Hoops

Rnd 3 - NZ Breakers v Perth Wildcats

It took Jackson a few games to settle in and he wasn't a good in his first season as his second which is how everyone remembers him.

@Tyrell,
Johnson is very good, a serious talent, but Cedric Jackson's value came from more than just being a good player, he had the playmaking talent that brought out the best in the rest of the side. He was also much sharper on D than Johnson is.

It may just be that Kerron needs some time to learn his teammates before he can fully step into that role, it might be that Lazare is a big step down on Hudson, there could be a few other issues. Hell, it may simply be that after three Championships the Breakers team is a bit satisfied and short on the hunger that adds the edge to a side's performance.

(To be a little inflammatory, it is my bitter, sullen, ineffably butt-hurt opinion that if Jackson suffered the achilles instead of Martin, there'd be a sixth pennant flying in Perth Arena right now, but that's useless navel gazing).

^
I don't think the Breakers are in any danger of the wooden spoon, you guys can still put points up in bulk. Fix the D and you're back into top 4 contention over night.

If you can get 1 or 2 wins out of the next two weekends' 3 games, you'll be pretty well set to recover the season. You're almost impossible at Vector and you have a set of three home games between rounds 6-8 that you should go 3-0 on. This would put you at either 6-4 or 5-5. Suspect we'll know more about your odds hosting Adelaide after tonight's game though.

I did expect NZ to win last night, though, so I guess we still don't really have a handle on where the Breakers are at yet.

@Tyrell,

NZB are still a very good team, they just seem to be experiencing difficulties coming up with a replacement system. Although Kerron Johnson is a very good player, is a different style to Cedric Jackson, who was instrumental in running the team last year. So a different style of operation is required, and Vickerman and co are still working that out.

Fixing the Breaker's defence is crucial though, that's what, 276 points in 3 games that the NZB D has let in, which would never have happened last year. Hard to concede an average of 90+ in a 40min game and produce many wins.

He lets his heart run away from his brain sometimes.

I'm confident of him being the league's best player. Not so confident that he will spend the entire season down under though.

I locked him in for MVP at quarter time of Game 1.

Starting to put some question marks next to Bevo's policy of one import only.

There gun team, im more confident know if we meet in the finals than past yrs. Ennis is what perth needed!

From what I'm reading, they weren't even the calls they were supposed to make, god alone knows what they were doing.

But wow, Wildcats win another after 1Q travails. Team mental fortitude and fitness is absolutely first rate!

Redhage fouls out on exactly the type of call I was talking about :/

Some more nice work by Ennis though :D

This is where the refs need to take into account the context of the foul. We want to see more free-scoring basketball, so the refs need to tighten up on calls on defenders when a player is shooting or attacking off the dribble. I'm ok with the calling of "ticky-tack" fouls in that situation.
But in a contested ball situation I would much rather the ref let them play so that the players decide possession without needing the game to stop. A whistle and a foul on a play where the ball has ended up with the right person anyway is definitely a momentum killer. Unreasonable contact still needs to be whistled of course, but if it is a couple of bodies making contact in a scramble for a ball or a jump for a rebound, and nothing obviously illegal is going on, then just let it go.

I'm finding it hard to pick this one. I don't really have a good handle on either team yet.
One thing I will say is that $2.65 seems like a pretty generous price for a team that has started 3-0

A conclusion is only as good as how it was reached. Just because we both have the same time at a given point doesn't mean your clock isn't broken.

Head says Perth (after the turnover fest that was the Crocs game especially) but Heart says the Breakers.

A packed out NSEC will be great for the team morale but need to get the W

Don't get me wrong, I'm tipping NZ, but I think you're making a real stretch with your conclusion from the first three games there.

Those same NZ defenders conceded 180 pts last weekend, compared to 140 by Perth's D.

@1456

That's a *grotesque* oversimplification.

Perth by 2

2 things for me 1st if the refs call it tight as they have i don't think there will be enough player's left and 2nd defend the 3 point line colleto has naild perth a few times. Still a 50/50 this 1. New player's and coaches.