watch video of ourselves with the thing we do well. Obviously we critique the things we don’t do well and try to put it into practice at training to make sure we get better at it," Mitchell said.

"This is one where we just have to simplify it and we have to put guys in positions where they can do things they like to do, and do it well. I feel like against Brisbane we've found ourselves in those positions but we also missed some pretty makeable shots and we left a lot of free-throws on the floor. 

"Those are things that professionals are paid to do and sometimes they don’t drop, and you have to find other ways to win and that's when you can't blow coverages or give up easy buckets in transition, and give up things with our press. There will be nights when the ball won't go in and this last game was like that, but we have to put guys in positions where they feel good and can forget about any tightness they might be feeling."

While it's a must-win game for Mitchell and the Phoenix, he expects nothing less than a full hearted effort against them from the Breakers.

"Of course they will be throwing everything at us and we'd expect nothing less, but it's probably about us more at this point of time," Mitchell said.

"We've been through ebbs and flows throughout the course of the year, and we've found a way to get back on track and find some answers. We'll now be venturing down to Auckland for this next game endeavouring to do the same thing."