mystro
Years ago

John Rillie welcome to NZ

Storey is out, not that anyone is surprised and JR has been bought in to add to the scoring while Penney remains injured.
Rillie will not only add some scoring but a hell of alot of experience, between the Bear and CJ and him they must have a hell of a lot of games under their belts.
he will fit in with our bomb from outside game plan also lol
Props to him for staying fit and I'm looking forward to the game aginst Perth at home on Thursday night, we owe Perth one after they killed us in the weekend.

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XztatiK  
Years ago

Rickert(30), Trueman(5), Ronaldson(5)
Boucher(25), Ronaldson(15)
Forman(25), Rillie(15)
Abercrombie(25), Rillie(10), Bruton(5)
Bruton(30), Henare(10)

That about right? Surely Trueman must get some minutes at C now. I think they're a better team with Storey TBH.

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KingJames  
Years ago

Not that its import but just wondering what those numbers mean X?

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The Brad  
Years ago

Minutes is my guess.
How come Storey is out?

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Mutley  
Years ago

The Brad, it might have something to do with his having contributed sweet f*ck all this season. Kind of amazing to think the guy played in the NBA.

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Isaac  
Years ago

Mutley - never ceases to surprise me when guys who got NBA minutes come out and are beaten by kids like Abercrombie, Weigh, Goulding, etc.

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mystro  
Years ago

Storey did do what was asked but things changed when Penney got injured.
We need someone who can score and Rillie can score.
Wonder if front office is gutted they let Jones go as he would have come in handy about now?
I'm pretty happy that JR is coming to NZ

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XztatiK  
Years ago

Yep KJ, minutes.

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Mutley  
Years ago

Isaac, agreed. It isn't like he played three games either, he was hanging about the NBA for three years.

Yet we've had some guys play here weren't exactly superstars who had solid and long NBA careers (Overton is always the first one who comes to mind).

Adelaide should be paying attention to this too. The Gold Coast on the weekend are a decent example of how a change in import can improve your team. I am not quite to the point of saying that Groves should be out the door (he's still defending well, and running the point as backup for Dr Jeckyl and Mr Gilchrist) but he needs to show more on offence.

Abercrombie is playing some great basketball at the moment. He reminds me a lot of David Barlow, not just because he looks a fair bit like him. Same body shape, great athlete. Probably not the same jumpshot, but it is getting there.

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KingJames  
Years ago

lol Sorry x, that was so obvious! I blame the hot weather!

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SVD  
Years ago

I heard from a friend that everyone loves Cortez on the Sixers - best import they have ever had in terms of temprement.

Also heard that Julius was the worst they ever had ... I wasn't surprised.

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SVD  
Years ago

*temperament

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paul  
Years ago

The reality is there are lots of NBA guys who wouldnt be successful in other leagues around the world, as they are very different styles of game.

Storey is US 6'6, physically strong, can rebound and defend. If you do those things well enough you can get a contract in the NBA as a reserve who complements the better players.

John Rillie in his prime was more skilled than most in the NBA, but physically would not have stood a chance in hell.

In FIBA style games you generally need a more rounded game, whereas the NBA requires more players with specific skills to fill a role.

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Mystro  
Years ago

Breakers play book, every one bar Rickert stand around the arc waiting to shoot a 3, got that John?

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pootietang  
Years ago

xztatic im wondering why you think jeremiah trueman SURELY deserves minutes now...All he has done is made a few lay ups in garbage time when everyone has stopped playing. Pledger would still be getting those few back up minutes and trueman would still be riding the bench if he wasnt injured.

However I think rillie is a great addition and though i feel sorry for storey, he had to see it coming...he just wasn't producing

Reply #256747 | Report this post


XztatiK  
Years ago

Just the fact that they've lost Storey for another outside player and there will be more minutes available for bigs, pootietang. His college history is pretty impressive and he did well in garbage time last week. They signed him ahead of Pledger and Webster and if he's ever going to break into the rotation it will be now.

...plus he's 10th man on my FNBL team.

Reply #256748 | Report this post


paul  
Years ago

Werent his points again Perth early in the game? Sure he is behind Pledge now, but Pledge is injured so hopefully he will get a handful of minutes.

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Bill  
Years ago

Jeremiah should get 5-10 minutes.
More importantly as Mystro points out 4 guys handoff, screen around the arc to loose off another 3 and Rickert or Boucher go get rebound.

I imagine Rickert got a pay rise courtesy of Storey axing (deserved too) and Rillie signed for peanuts. We might have some cash freed up to go after an inside stud given we are 1/3rd of way through season, because come playoff time if we manage to get that far we will get kicked on the boards by Melbourne and Perth.
It just seems as I have argued with Isaac, we are putting our faith in streaky shooting and as Crocs are finding out thats a recipe for disaster over the long haul.

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Isaac  
Years ago

Bill, assuming there's an import replacement to come, JR is just filler for Penney's absence. Who else is there around?

Trueman's minutes came early in Perth. Can't see how you'd find even five regular minutes for him though even without Pledger there - already not enough minutes for Rickert, Ronaldson, Boucher, Forman, etc.

