Breakers are $1.42 favourites. Line is -5.5 and game total 169.5.

Who would have thought this at the start of the season. The two pre season favourites in many eyes, scrapping it out just to stay alive.
Two contrasting styles. Breakers going small looking to out score their opponents, mostly from beyond the arc. Tigers looking to dominate inside (with Anstey back), controlling the glass and playing a more structured game.
Who will guard Worthington? He could have his way on the low block.
Is Rickert mentally up to take on a fitter Anstey? He has been a bit spooked by him in the past.
Melbourne will muscle it inside and look to live at the line.
Breakers will hope game opens up and get open transition looks. Down stretch ball will be with the new guy, spread the floor let him penetrate and kick to CJ, Penney, Ronaldson.
Melbourne slight favourites,settled lineup, Breakers chances rest with Braswell and shooting the 3 ball.

Breakers up @ the half 45/36 ronaldson with 13 and Bruton with 8.
Worthington has 10 and 24 has 8. Braswell looks good so far

77/62 breakers up, worthington with 20 but the bear is on fire with 24 and Penney just Penney with 20, number 24 has 14

Anstey killing it.

Breakers are Chokers, another lead pissed away with slack d and poor shot selection or lack of finish

Anstey has killed this game off..

30+ points to 12 in the last alone....

That is just downright $h!t by the Breakers- I am very peeved with this result and I think (though they could prove me wrong) that this spells the end of the season- honestly- up by 15 and lose by 5 by scoring 12-32 in the final 10 minutes- that is plain right pathetic given the Tigers had only scored 36 points in the entire first half- LIFT YOUR EFFIN GAME BREAKERS

Interesting result, Tigers coming from nowhere in the last to win 94-89. Keeps the Tiger's (8-10) resurgence alive, but puts a huge dent in NZ's hopes of a late revival. Can't see them coming back from a 9-13 record and four straight losses to make the finals.

Well another interesting point is that Breakers led 84-68 with 5:55 to go so they had increased their 3/4 time lead and then got pumped 5-26 to finish- I think Dre is going to need to really do something special here to save em.

The equation for NZ to make the finals is pretty simple really. They MUST win every game from here. Lose even 1 and they go into the lucky dip as to season series ties where, without checking, NZ will likely lose out.

Nz aren't playing like a finals team for the entire game, bear was killing it and then anstey stept up and pissed on the breakers parade. Props to him and Worthington for getting it done.

Adelaide's public enemy number one - looks to have some good stats again.

Hodge and Worthington basically played the Breakers on their own to beonly 16 down with 6min to go. Then Anstey joined in and it was all over.
Amazing how tentative we became and error ridden. Tigers caught the momentum train and rode it home. We looked and played like the train ran us over.
Ronaldson sensational till last 6. Braswell looks OK so long as he passes first, shoots second. Good debut. Nice assists esp to Oscar.
Leg up for Tigers, might have finished us off though.

Live and die by the 3. Fine when they are dropping but when it doesn't, time to get into the paint, attack the hoop.

Hodge is amazing

Hodge had his misses and missed free throws but played the full game and was very good. Worthington decent also and then Anstey got hot at the right time.

Breakers just gambled on threes and threw away their lead. Rickert isn't often played at the end of games and was pretty ineffective in the fourth tonight. Without a second big inside, Melbourne could collapse on him and force the Breakers to defer to their trademark threes.

Very, very disappointing result.

Thought Trueman played a solid game considering his role and minutes.

Braswell seemed alright, especially given that he's so new to the team, but he won't be enough to get them to the play-offs if they keep doing this. The game actually reminded me a lot of the 36ers first home loss to the Tigers this season.

For Adelaide fans finding this season frustrating, spare a thought for 36ers+Breakers fans - it's been very average watching leads evaporate twice as often!

WTF New Zealand??? How does that happen? Disgraceful. The 6ers are now officially only the 2nd biggest chokers in the league. It's a proud day for Adelaide.

Wortho was huge and there's not much you can do when Anstey gets on one of his streaks.

Seeing Hodge forget which of his wrists was the sore one was hilarious, almost as funny as when he flopped to the ground then acted like he was about to start fighting with Boucher, yeah good luck with that. Then the quote of the night: "Excuse my performance, my arm was killing me!". Ohhh Lord, he really does WANT more people to hate him doesn't he! He actually played one of his best games of the year, great game. Only 3 turnovers and you have to be happy.

He does X - "The Tigers will kick Adelaide's butts Satdy." - He said, also.

Yeah hold up, just wiping the spit off my TV...

thats a good point ^.
tigers got on a roll and the breakers looked stunned.
there just didn't seem to be enough effort to chase

amazing last quarter being a melbourne fan
cant wait for the game again the 36ers

Dead right Isaac, 33/63 3ptFGA is a gamble.
16 makes is a very high conversion rate thanks to Ronaldson.
But 3 of those misses by CJ were just plain ugly down the stretch, and I'm sure we could have come up with better shots.
And what is this about being aggressive (in timeouts).... what to put up a poor shot?
Melbourne were desperate and they had to be. We needed to drive, get fouled and get to line and break the drought.

The thing with the Breakers is they are shooting open threes. CJ Bruton should be hitting those wide open shots. If you cant hit those shots, you cant score closer to the basket because the defence can sag without being punished. That is compounded when Ronaldson and Rickert miss makeable shots inside.

