NZ are a very proud team as you would know Mystro....I'm hopeful of a Sixers win but not expecting one. Teams notoriously turn their fortunes around against the 36ers and NZ are due...of course, I hope I am wrong!!

There won't be any love lost in this game. The Breakers are a shadow of their former self, a broken team this season. Coaching and player changes have meant they have lost their rhythm. Rhythm is what it is all about.

A win to the Sixers will give them the confidence to aim high. Wilkinson is the major danger man for the Sixers. Creek is pretty much better than Abercrombie now.

I'm going with the Sixers to squeeze past the Breakers in this one.

Creek is not better than Abercrombie.
Creek isn't even better than TeRangi imo.

Abercrombie has struggled with fouls this season which have in turn have limited his minutes and limited his impact.
Creek has just had a couple of good games and Abercrombie has had a few bad ones.

Mystro, star players find ways to stay in games and help there team. Ambercrombie is not the living up to the perhaps unfair hype he received a few seasons ago. Reminds me of a Richard Jefferson type at the Nets. Other good players did all the dirty work, all he had to do was end up on sportcenter with the high rise finishes.

Not sure Creek is as good as him... yet, but as an opposition, fan, Ambercrombie doesn't install any fear in me. All the Penneys, Jackson type are gone, and its showing his deficiencies now. He cant sneak under anyones radar now you dont have to basically triple team Penney off the ball!

NZ by 13

I love Tom and hope he gets back to his pre-injury form someday. I thought he had the first couple of games, but over the last four or five games Mitch Creek has been more effective than him at both ends.

I wonder what the head to head stats would say, Creek would probably have Abercrombie covered so far this season I would think.

At the start of the season I would have pencilled this in as a win to NZ. Adelaide are good I knew they would be but didn't realize NZ would be so shocking. Vukona to foul out again and sixers to win by 9.

Creek's PER is one of the highest in the league going, funnily enough, by Lob Pass to Abercrombie's stats.

Abercrombie has all the tools, but Kobe24 is right, he doesn't really strike fear into opposing fans other than on rare occasions. It's more likely to be Corletto, Webster or Bruton (and now Wilkinson) who run up the score in bunches while Pledger or Vukona plug away inside.

Abercrombie *could* be a 20/8/5 guy in this league. He's fast, can jump, can hit the three or get to the line. He should be NZ's franchise player by some distance, IMO.


Anyway, this game could go either way. Very hard to tip. NZ could do better but then I don't think Adelaide have hit their peak either. Foul trouble is more likely to hamper NZ than Adelaide, so hopefully that's the difference and the 36ers sneak home again. Think NZ will get it though out of sheer desperation at home; if they lose again, crowds won over recent seasons will fall away.

Anyone know when the last time New Zealand lost at Vector was?

I would say G1 of the 2012 SFs against Townsville.

Re Abercrombie, I think the expectations on him are wrong. His personality isnt a dominant player, he's a do-everything player. I liken him to a local Dave Thomas, can make a huge contribution without scoring a lot.

At the moment he isnt doing that though, his malaise best summed up by his poor rebounding numbers.

I suspect he's caught between trying to be more of a scorer and play his natural game. I think he just has to play as he always had but just be more aggressive when scoring opportunities arise.

Of course, easy for me to say!

I think Mitch Creek is the most improved player in the league right now, but Its a bit of a stretch to say he is better then Abercrombie!

I think New Zealand are going to miss the play offs this year.. and I said it before the season even started.. every other team improved and they just kind of slipped. The team to beat is Perth I think..

Anywho.. Abercrombie doesn't strike fear... you know hes gonna plug some holes but he isn't the main man. I would be more worried about shutting down corletto to be honest... and now Gary Wilkinson... who I think is a player we wont have an answer for really.

Still expect Adelaide to win, I am gonna call it by 6

If Sixers play like Q2 of the Melbourne Game last week - we will win, otherwise, I find it hard to be super confident regardless of how the ladder placings currently sit.