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XztatiK  
Years ago

Given that Abercrombie's u23, could they keep Rillie when they get an import and Penney comes back, and have Trueman as the emergency?

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paul  
Years ago

I think the Breakers take advantage of quality shooters like Penney, Bruton, Ronaldson, Forman and previously Jones getting open from their offence, not streaky shooting.

There will def be another import, and I think a strong 3 like Lampley who can shoot, rebound and defend and play some 4 would be a great option and further help spread the floor, and give the Breakers that tough one on one defender they have been lacking.

Reply #256798 | Report this post


Bill  
Years ago

I think the Breakers minutes should read more like

Rickert(30), Trueman(10)
Boucher(20), Ronaldson(20)
Forman(15), Abercrombie(25)
Rillie(15), Bruton(15), Webster (10)
Bruton(20), Henare(20)
Give or take a few minutes here or there.

Final word on Storey, we knew exactly what we were getting when we signed him. Before he landed in NZ we knew he wasn't going to score big.
This was a major faux pas on Lemanis's part.
I am not confident about rest of season, given that we have in Penney,provided he recovers and CJ (two franchise players) , a useful big in Rickert, one of the best defenders in league (Boucher)and quite rightly expect to be title contenders. Import selection is key to adding the final pieces to the puzzle.
Has Thomas recovered from whatever injury he had?

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Hendo8888  
Years ago

Xztatik:
Their current 10 with Rillie comes to 66 out of the 70 points. (Bruton, Penney, Rickert 10, Rillie, Forman 8, Boucher 7, Ronaldson 6, Henare 5, Abercrombie, Webster 1) Not sure on whether Pledger and Trueman count towards the 70 or are exempt.
So no, they won't be able to sign an import and keep Rillie.

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XztatiK  
Years ago

Hendo, Trueman's in and Webster's out I believe. Same situation anyway, that leaves 5pts for an import... not possible.

Thanks for the count. I'm not sure Rillie should be an 8, can he still appeal?

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Hendo8888  
Years ago

He won't drop to a 5 and the minimum you're going to get an import for (unless you want Rashard Tucker/Derrick Low) is 8.
Rillie was a 10 last year. So I can't see them dropping him much more than 8.

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LC  
Years ago

Either way, the breakers will continue to rely heavily on te three ball...

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Loco  
Years ago

"I heard from a friend that everyone loves Cortez on the Sixers - best import they have ever had in terms of temprement".

It's probably in your best interest to be nice to the nine guys you didn't pass to after the game.

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Bill  
Years ago

Hang about Paul, it is those same quality shooters that resulted in us being dumped out of last year's playoffs, and why we are 4 and 5 this year.
We overplay the 3 ball!
Get some balance to our attack. Ronaldson is a good example 11/32 from downtown, 22/47 in two's this season.
I think that is disproportionate?
I don't see how Rillie can change that?

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Isaac  
Years ago

Rillie is in for Penney, so while he's in the roster, Penney's points don't count towards the cap. They had Penney and Storey (20 points). They're probably going for Rillie and an import (not more than 20 points).

In the proper rotations, there won't be minutes for Trueman. His minutes so far have been garbage time or "mix it up and see what happens."

Ronaldson would probably play some of his minutes at C to back up Rickert.

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mystro  
Years ago

I'm with Bill guys, we rely on that 3 way to much and our percentages this season have been weak so im not sure how we can justify throwing them up every play. Without an inside game we are not going to be playing a final.
Storey was no surprise and did what he was asked for the most part, things changed when Penney got injured and now Lemanis has to step up and change things up and i believe the pressure rests on him.

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paul  
Years ago

Bill, looing at Ronaldson as an example, he has scored ¾ as many points from deep on just 2/3 the number of shots, meaning he is more efficient from 3.

And NZ were dumped from the playoffs because they couldn't defend Melbourne - they scored 98ppg but gave up 110ppg which is way too many for a playoff series. That’s why they went for a defensive small forward over Jones this year, they just haven’t got the right player yet (ie: he still needs to be able to shoot the rock).

Also a little perspective - making the semi finals is a very good effort, especially for a team that had been a basket case.

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mystro  
Years ago

yeah was good to make the semi's but look at our roster, so we should. we have a solid team which are under performing at the momment especially away from home

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paul  
Years ago

It's a solid team with everyone up and going. The team that has been on the court without Penney nor a contributing second import, has been mediocre at best, talent-wise.

There are only 3 guys in the rotation who are a real threat from deep (Bruton, Forman, Ronaldson) and one who is an ok threat (Abercrombie). None of them have been really firing as you point out. You could make a case for Webster playing more minutes, but he is very inconsistent from deep.

That lack of shooting makes it very hard to spread the floor and create room in the lane, and being 4-5 at this stage is a good effort, particularly given that Bruton is well off top fitness and being asked to do way too much.

As a comparison, the teams that have made recent grand finals have rosters full of perimeter threats: 09 South 7, Melbourne 7; 08 Melbourne 6.5, Sydney 7; 07 Brisbane 7, Melbourne 6.5.

If you look at other teams this year Perth have 7 or 8 on current form, as do the Gold Coast. Wollongong and Adelaide have 6 or 7, Townsville have 7.

