R7 Preview: Adelaide 36ers vs New Zealand Breakers

When: 5.30pm (AEDT), Saturday 27 February

Where: John Cain Arena, Melbourne

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

The last time
Adelaide 88 (Humphries 21, Johnson 17, Crocker 14) d New Zealand 78 (Delany 19, C Webster 17, T Webster 15), Round 3, Adelaide Entertainment Centre

A trademark Isaac Humphries throwdown opened scoring 10 seconds into the game and the 36ers were never headed, their lead reaching 12 in the first quarter, 18 in the second term and 13 in the final stanza, as Josh Giddey dished 8 dimes to help Humphries and Daniel Johnson combine for 38 points at 11-of-19 inside and 3-of-6 from outside. New Zealand made a spirited 30-15 run across half-time but could never get their noses in front.

The now
The Breakers sprinted to a 13-point lead against Sydney, and were up-and-about, but the poor body language returned as soon as the Kings made a charge, and once headed the Kiwis showed little fight as they slumped to an 18-point hiding, their fourth on the trot, all by double figures. Dan Shamir’s men continued to have their interior defence exposed, something they simply must rectify to beat Humphries and Co.

Of course, which 36ers outfit turns up is anyone’s guess, with Connor Henry’s men only enjoying one winning streak this season – a three-game tear that included back-to-back wins over NZ – and backing up their impressive win over the Phoenix by giving up a 31-8 opening term to Melbourne two nights later. The simple reality for Henry is his team must find a to execute through quality pressure or playoffs are a pipedream.


The stats

  - Adelaide have been outscored by 42 on points from turnovers in their six losses, compared to a deficit of just 14 in their six wins

 - The 36ers are 2-0 against New Zealand despite averaging 39 points in the paint in those two games. In their other wins they’ve averaged 53 points in the paint

 - The Breakers put Adelaide to the foul line 57 times in those two games. They are allowing 22.7 foul shots per game across the season, the most in the NBL

 - New Zealand have conceded 9.5 made three-pointers to the 36ers, who have hit 6.6 triples against all other opponents


The key men

Isaac Humphries – The 36ers are +24 in 61:30 against NZ with the Ice Man on the floor, compared to -10 in 23:30 with their centre on the bench. Humphries has scored 122 points from two-point baskets in six wins, but just 54 from inside in six losses, and the key against the Breakers is getting him touches on the move to expose Colton Iverson’s lack of mobility, and then pounding the post when NZ go small.

Finn Delany – The Flying Finn has scored double figures, grabbed 5 rebounds or more and nailed at least one triple in all bar one game this season. His best basketball has come against Adelaide, averaging 17.5ppg, 7rpg, 2bpg and hitting 7-of-18 from range, and the Breakers desperately need his energy on the o-boards, where he failed to feature for the first time on Thursday, and protecting the rim.



<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="und" dir="ltr">??? <a href="https://t.co/aouvy4X872">pic.twitter.com/aouvy4X872</a></p>&mdash; Sky Sport Breakers (@NZBreakers) <a href="https://twitter.com/NZBreakers/status/1363734661780807685?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 22, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>


The quotes

What Breakers coach Dan Shamir had to say after his team’s loss to Illawarra turned into an accurate and unfortunate prediction for their next game against the Kings.

“The second quarter hurt us a lot,” he said.

“We gave up 33 points, and many of them came from our turnovers. These are not scientific facts but I feel like we came with the right mentality and attitude, but we broke very easily in that second quarter.”

Fast forward three nights and the Kiwis hit the floor like a team with redemption on their minds, playing with the pride and energy New Zealand basketball was known for during its golden era.

The Breakers led by 13 points after six minutes and by 10 at quarter-time , but by half-time they trailed by 10 and early in the fourth term that deficit was 21.

Echoing Shamir’s words, they broke very easily under the Kings’ pressure, coughing up 5 turnovers in the second stanza after looking world beaters in the opening term against Sydney’s passive defence as they moved the ball into on-balls and created open looks.



<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">C-Web catching ? early as the Breakers get off the a quick start ?<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NBLCup?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NBLCup</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NBL21?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NBL21</a> <a href="https://t.co/AeeZIAW8Kq">pic.twitter.com/AeeZIAW8Kq</a></p>&mdash; The NBL (@NBL) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBL/status/1364820921626677248?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 25, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>



They also showed no resolve to disrupt the Kings’ offence, with Casper Ware and Co scoring 76 points across the final three quarters at 52 per cent and with just 5 turnovers.

It was a similar story for Adelaide when they last faced the Breakers, shooting 54 per cent from the field, 59 per cent inside, a season-best 10-of-22 from outside, getting to the foul line 27 times and dishing 21 dimes to 11 turnovers.

“This was the first game where we executed on both ends the way we felt we could,” coach Henry said.

Naturally, that meant executing to get Humphries plenty of the Wilson inside.

“Isaac’s play is a result of his teammates knowing where to find him and his energy level,” Henry said.

“He gives it his all, he’s getting great looks at the basket, we’re setting him up to be able to seal and get the ball up on the rim quickly without doubling from our opponents.

“Josh (Giddey) does a fine job and all the other guys are doing a good job of knowing where he’s going to be and getting him the ball.”

But that didn’t just result in points for Humphries, as Adelaide manipulated the Breakers defence and made sure there was no repeat of their early-season over-dribbling.

“Finn Delany’s a really good defender, so we asked DJ to stretch a bit more on the floor, and that allowed for our guards to get downhill a lot more, it wasn’t quite as clogged in there,” Henry said.



<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Josh Giddey puts it in reverse and the 36ers are coming ?<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NBLCup?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NBLCup</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NBL21?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NBL21</a> <a href="https://t.co/82F3bZ3wap">pic.twitter.com/82F3bZ3wap</a></p>&mdash; The NBL (@NBL) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBL/status/1364880895765745665?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 25, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>


“There were a lot of extra touch passes that I was really pleased with, one from DJ to Sloan for a three and then vice versa, Sloan to DJ for a big three. We had a couple of extra touch passes to the corner three for Church, so some unselfish play.

“By us getting on the rim and attacking we’re going to have some better looks at three and tonight we got them.”

With no Rob Loe this time around the task of stopping both Humphries and Johnson appears nigh-on impossible.

However, opposition teams have shown repeatedly that if you can dry up supply you can shut down Adelaide’s twin towers.

That means constant ball pressure for the best part of 40 minutes, something that isn’t in this Breakers team’s DNA, but it’s a challenge they need to overcome in order to return to the winner’s list.

Don’t be surprised if coach Shamir unleashes some small-ball line-ups to up the defensive pressure, and he will be hoping another of his comments turns out to be prophetic this time around.

“There is no magic solution. We can’t walk away from the challenge. Although our record is very bad, we still have a team that can play much better and can win,” he said.