NBL Round 14

New Zealand v Wollongong

The Breakers host the Hawks and will be seeking to put an end to a two game slide and start a move back up the ladder.  The Hawks go into this game with only one import and will be looking to move away from wooden spoon contention.

The Breakers got demolished in Brisbane by the Bullets 93-125 last Sunday.  Despite the blowout, a pleasing aspect from the Breakers point of view was the game that new import Orien Greene had.  In just his second game in the NBL, he had 22 points and 7 rebounds.  A lot of his points came from his pressuring defence which produced a fair share of points for his team mates as well.  Coach Andrej Lemanis has said this week that he hopes Greene’s defensive play spreads across the team.  Tony Ronaldson also chipped in with 20 points against the Bullets.

The Hawks import Angelo Reyes did not suit up against the Kings last Sunday and was officially sacked the next day for disciplinary reasons.  I would like to know of any other teams in NBL history that have recruited an import mid season and also sacked him before the end of that season; I find this to be extremely rare.  Despite their financial struggles off the court, the Hawks put in a gallant effort against the Kings, eventually going down 92-99 at the Sydney Entertainment Centre.  Cameron Tragardh and import Kavossy Franklin were the main contributors (19 and 21 points respectively).  The last meeting between these two teams was in round 9 in New Zealand with the Breakers running out 121-100 point winners.  I believe it would be an extremely difficult task for the Hawks to square up the season series.

I would expect the Breakers to win this game and win it easily.  With import Greene looking more settled and their other import Derrick Alston having a game under his belt; they have way too much depth for the Hawks.  The line betting seems to accurately reflect this.  The defensive clamp-down that Lemanis is looking for leads me to believe that the Hawks may not score too many points in this game.  The Breakers meanwhile, are capable of putting up quite a lot of points (especially against the poor defence of the Hawks).  Having said all this, the points total looks spot on to me.