Once the Breakers get a new import who can shoot and Rillie/Penney into the lineup it will be a lot easier to score points, and much easier for Ronaldson and Rickert to work inside, and Bruton, Abercrombie, Penney and the import to penetrate. But the simple fact in pro basketball is good shooters have to shoot their open shots.

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Anonymous  
Years ago

Either way if lemanis doesnt get this on track, surely they will go in a different direction coachwise. They made some huge financial investments with guys like CJ, need to be getting the most out of them.

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mystro  
Years ago

yeah I think Lemanis needs to be held acountable for his roster if they don't start to perform.
CJ has done his thing every game and cannot be blamed for the current situation and is well worth his salary what ever that may be, he is the man

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paul  
Years ago

Correct. Lemanis has had an improved record every year from memory, but he has had improved talent too -until this year. Jury out on this year until we see how good the new import is. I think NZ would have to miss the playoffs or get abslutely spanked in the semis for Andrej to be in danger.

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Mystro  
Years ago

agree paul but it was Lemanis who decided that we only needed an import to play D and rebound and then got an import that just did that and cut him when he didn't score 15 a game

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Isaac  
Years ago

I think he was expecting a bit more defence, few more points a game, etc. Bit like Alston maybe. Actually, Dave Thomas is probably a better example. Storey had NBA experience and it didn't show at all.

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XztatiK  
Years ago

Who's going to hit Hodge when he plays NZ now?

Fire up Dillon and Ruckert!

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themojojedi  
Years ago

Storey was the first import that made me consider the question: If an import gets suspended for the season for attacking an opponent or referee, is it possible to get a replacement import or is the import spot suspended too?

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Bill  
Years ago

I couldn't follow the logic of selecting an import to reound and play defence when we had one already in Boucher (maybe not the rebounder so much, but he makes up in steals). What was the point of two "Bouchers".
This remember was our marquee signing and it seems his role was a bench one. The talk here is he didn't work out. Well I would argue he did. Did we really want an import who could D,rebound AND SCORE. Well we conveniently omitted that last requirement when we sent out the job description.

Breakers philosophy seems based on outscoring teams. Great when the 3 is falling, but ugly when its not, as is happenning now.

Ronaldson's individual efficiency isn't the issue. We only have him and Rickert to get things done inside and Ronaldson is probably better at it than Rickert, thats why he needs to be in the trenches not playing, your turn my turn, from downtown.
We shoot 40% of our shot from beyond the arc. Defenses are onto us. We need to surprise them and take it to the hoop. Our gameplan is exactly the same as if Penney was just taking a breather and about to come back into the game. Nothing has changed.
Save for the Crocs game that has been the only card we have played.
Big games are won at the line. 3 pointers don't draw too many fouls.

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mystro  
Years ago

I'm with Bill

Rillie has been given a full roster spot so when Penney comes back he will be staying, using hindsight should we have got rid of Phill Jones Mr Lemanis?
He can play D, shoot the 3 as well as anyone, run the floor and play point if need be.
With Rillie getting a full roster spot will someone else get the boot to make way for an Import or are we gonna make do without one?
I'm stoked we got someone of Rillies pedigree but I'm not convinced we needed another small.
Time will tell but dam we need a win over Perth tonight.

XztatiK, Ronaldson can rattle Hodges bones with a few screens in place of Storey, was kinda looking forward to Storeys trade mark forearm Vs Hodge and the Melbourne Wankers but alas it wasn't to be

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paul  
Years ago

Mystro, poor import selections happen from time to time. I think most poeple who knew a little about Storey (on or off court) suspected he wouldnt be a good fit though.

Boucher isnt a guy who can defend a superstar one on one - he is an amazing team defender but Lemanis wanted someone to step in defensively in a situation like Ere going off in game 2 last year.

I personally think they should be looking at Sean Lampley to replace Storey - versatile player who rebounds and defends well but can also score inside and out.

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Isaac  
Years ago

mystro, are you sure he's been given a full roster spot?

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Isaac  
Years ago

Bill, like a lot of other teams, they've got a lot of guys to fit into the rotation. Even Pledger and Webster make genuine cases for minutes.

With Rillie and if/until they get a new import, I think they should push Oscar into some PF minutes. He's not the prototypical PF, but he can get boards when assigned to that role. Boucher is flexible enough to slot in at either forward position so the options are there.

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paul  
Years ago

Isaac, I actually think O is best suited in the pf role, as most sf in the NBL are 2-3s, and most pf are 3-4s. The key is to have a strong rebounding 3-man alongside him (Abercrombie/Boucher/Lampley all fit the bill).

In theory, Oscar then drags a better shot blocker/defender away from the key, and when he runs pcik and pops it is harder for his defender to switch out onto Bruton or Penney than if he were being guarded by a 3 like Saville/Hill/Greer etc.

I think people should watch for Oscar to click into gear once the Breakers are at full strength, that is when he gets open shots in rhythm.

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mystro  
Years ago

I believe the NZ Herald stated that John Rillie had been given a full roster spot.

Reply #257222 | Report this post




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