Breakers becoming road warriors

Andrej Lemanis would probably love to take credit for the Breakers' newfound mastery of the road, but the honest Aussie has to admit that kudos belongs fairly and squarely on the shoulders of the men he's sending out to battle.

The New Zealand club has now won four straight road games in the Australian NBL, Wednesday night's "payback" 93-81 victory over the Taipans in Cairns taking their away record to 4-1 and overall mark to 9-3 (behind only the league-leading South Dragons at 10-2).

In previous NBL campaigns the Breakers have gone entire seasons without notching four wins on the road, so to have grabbed four of their first five, and prevailed in places as tough as Cairns, Townsville and at the Melbourne Tigers represents a breakthrough of epic proportions.

They have a chance on Saturday night in Townsville to improve that streak to five when they visit the reeling Crocodiles whom they've already knocked over once on their home patch and are in the midst of a four-match losing streak.

"It's pleasing to win on the road," said Lemanis who has come of age as a coach this season. "These are tough places to win, I don't care who you're with.

"The biggest thing that has changed is bringing in players who have been successful everywhere they've gone. As a result they understand, first, what it takes to be successful on the road, and also that they don't use the road as an excuse.

"When we talk about going on the road we talk about needing to go out and perform just as if we're at home. It's not like just because we're on the road it's OK to go out and lose."

Another hump the Breakers seemed to have climbed this season is at the defensive end. Finally, they've come to terms with the notion that if you can keep the other side's score low, you're in with a heck of a chance of winning ball games.

That, more than anything, has pleased a traditional coach like Lemanis.

For four straight matches now they've kept their opponents under the 100-point mark, and in Melbourne and Cairns the home teams managed just 84 and 81 points respectively. It was only the cruel blow of losing both Phill Jones and CJ Bruton for the home match against Adelaide that prevented the Kiwis winning all four.

"We're getting much better in that area and it's starting to evolve for us," said Lemanis who credited some outstanding ‘D' as being crucial in helping the Breakers overcome a lethargic start in Cairns. Behind Kirk Penney's game-high 22 points, a hard-nosed double-double from Rick Rickert (16 points/12 boards) and another heady shooting display from Oscar Forman (19 points, 5/7 3PT) the New Zealanders were able to get the Cairns monkey off their back.

"It's everyone starting to feel comfortable with what we're doing, and also understanding what we're doing" adds Lemanis. "There's a lot of trust in defence, as in if I help my team-mate is someone going to help me? That takes a while to get together, and it's starting to get there."

Then comes the coach's moment of honesty. Clarity, even. Asked if he was doing anything differently this year, honest Andre fessed up: "Nah mate, it's just having better players. And a group that works together - that's the real pleasing thing with this group: everybody is pretty selfless and acts in the best interests of the team."

It's a measure of how dramatically things have changed at the Breakers when you talk about the biggest challenge for Lemanis now being in dealing with potential over-confidence heading to Townsville.

Having already won the first two legs of the road triple-header, it would be the easiest thing in the world for the Breakers to button off against the floundering Crocs.

Said Lemanis: "One of the things we do is identify things that might be a problem and make sure everyone's aware of them, and that they're up to the challenge.

"We've got make sure our mindset is right going in as far as matching the intensity they'll have coming off four losses now. They're going to come out all fired up so we need to make sure our intensity levels are there right from the start."

As usual Penney has been to the fore on this road trip, registering game-highs against both the Tigers and Taipans and averaging 23.5ppg for the trip. But the Kiwi MVP candidate is far from a lone ranger with the Breakers.

Bruton continues to provide leadership, ball-handling and big shots, and his importance was vividly demonstrated against the 36ers when the Breakers looked lost without their floor general. The Bear, Tony Ronaldson, is also finding ways to contribute, while sixth-man Jones is instant offence.

Lemanis also credits the defensive intensity provided by Dillon Boucher and Paul Henare off the bench, and the spark they're able to provide, often after the first group have made sluggish starts.

Big Rickert also looks to be coming into form (registering his 10th double-double for the club on Wednesday), and has stepped up his defensive game the last two outings, while Forman has re-found his form on this trip. Against the Tigers the tall sharpshooter had 12 points and nine boards, and he was a key figure in the Taipans victory.

Lemanis, being a coach, was not too keen on the individual emphasis. "On all successful teams everyone plays their parts in different ways. When everyone accepts their roles, that's when you've got a chance at having some success."

Right now with the Breakers that is not a problem. A fifth straight road win on Saturday night would set them up perfectly for next Thursday's top-of-the-table clash against the Dragons at the NSEC.

- © Fairfax NZ News