Breakers forward Sam Mennenga aims for the basket. Photo: Photosport
At the halfway point in their Australian NBL season, the NZ Breakers have turned around a shaky start to be in the play-offs picture.
After losing four games to start the season, and seven of their first nine, the new-look Breakers struggled to keep pace with the competition.
The Breakers still have a losing record - seven wins, 10 losses - but are on their longest winning streak of the season with three victories across the last two rounds.
Sitting in sixth on the ladder, the Breakers are currently holding the final spot for the end of season play-in tournament. But a lot can happen over their remaining 16 regular season games.
Import guard Izaiah Brockington has now found his rhythm in his first season in the NBL. The 26-year-old said he felt more comfortable and confident four months in and was in the best physical shape he had been "in some years".
Brockington believed the team chemistry off the court was now on show on the court and where each player fit in the team jigsaw was clearer.
"I feel like we play better when I'm aggressive and when I'm another player that the defence has to worry about. We got Parker [Jackson-Cartwright] out there drawing so much attention, Sam [Mennenga] who is playing great down low, so I'm just going out there and making us really hard to nail down because we have so many options."
The former G League player said "vibes were high" during the winning run but he warned that they could not let that turn into "complacency".
"We're only at the halfway point of the season and we're only just barely in the play-offs so just not being satisfied with having a couple of wins under our belt, really coming for those top four teams," Brockington said.
Brockington felt the Breakers did not get the credit they deserved across the Tasman.
"If guys want to come out lackadaisical against us in the beginning we'll just jump on them and show them why they shouldn't."
On Saturday, the Breakers are away to another of the in-form teams of the competition, South East Melbourne Phoenix.
The Phoenix had the opposite win-loss record to the Breakers with 10 wins and six losses so far and were among the leading teams in both in offence and defensive statistics.
Coach Petteri Koponen said the Breakers' stats were also worth taking note of.
"The last 13 games we have been one of the best defences in the league and that's the key," Koponen said.
"Especially how we want to play, when we get stops we get to the open court and we can be dangerous and we need to keep taking pride in that."
Izaiah Brockington of the Breakers Photo: LUKAS COCH/PHOTOSPORT
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While the Breakers struggled offensively early in the season Koponen, a former shooting guard, believed the team needed to keep shooting.
"First part of the season we didn't shoot the ball really well and in our last games we were able to make some threes which obviously helps in this game when you can put the ball in the hoop.
"We keep working, we keep grinding and we know it's a long way to go but we've been competitive a long time and now I'm just happy we were able to take those wins and we try to keep building on that."
Koponen had noted "sloppy" behaviour earlier in the season and after a couple days off he saw hints of it again so had urged the players to keep the right mindset.
"We can't afford that, we have to have the same mentality every time we step on the floor and we can't lose that and I think the last games we found that and we can't fool ourselves that we are better than we are.
"Every game from now on is so important and the league is so tight we can't lose our focus."
Coming into a run of away games during the festive period, which meant the Breakers would not be playing at home again until the new year, a focus on the "boring stuff" would be important if the Breakers were to continue "stacking up the wins".
Someone who had plenty of experience playing for the Breakers while the rest of the country was in holiday mode was former captain Tom Abercrombie.
Abercrombie, who retired at the end of the 2023-24 season after a 16-year professional career with the club, had his No.10 playing singlet retired by the Breakers at practice on Thursday.
The Auckland native is still involved with the club behind the scenes and he gave the current playing group a pep talk about the commitment needed at this time of year and how during a time when it was easy to be distracted by festivities that it separated the players that really wanted success.
Breakers captain Reuben Te Rangi would have the potential added distraction of a new baby boy this Christmas after his partner gave birth to their second child this month.
"It's going to be tough, my partner's family is going to be over as well so it'll be all hands on deck. It's always hard going away but I've done it so often that it doesn't really feel like Christmas."
After the Phoenix, the Breakers play in Cairns on 19 December, Brisbane on 22 December and Tasmania on Boxing Day.
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