Will former Warrior be a game-breaker?

Wednesday, October 11, 2023

NBL champion Peter Hooley has questioned the positional fit of reported signing Anthony Lamb in the Breakers' lineup.

The New Zealand Breakers have reportedly moved quickly to sign an injury replacement for import wing Justinian Jessup, with ESPN's Olgun Uluc breaking the news that the NBL23 runner-up have signed former Golden State Warrior Anthony Lamb.

The Breakers are currently in Portland preparing for their opening NBLxNBA game against former Next Star Rayan Rupert and the Trail Blazers, and Lamb will reportedly link up with the squad while they’re completing their tour. No official news has been announced on the move.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Anthony Lamb has signed with the New Zealand Breakers for remainder of the 2023-24 NBL season, sources told ESPN. Lamb will replace Justinian Jessup, who's out indefinitely with a pelvic injury. Details on <a href="https://twitter.com/ESPNAusNZ?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ESPNAusNZ</a>.<a href="https://t.co/rNIFI5h1sH">https://t.co/rNIFI5h1sH</a></p>— Olgun Uluc (@OlgunUluc) <a href="https://twitter.com/OlgunUluc/status/1711141996193263623?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 8, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Lamb has played a career 88 NBA games – including 62 last season with Golden State – and was a member of Mahmoud Abdelfattah’s NBA G-League title-winning Rio Grande Valley Vipers.

NBL champion Pete Hooley says he’s interested to see how the Breakers could slot Lamb into their lineup.

“Interesting piece when you look at the type of player Anthony Lamb is compared to Jessup,” Hooley said on NBL Now.

“They’re kind of log-jammed with [Zylan] Cheatham, Finn Delany, Mangok Mathiang, so it’s going to be interesting to see how that puzzle piece works out.

“The Breakers have moved quickly which I respect. They want to try to get it all sorted sooner rather than later and I’m looking forward to seeing how it all comes together.”

Should Lamb be confirmed as the Breakers’ newest signing, Mody Maor will have a string of versatile players who can play multiple positions, anywhere from small forward to centre.

Cheatham has been deployed as an undersized centre alongside Delany to great effect, while traditional centres Mathiang and Dane Pineau have provided strong punch off the bench when required.

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Veteran Tom Abercrombie has made a career out of splitting time at the three and four positions, and Cam Gliddon can step into the small forward role.

Hooley says New Zealand’s best lineup could involve shifting Delany to accommodate Lamb.

“He (Lamb) can stretch the floor, get on the glass, it might lean us to see more of Finn Delany on the wing when you think about how they could potentially close games,” Hooley said.

“If that’s the way they look at it, it’s going to be a tough lineup.

“Will McDowell-White, Parker Jackson-Cartwright, Finn Delany, Zylan Cheatham and Anthony Lamb figuring it out on the fly.”

The Breakers will open their NBLxNBA campaign on Wednesday, and return to NBL action against Melbourne on October 22.