Let's go Sixers; let's go.

If NZ can't win at home against quality opposition what hope have they of making the playoffs.

@paul, thanks for that.

Having a hard time deciding who I think will get up here. Real line-ball in my opinion. NZ tougher at Vector, but largely because of the crowd and the ticket sales are apparently quite sluggish according to Lobpass to Abercrombie.

I suppose at the end of the day, New Zealand have not demonstrated anything to give me confidence in tipping them this year, whereas Adelaide are 5-2 and have already broken their duck once in NZ. I guess I have to tip the 36ers by ... call it 5.

Abercrombie has never been a guy to create his own shot so I wouldn't expect him to strike fear in anyone. He's a finisher (lob passes/3's etc).
Mitch Creek has only played a few good games and Abercrombie a few bad, can't judge either of their careers on a sample this size.
I'm not hating on Creek, he's a great young talent, I just disagree with some of the comments.

I think Abercrombie is better than Creek, clearly so over their different careers to this point. But I think Mitch has been better the past few games, and Tom hasnt done himself justice on a consistent basis since his ankle injury.

NZ are so disorganised at the moment though, a lot of their guys will look a lot better once they get their team identity sorted.

Mystro,

You knock comparing Abercrombie and Creek with such a small sample size but then go and say Te Rangi is better than Creek. I can only imagine that's based on this seasons performance? Which is also a small sample size?

Season Stats
Te Rangi - 4.7 PPG, 0.3 APG, 1.1 RPG for a team 2-5.

Creek - 10.6 PPG, 1.0 APG, 4.1 RPG for a team 5-2.

Pretty rough on Creek to suggest that Te Rangi is better than him. I know stats don't tell the whole story but they give a pretty big insight into how valuable Creek is at the moment.

I'm not sure I'm ready to say Creek is better than Abercrombie, but give every team in the league the option between the two and I don't know it'd be as easy to choose as it would have been a little while ago.

How long would they wait till vickerman is gone? Been a few ppl saying he is running out ove time. Surely from a threepeat team to not makeing the play offs is poor. Perth changed half the team and our mvp and still there on top, can't use that as an excuse i reckon they can't cope with the new way the reffs call it, perth adjusted quite well in that regard. Breakers to win

Have a look at the company Creek keeps with his achievements thus far internationally. No comparison to Te Rangi

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_Schweitzer_International_Tournament

Creek had genuine Exum style hype about him after this tournament and had offers from Euro clubs

In this league, a team needs a go to guy every game. Right now the Breakers don't have one, the teams that do have one (or two) are succeeding right now. Just look at the Wildcats (Ennis), 36ers (Johnson & Ervin) ,the Tigers (Goulding) and the Kings (Ogilvy). These are the teams in the top 4. The Breakers have even had Jackson & Penny in the past. At the moment they need a player that will get them 15-20 points each night and that guy needs to be Abercrombie. Vickerman needs to run more plays in to his hands and he just needs to drive. He's such a talented player if he wants to be.

If Abercrombie gets more ball and scores more Breakers easily.

#BREAKERNATION
#LOBPASSTOABERCROMBIE

My opinion of Creek Vs TeRangi is not based on 7 games played so far.

Kerron Johnson really does look like a guy who could carry them, but he simply doesn't get involved enough. He averages fewer than 10 field goal attempts a game!

Mystro,

Honestly just interested, what is it based on?

Sorry, accidently posted.

My opinion is based on the last 2 years. Granted Creek has shown some of his potential this season it is early days yet. It is also just an opinion ;)

AK-47, I more meant we can't judge who is better based on just 7 games of stats between Creek & Abercrombie.
Creeks playing his best basketball and Abercrombie his worst.

Compare them on their careers to date if you like, Creek has had 7 good games and apparently played well in a tournament overseas, Abercrombie has won 3 rings, Finals MVP, NBL first team, Tall Blacks etc.

