Hoops

Breakers Vs Sixers Rnd 6

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.

@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.

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?

Whoooo Hoooooooooo

Great win by Sixers.

MOTR has to be next week vs those Perth Pussycats.

Many thanks Anon.

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.

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!

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.

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

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

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

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

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!

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 +)

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

"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.

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.

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

Holy CRAP Ervin, way to go!

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

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?

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

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.

The blast from Joey obviously worked.

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.

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

Pledger looking good for NZ and Ervin for the Sixers

great post Jonno, well said.

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

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.

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)

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.

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.

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

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!

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.

you mean being honest?

Interesting stance to take.

at least I freely admit to being biased.

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.

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.

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

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.

How long has it been since his ankle injury?

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.

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

Mystro,

Honestly just interested, what is it based on?

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

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