The Xs and Os only do so much, but for the past two months the Breakers have simply been missing shots in the 4th that have made for the first three quarters.

The big thing the Breakers have lacked all season is someone who can slash and either score or create. CJ's great form last year covered that (until he got injured) as he could get in the lane and create, but he hasnt been able to do that much this year. A 6'6, 6'7 athletic import is what was needed - too late now.

Paul, they weren't always dead open. CJ had one that was 4-7 seconds into a shot clock with no rebounding options. I know 'remotely open' to CJ and Kirk is worth taking, but when you have a 10+ point buffer and just need to hold it, is it the smartest move? They were having more success at that point from Penney taking it inside.

You'd think that an experienced team could close out that sort of game. If you were picking a back-court to bring home a double-digit lead, Bruton and Penney would be most people's picks.

It's been an epic balls-up of a season from NZ and it's not always clear how they've managed it!

http://linky.com.au/6o0zz

I can't believe the Tigers won this from where they were. The Breakers gave them every chance to steal it away as well.

Herald-Sun Recap: http://linky.com.au/okp2j

How big has the Tigers vs 36ers rematch become now!!!

I still can't get over how the Tigers can still be in finals calculations either...

There have been plenty of calls for Ninnis to get the sack but how about Lemanis??!! I'd say he has had better teams and more stable rosters than Ninnis and continually underachieves.

Totally agree Juror. Lemanis has had arguably a Championship roster for atleast the last two seasons and has failed to even make a GF series. This without a doubt was their year to shine. Lemanis just can't get the best out of this roster.

Al Westover or Trevor Gleeson would have got this talented roster a title for sure.

I have noticed CJ Bruton becoming more and more frustrated as the year has gone on. I don't believe he is 100% happy at the Breakers and is probably wishing he was back with an Aussie based club. I think he just realises the opportunities the Breakers have squandered.

Agree entirely - Lemanis has had a very good team on paper and has not been able to come up with the goods. Arguably the team has at times looked more ragged and disorganised the longer the season has progressed. For me that is the coaching.

I think Lemanis has something to offer just not the Breakers. I think he would be an ideal candidate to coach Cairns, as he would certainly be better than Aaron Fearne.

In the final quarter last night when the Tigers were making their run it seemed IMO that Lemanis was completely lost and had no idea what to run or which defence to play.

NZ last quarter fade-outs are a mere reflection of his coaching.

Oh yeah, does he really need to jump up and down on every single whistle? Yes Andre, Kirk did travel.

I agree with the comments regarding Lemanis.
Awesome roster, shit results

Great lists don't win Championships.
Great teams win Championships.

It requires good players, good coaching and good systems.

The good coaches provide the systems and ensure that the players execute these in order to gain the ultimate goal.

Want proof?
Just look at what Joey Wright has brought to the Gold Coast.

Arguably the team has at times looked more ragged and disorganised the longer the season has progressed. For me that is the coaching.

Want proof?
Just look at what Joey Wright has brought to the Gold Coast.

True Isaac but they did win one and sometimes it can take a while for a team to buy into what a coach is putting on the table.
That Bullets Championship side for mine was the best team for atleast the last decade. A Championship built on defense and hussle. They were a pleasure to watch.

Did they make a roster change between those seasons? I swear they did. Maybe brought in Bradtke or retired him or something like that?

Say what you want about Hodge...I'm sure he's a complete wanker, but I've never seen a guy work as hard as Julius does on literally every possession of the game on both sides of the floor. His desire to win and be the absolute best player in the league makes me forget his dickhead ways when I watch him play.

Jules, I think he's either changed his on-court attitude a bit or is entirely different outside of Adelaide. He was still celebrating after the game in the usual style, but during the game he was pretty focused.

Why do you say that? He was great last night but if anything I'd say his attitude been worse on the court this year with his acting, trash-talking, fight starting and selfish decisions. I'd hardly use the word "focused" to describe him, look at the turnovers (4.6!!!), free-throws (41%!!!) and useless D, not much focus there. More fired up and determined to win perhaps, but that's not going all that well either is it?

Hard-working? On the court, it appears so. His 40 minutes last night were impressive and much needed without Crosswell. I wonder if he's turning up to trainings now...

In my opinion "XztatiK", what you just described are the qualities that make me admire his game. It's all about his competitiveness, something as a coach or fan you absolutely adore. Who cares if he gets in an opponents face or not? I love that shit, and so would his team. He cares so much about winning and so much about being the best player in the league...it's such a rare thing, especially in an import player whose clearly more talented then the rest of the competition. There are not many former NBA players (no matter how successful) that come to the NBL and have this impact, because they usually act above it, don't try because they think their too good to compete and ultimately get cut within weeks. You can't tell me he isn't miles above most of the former NBA prospect imports we see in terms of talent, it's just his attitude that makes him stand out so much.

The free throw shooting doesn't show any negative aspects about him as a player other than the fact that he isn't a good shooter and your point about his "useless" D i think is wrong because he scraps and scrambles harder than any player on that end of the floor. He is also very good at getting in the passing lanes and goes after every rebound.

I don't blame anyone for absolutely despising him, but you gotta respect his game and what he brings to the league.