Abercrombie>Creek


FYI:
TeRangi-Junior Tall Blacks Captain, TallBlack & also did well in a tournament overseas, it was the Youth 3x3 World Champs and he won. He also turned down offers from Colleges in the States to stay in Auckland and play for the Breakers. No comparison?

A world championship medal Vs Scrub Offers from Scrub Clubs in Scrub leagues? Sorry couldn't resist quoting the faux Mick ;)

I think TeRangi is a better player, he has athleticism much like Creek but it is his shooting stroke that separates them imo. Creeks Basketball IQ is slightly higher at this stage and that comes with being in the League for a few seasons whilst TeRangi is a rookie. Plus I'm obviously a one eyed Kiwi :p

I live in Auckland NZ, Reuban TeRangi isn't an unkown quantity sitting on the Breakers bench.
He had a great rookie season (top 3 point shooter from memory?) in the NZNBL and then backed it up with a championship season last year.
Creek is into what his 3rd season in the NBL? Was unlucky with injury last season but so was Abercrombie with his ankle.

Creek rookie stats > Abercrombie

Abercrombie has about 100 games more experience than Creek

Give Creek those games to catch up and see where he is at then

How long has it been since his ankle injury?

Also

Creek 2013 stats > than Abercrombie

Abercrombie has 1.8 ppg more, less rebounds and less assists despite playing 69 minutes more on court so far this season. Plus he is shooting a worse % than Creek.

Pretty sure Mitch would make up that gap in the extra minutes afforded Abercrombie. For those playing at home Creek would need 14 points total across those 69 minutes

Mitch Creek may very well go on to be a far greater player than Thomas Abercrombie further down the track, I bet he'll be like "damn I really stuck it to that guy from NZ and his opinion on that internet forum".

probably not.

On the Creek vs Te Rangi comparison, it'd be worth mentioning strength. Te Rangi has a nicer shot, but Creek is well built and seems faster to me. Has more of a killer instinct.

Luckily for us we'll probably get to see those two (Creek & TeRangi) go head to head lots over the next few years.

Simply put: NZ aren't as bad as many have made them out to be.

While I don't believe that "teams notoriously turn their fortunes around against the 36ers" (for reasons other than we've been shite for the better part of a decade), Adelaide also aren't as good as their record. I expect opposition teams to expose our team defense and FT% concerns over the course of the season.

NZ to win.

PS - Corletto seriously needs to shut his trap about the officiating.

While TeRangi certainly projects to be a future linchpin of the Breakers in just a few years, he's not better than Creek.

Mystro, your inherent bias was a little obvious in that debate.

at least I freely admit to being biased.

Interesting stance to take.

you mean being honest?

It is not the strongest of the species that survives
nor the most intelligent . It is the one that is the most adaptable to change.

In the human context though, the ability to adapt is called intelligence.

Just curious which Breakers are under contract next season?

There's no doubt both Creek and Ambercrombie are great players. I just think Mitch has caught him this season.

C 10.6 ppg @ 51%, 4.1 rpg, 1.0 apg (16.8 mpg)
A 12.4 ppg @ 46%, 2.6 rpg, 0.6 apg (26.6 mpg)

On a 40 min projection.

C v A:
FGM 7.1 v 6.7 - C
3PM 1.7 v 1.7 - even
FTM 9.2 v 3.7 - C
PFS 3.4 v 4.1
RB 9.7 v 3.0 - C
AS 2.4 v 0.9 - C
PPG 25.2 v 18.6 - C

With the Player Index points:
C 14.9 - 0.88 PI/min
A 10.7 - 0.40 PI/min

Let's go Sixers!

I'm gonna have to change my prediction, Breakers by 35.

Apparently Paulie Henare showed the team some footage of Scottie Pippen playing D.

Mystro, the only way the Breakers will be +35 is if it is "wind assisted"

The game will be close - should be tighter than a fat kid in a rashie

the only way the game will be close is if the Breakers pick their game up, otherwise the Sixers may run away with it.

