NBL Round 5

NZ v Adelaide

The Sixers travels to the land of the long black cloud minus guard Brad Davidson to tackle the new-look Breakers. Davidson unfortunately has a torn abdominal muscle and will be unavailable during the Sixers important three game trip away from home. He has been a nice addition to the club and will be sorely missed.

The Breakers joined the winners circle last start with a nail bitting one point win over the Crocs. Kirk Penney once again lead the way with 23. When he finds his legs over the next few weeks after having recovered from his calf injury that delayed his start to the season, he will be able to break more defences down off the dribble and create more for his team mates. To be averaging 23 and not be fully 100% yet would be ringing alarm bells all over the league for opposing defences.

NZ showed a lot of merit in the win coming from as many as 16 points down to reel their opponent in. Coach Andrej Lemanis has stated it will take his new look team longer then he anticipated for them to gel.

For the Sixers last start it was a heartbreaking four point loss to arch rivals Perth. After dominating early they let their lead slip when Redhage and co got on a roll.
The wildcats import finished with a massive 40 point haul. Maher contributed 18 while Ballinger was solid with 15 points. Chappell continues to struggle but his defensive abilities are crucial for his club.

Adelaide like to employ a lot of motion offense so they will test the Breakers who will be forced to play a lot of man to man. This might not suit NZ as they are a relatively new group so they might break down and be exposed defensively.

This is an important game for the Breakers who will embark on a three game road trip of their own after this clash. With the 36ers known deficiency away from home this is a good opportunity for them to build some momentum.

Whichever team settles first and locks into their defensive assignments better will be the team that walks away with the victory. I have a slight lean to the Sixers who have a lot of experienced campaigners to draw from in what should be a tough contest.