Hoops

Breakers sign final import: Jerrelle Benimon

I'm pretty sure Atlas Place was sold to the new owners (looking andrewbprice's way, Mr Breakers Analytics guy).

I like the composition of the team. Plenty of versatility, with an offense built around multiple options and Corey Webster's fadeaway elbow jumpers. Oh how I'm looking forward to seeing those with 2 seconds left on the clock.

Success will be predicated on Shea's improvement, especially with his shooting efficiency. Would be nice if Abercrombie could make a reliable open 3 too.

Webster has declined!?

Don't like the PG rotation at all. Weeks got better at Cairns but is still mediocre when not doing what he does best; coming off the bench and attacking the basket. Ili was good last year but is still relatively unproven. Webster is a headcase who attracts drama wherever he goes. he's also declined a fair way since his peak 3 or 4 years ago. theres a lot that can go wrong there.

Was Atlas Place part of the club sale? or a separate asset?

If Braswell has a good system and the team executes that system I don't think it's likely anyone other than Bogut or Jawai smashes them in the post (maybe Conklin, literally!).

I think the major challenge for the Breakers is chemistry and culture given the changes in personnel on and off the court.

Anon, are you saying NZ are at a disadvantage defensively being loaded with versatile and athletic wing players? I would have thought they offer plenty of rim protection, it's in the post that they will be exposed.

17/18 MIP in Ili with a young exciting athletic Weeks as the PG options, odd that they backed locals and used their Imports elsewhere?

Finally someone else points out the odd PG rotation.

Who’s going to smash them inside that doesn’t have injury risk?

Very versatile roster except for the obvious lack of size.

Ili - 6ft
Weeks - 6.1"

Webster - 6.2"
Richard - 6.4"

Moore - 6.4"
Abercrombie - 6.6"
Ngatai - 6.5"

Wesley - 6.7"
Delany - 6.6"

Benimon - 6.8"
Majok - 6.9"

Should be able to play high energy fast paced basketball for 40mins and a mixture of lineups.

Benimon's been named all defensive several times, in college and G league.

Yes he'll be undersized, but Ben Wallace was undersized. So's Draymond Green. So's Casper Ware.

Maybe he'll be fine guarding the monsters of the NBL. Let's wait and see.

Kevin Braswell.

Who is coaching the Breakers now?

I’d love to see this roster under Joey Wright. It’s an exciting one.

The only weakness could be the interior defence, but there’s a limited number of players in the NBL that can damage you there and they may be oft-injured.

I like that Benimon puts it on the floor and attacks the rim. Sometimes stretch players shoot poor percentages, like Loe did for much of his stint with the Breakers, but it looks like Benimon doesn’t settle.

Overall, this is a tough team to guard.

Fantastic roster imo. Should go all the way.

A bench player from United is their only big man.. Bye Bye Breakers!

Breakers looking very good so far.

In fact all teams seem to have done 'very well' to 'well' so far offseason.

I guess he's strong like Wesley & Vukona, apparently Armani Moore is stronger than his size suggests

Just watched some highlights. Him and Wesley together will indeed create matchup problems for plenty of teams in the NBL.

But- at the same time how will he go defending the likes of Jawai and Brandt in the post?

Add to that the fact that Kings will have to fight through every screen (Randle, Adnam, Bogut and Kickert really can't switch) and their coach, they may have issues defensively as a team

Last year the premier rim defender was Boone who is much quicker than Bogut but was still ineffective against stretch bigs

The 3 point line is shorter in the NBL than NBA, more big men can nail that at a higher % and Bogut will have to challenge. How long do you think that old man can keep up?

It's amazing that people think Bogut will be exposed defensively in the NBL. Laughable

Maybe a little small in the front court but yet another squad that Kings bigs will not be able to defend

They're absolutely stacked on the wings, with Webster and Abercrombie and then imports Richards and Moore.

The addition of Benimon means they have a decent frontcourt too.

On paper, a strong squad that runs deep.

Pretty much another Tai Wesley, but American. So exactly like Tai Wesley.

Although, having said all that, he played 20 minutes a game in the German league, which is quite a strong league. So perhaps he was playing a role to perfection.

His assist numbers are impressive- 4.3 assists in the G league, and 2.5 in Germany in his 20 minutes a game. Those are good numbers for a big man.

I'm thinking this Breakers lineup will have a nice balance to it.

At a minimum, the fact that this guy stuff the stat sheet in every category shows that he'll impact games in a variety of ways, and the assists suggest he's a team player. That all bodes well.

Nice signing.

Career trajectory seems a bit of a worry- great numbers in the G League in 2014-15, then dominated China in 2015-16, only played 17 games in China in 2016-17, and then modest numbers in Germany in 2017-18.

Was he injured at one point? Is he one of those energy players who relies on athleticism but struggles in the better leagues? Those are my questions based on a quick review of his stats.

But on face value, an impressive signing.

Breakers will be playing small ball, but it looks like this guy can rebound, as of course can Majok Majok.

NBL looking very competitive indeed.

So there I was, feeling good about finishing 27th nationally ..... until I saw Bogut6 in 18th place. Anyone else want to share how they finished? I'm advocating for anyone in the top 30 to win a prize .....