J.Frye,quiet for 2 games,due for 2Imports to get 40 and 2 sevenfooters get 30.
You are what you think you are, and NZ are unlikely with Corletto.

*downloads Camel to English translator app*

Don't feel offended or anything, if you don't understand it, you really don't have to think about it, it's not addressed to you.

I don't really know where Abercrombie stands at the moment.

He isn't a prolific scorer.

People come up with the natural argument that he is a "do-everything player"

But, let's be honest, he isn't really is he:

- He isn't a rebounder, and gets nowhere near the types of numbers that someone of his size and athleticism should

- He never creates. You rarely see him make penetrate and kick out to other players in open spots.

- Defensively, he is solid (except he is struggling more so this year with the new intrepretations.) He can only really defend one position as well (SF).

So, I don't think he is a "do-everything" type of player.

Honestly, Abo is just a player who has reached his ceiling.

His lack of skill and polish in areas like his dribbling (still can't handle the rock that well) has limited his ability to create his own shot.

He can put up some big games but that is only when he gets left wide open from 3 and strikes a few or when he gets quite a few easy baskets that are not off the dribble (i.e. alley oops, passes from slashing and cutting, transition layups, free throws from bail outs)

The media talk so much about how the volleyball background helped with Abercrombie's leaping ability, timing etc.

If anything, I think it has probably hindered him.

The inclination to only jump off two feet has IMO held him back in terms of been able to grow into a player who can create off the dribble and beat players to the rim.

Ultimately, the two foot jumping ability helps him when he gets to the rim

But, beating his player to the "rim"/"spot"/"basket" in the first place is not as common as it should be.

"- Defensively, he is solid (except he is struggling more so this year with the new intrepretations.) He can only really defend one position as well (SF)."

Lemanis used to use his length (and Leon Henry sometimes) to guard against faster smaller guards and he was generally quite successful

Not sure who is sillier , you or corletto.

who are you talking to Camel?

The Weigh luver there 1 above.

Fair enough, weigh doesn't have half the athletism creek does so fail.

I may be biased, im a huge Creek fan, but i think he is/will be better than Weigh, he is also basically the oposite style of player to Weigh also, dont get the Weigh 2.0 reference, i also rate Abercrombie and before the season would have said he was a step ahead of Creek, but now i think the gap is closing fairly quickly, with Creek still improving and yet to be given a major role,

i seriously want Joey to play him 25 mins per game for the rest of the season, i doubt they will regret it,

Creek is the type of player that makes things happen when he is out there, i really enjoy watching him and generally think the team is better when he is on the floor, he is a sf version of D.Martin imo.

I personally would like to see a bit of this line up: Ervin, Gibson, Creek, Frye or Petrie, Schenscher, may lack a bit of outside shooting if Frye and Creek are on together, but Gibson and Ervin will keep the defense honest. Frye and/or Creek imo could easily pinch hit at pf, both athletic and strong enough and lets face it many of the pfs around the league are not much bigger/stronger anyway.

only a few hours till game time.

I have this feeling Mitch Creek will have taken my comments personally and will have a big game haha

Remember had Creek gone to college he would still be there, he would have returned to the NBL next season and been the amazing Rookie, ala Gliddon or Madgen in previous seasons, so dont be too harsh on your judgement of him just yet, let him get to 25-30 years of age and see where he is at, not saying he will be a star boomer, but he may be, id say his minimum will be a good starting sf, id back him to get to atleast Abercrombies level, and who knows from there.

How many guys are in the NBL at Creeks age? And how many are as good as him? not many (if any) currently, obviously guys like Ingles took the league by storm at Creeks age and younger and moved onto bigger and better things, not saying Creek is that good, but he is better than most Aussie Bballers his age and better than many more experienced pros now, with plenty of improvement/potential left in him.

Not saying he is as good as Martin or even Abercrombie, but i think he is heading in that direction, and my point about Martin, was he not that he is as good, but contributes in a similar way, ie defense, hustle, rebounding, creating opportunities out of nothing, not just scoring or shooting 3's, they both do all of the little things and make good things happen for there teams.

