The Breakers' "Samurai" Getting the Job Done

There are plenty of strong nicknames floating around the NBL. Milton ‘Silent Assassin’ Doyle. Chris ‘CG43’ Goulding, or Jack ‘McTrey’ McVeigh. Damon Lowery is keen to add another one to the list.

Barry Brown Jr. The Samurai.

It’s been revealed the reigning NBL Sixth Man of the Year has been playing through a broken hand during the Playoffs. In fact, he’s been seen putting his hand into a splint directly after games and in post-match press conferences.

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Despite the serious injury issue, Brown Jr exploded in New Zealand’s Game 3 win over Tasmania to earn a spot in the Championship Series. He dropped 32 points and had three steals on 62 per cent shooting.

Former NBL champion Damon Lowery is impressed with the guard’s ability to get on with the job.

“Barry Brown is an out and out assassin … he might be a samurai,” Lowery said on NBL Today.

“He’s not a regular dude, I’m not surprised he’s performed the way he did in the games he had his hand broken. I think he had 30 points combined in games one and two.

“The way he came out in Game 3, the decider, the average guy – we’d have heard all about that broken hand.”

Despite the scoring prowess Brown Jr possesses, and the spark he flair he undoubtedly brings to the Breakers, line-up Lowery believes the import guard won’t be the most crucial player to a Breakers series win.

“For New Zealand I’m calling on big Will. Will McDowell-White,” Lowery said.

“That dude is the engine. He sets up everything. He has a samurai on his team but Will McDowell-White, I think, starts and finishes everything.

“He’s not going to have the same amount of pressure on him that the Tasmania JackJumpers applied, [and] last time he was in Sydney he had a humongous game.”

Game 1 of the NBL23 Championship Series tips off on Friday, March 3.