Stats say he is better than Abercrombie already

great post Jonno, well said.

For the record, so far in 2013-14 Mitch Creek's stats are better than both Abercrombie's and Weigh's. And that's playing less minutes and not being a starter.

As to who's better: Creek, Abercrombie or Martin.....that's not for me to decide. All 3 have their strengths and weaknesses. I'll admit to being a fan of all 3, though I happen to think Mitch is the more athletic of the 3.

Tonight's game.....I think the 36ers can win this one. But as always never count the Breakers out. They are currently down but they're not out.

Also interested on what size crowd shows up. When its not rugby union, Aucklander's are notoriously fair weather when it comes to their sports teams. If they are winning the Breakers and Warriors (NRL) draw very well. If they are losing their attendances drop off by a fair way. Anything less than 4k @ Vector tonight isn't going to be good.

Great defense by Frye to start it off by giving Vukona an easy dunk and then let Abercrombie have two open 3's.

6ers have settled, Breakers just dont have the killer instinct they used too.

great game so far, fast pace and both teams scoring.

Pledger looking good for NZ and Ervin for the Sixers

Getting screwed by the refs once more... Breakers are about as exciting to watch as murder she wrote re runs.

"Play some fucking defense" God love you Joey Wright, Marty Clarke take note you amateur!

In the corresponding game last year the Breakers got 7,489 to Vector.

However the crowds for NZ's home games so far this season have all been lower than the lowest figures for the entire of last season.

HGM1: 6,087
HGM2: 3,460
HGM3: 3,175

Last season:

Lowest at NSEC: 3,653
Lowest at Vector: 6,625

Crowds are down across the league apart from in Adelaide:

Team averages (total)

Perth - 10,668 (42,673) (4 games) -5.5%
Adelaide - 4,906 (14,719) (3 games) +13.4%
Sydney - 4,640 (13,921) (3 games) -11.5%
New Zealand - 4,241 (12,722) (3 games) -19.7%
Cairns - 4,108 (12,323) (3 games) -2.8%
Wollongong - 3,303 (6606) (2 games) -12.2%
Melbourne - 3,292 (9,876) (3 games) -21.5%
Townsville - 3,126 (12,503) (4 games) -13.1%

Only Adelaide and Melbourne have not had a crowd lower than their lowest last season.

Seriously! Love a coach with some passion, so genuinely annoyed.

Melbourne will turn around that crowd figure once the Hisense games come around but yikes, ugly reading. The new NBL team has their work cut out for them.

The blast from Joey obviously worked.

Schencher gets called for a moving block yet no calls on Pledger or Vukona who haven't stood still for one all night.

So apparently in NZ you're allowed to hip and shoulder a player and make no attempt at the ball and it is just called a normal foul...

Sixers really need to work on their 3rd quarters it has really been a problem this year.

Fine to attack the referees.

But offensive references to the country are a bit out of line.

FWIW, I think the reffing has been horrible.

That blocking call on Cadee from Bruton's drive was ridiculous.

Frye for a charge while apparently you can jump into a player and get called for it now as well.

NZ arent winning this game, the referee's deserve a lot of the credit

Abercrombie able to make an impact not being hampered by foul trouble and Mika Vukona having a great game.

Agreed, no need for country attacks.

The umpiring has been poor but NZ has played better and deserve the win.

Creek has definitely looked the better player re: TeRangi tonight. Looked nervous and turned the ball over and made poor decisions. Pretty much just showed his age but capable of much better performances.
But is Creek really still better than Abercrombie?

WE WON......ERVIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

wow, that was pretty cool. credit where credit is due, ervin was great down the stretch. awesome end to a pretty good game.

Wow - just wow!

I change my opinion based on the last few minutes and with the Sixers being so close, if the umpires weren't so poor it would have been an easy Sixers win. I can understand a few home court calls but there was just so many bad calls in this game. It was a good karma win.

HUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUGE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Holy shit that was f#cking insane absolutely crazy!!!

Is this game going to be on OneHD ??

That was crazy!!!

"But is Creek really still better than Abercrombie?"

If Abercrombie didn't knock down two open 3's at the start of the game would he still have had such a good game?

Creek 11 minutes 8 points, 5 rebounds
Abercrombie 31 minutes 21 points, 9 rebounds

I am not saying Creek is better but he didn't have that bad of a game for the number of minutes he played in comparison.

Holy CRAP Ervin, way to go!

I was a bit pissed off at Ervins 1 on 5 moves... But I take it all back after that steal and lay up. Sixers are winning the games they use to lose, and looking very good.

Brilliant to watch. Ervin is a superstar of this league. Can he come to Cairns please?

Nz can't win every game, every season Anon.

A 4peat would have been pretty nice but looking pretty tough from here on out.

They don't look too far off the pace.

Great close out by Adelaide, looked confident down the stretch and didn't panic.

"All these losses will have the bandwagoner Kiwis hopping off the Breaker wagon by the thousands. Sad for them when half the games are at Vector this season. Oh well not our fault their sports fans are fickle."

At least they don't boo their team.

"All these losses will have the bandwagoner Kiwis hopping off the Breaker wagon by the thousands. Sad for them when half the games are at Vector this season. Oh well not our fault their sports fans are fickle."

At least they don't boo their team.

Yeah, definitely feeling nervous about the fixture in Adelaide! Going to be huge!

In regards to 'fickle' Breakers supporters:

Yes probably a little.

But, unfortunately, when all the games are live on Sky of course people are going to come home from work on a thurs and fri night and want to watch the game in the comforts of their own home. (Point has to be made that Sky reaches way more homes in NZ, proportionally, than foxtel)

Yes you cant beat the atmosphere of the game.

But you cant argue with the savings you make from watching the game at home (home cooking, no petrol cost, home beers, dont get home at 10pm +)

Great win there. Gary Ervin is GE Money! Gibbo also thriving now he can do all the little things instead of having to be the closer.

Good contributions by most Sixers once again. Love that we still give ourselves a shot to win, even when things aren't quite going to plan!

If Creek is that good then, why doesn't he get the minutes ?

Anyone who watched the game last night would say the Taipans were close to Perth.

If we boo in Cairns does that mean they'll replace Fearne?

"If Creek is that good then, why doesn't he get the minutes ?"

because unfortunately for his first 3 seasons in the NBL he was coached by the worst coach in the history of the league. This year the team is stacked so he won't get Abercrombie minutes here.

Wilson Sting, yes we were close. We went on a 13-0 run to be tied up with under 9 minutes to go, and with three minutes left, Perth only had a four point lead. But it never at all felt like we were going to win the game. It actually seemed like we fluked our way back. Every single Taipans bucket last night felt like a fluke to be honest.

"If we boo in Cairns does that mean they'll replace Fearne?"

Yeah in about 3 seasons :P

We won 3 quarters (lost the third) deserved the win.
2 Imports got 38 points

Next weeks game between the 36ers and Wildcats at the Adelaide Arena is being televised on One (on delay of course). Even so I'll be surprised if there isn't close to or over 7k there. They need to advertise this game and get bums on seats.

Some thought J.Frye matched up pretty good on Ennis when we won pre-season, but Frye didn't play in our 3point loss in Perth and we should win this.

I reckon they should do two for ones at this game and try and pack out the arena. I would even go out and give away around 500-1000 back seat tickets just to fill it up for this game

" but Frye didn't play in our 3point loss in Perth and we should win this"

Don't get too confident there. Sixers will have to play 4 great quarters if we are to beat them. If we play one bad quarter Perth will win.

Official attendance at Vector Arena was 7,470. Not bad.

Is the game on TV?

Sorry Moneyballer, tonight's game on One is Sydney vs Townsville.

Wow what a miracle finish! Great work by Johnson to force the loose pass and by Ervin to intercept and finish when the game was seemingly lost.
Lucky NZ called the time out for us and Joey put Johnson in place to pressure the inbound pass.

Have to feel sorry for the home crowd.

Have also to feel sorry for those who were listening to the game on Grandstand digital radio who apparently switched to a soccer game with about 1 1/2 minutes left to play leaving those listeners thinking we would have lost and denying them that exciting finish. That really sucks!

Shame ABC Give basketball some respect.

I hope Sixers can generate a heap of media build up before next friday and pack out the next game.

Go Sixers!

Can anyone provide a link to any footage of the last play. Heard it was on youtube already but I've had no luck finding it.

Many thanks Anon.

The replay on NBL TV cuts off with about a minute or so left to play. Outstanding.

"Great work by Johnson to force the loose pass and by Ervin to intercept and finish when the game was seemingly lost."

It was Petrie guarding the inbound pass. DJ probably wouldn't know where to look he is so freaking bad on defense!

Whoooo Hoooooooooo

Great win by Sixers.

MOTR has to be next week vs those Perth Pussycats.

So frustrating as a Breakers fan

Our defence is some of the worse i have seen in pro basketball.

When ADL when on that run to take it out to 31-23...I have never seen such poor transition defence.

You can see that we are too focused on offense. The players celebrate when scoring, the bench stands up, fist pumping etc, Vickerman preaches offense in 90% of his timeouts. Why do we not the same attention to defense, especially given its our major fault.

Need a dose of Wright (from his timeout): "play some f****** defence"

ADL scored 95 pts. Refs missed a few calls as well. That could have easily been 105 +. Vickerman has no idea defensively.

Also, don't know why Salt doesn't play?

You know what, it's the offence that's bad. Taking shots when the rest of the team is flat on the baseline and no chance of getting back, taking stupid risks that lead to turnovers and open lay-ups, and poor spacing when the PG drives to the basket leaving the backdoor open.

NZ gifted that game with a number of junior level mistakes that resulted in uncontested baskets. Fix those and they are again one of the best teams in the league, with a few exceptions the halfcourt D was pretty good last night.

Vickerman does need to adjust some rotations though, Bruton cant be on the floor when Wilkinson is at PF, and probably those two shouldnt be on much together given their level of defence at the moment.

The quality of that footage wouldn't be out of place in a who shot JFK doco. Probably a similar amount of conspiracy theories now coming from the Breakers.

@paul,

There are four teams that have taken big steps forward now - Perth, Adelaide, Melbourne and Sydney. Sydney has the most question marks because of an unbalanced side, Melbourne has room for even more improvement if they get a better replacement for Chewy, Adelaide and Perth are in fighting trim right now.

New Zealand won't just have to get back to the team they were last year, they'll have to go beyond that to keep up with the teams on the move.

MACDUB, you say the Breakers defence is some of the worst you've seen in pro basketball. If you were a 36ers fan you'd have seen a lot worse in the last 3 or 4 seasons. The amount of times Adelaide lost half or three quarter time leads of over 15 points was embarrassing.

But I'll agree on one thing, the Breakers D in transition wasn't good.

"Play some f**king defence" from Joey.....I remember the commentators mentioning that and apologising for his colourful language. But damn its good to see an Adelaide coach with passion.

Paul, they had a safety or two when on offense just about everytime. Pledger was only one crashing..Johnson, Webster, Abo should have got back.

Regardless of what they did on offense. They were all in positions to get back and execute trans d, but they didnt.

Teams that blame their defence on what they do on offense are those that are in denial of their poor defence.

The replay on NBL TV still cuts off with just over a minute left to play.

It no been fix yet, maybe never fix?

Sorry, that was me above.

Gordon, At least last night's game works. I still can't bring up last week's Melbourne Tigers game.

XY, I hadn't tried that game because I went in person but just checked it now and it won't load for me either. Two Sixers games in a row with fundamental problems. NBL TV is absolute box of turds.