Breakers need to build on strong defence

MARC HINTON

Last updated 15:50 17/10/2012

Cedric Jackson of the Breakers rides the shoulders of Jacob Holmes of the Crocs.

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FLYING HIGH: Tom Abercrombie takes it to the hoop for the Breakers.

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It all starts with the defence. That's always been Andrej Lemanis' motto, and probably will be till the day he hangs up his coaching clipboard.

Luckily for the New Zealand Breakers coach, his team were listening last week as they got their Australian NBL season back on track with a much-needed 73-59 victory over the tooled-up Adelaide 36ers.

This week, as a vulnerable looking Townsville Crocodiles side comes to town for another Friday night matchup at the NSEC, Lemanis will be hoping to add a little more offensive artistry to the bump 'n grind defensive fortitude.

Small steps, and all that.

The Breakers were short of the mark in just about every area of the game when they opened their tilt at the title threepeat with a disappointing home defeat to the Wildcats.

But last Friday's Vector opener against a daunting-looking 36ers lineup was a positive stride in the right direction, despite the dim view taken by some media outlets.

The Breakers held an offensively gifted lineup to just 36 per cent shooting from the field, with the visitors' 59 points their second lowest ever scored in the league.

They also forced 15 turnovers, won the steal count 9-5 and gave up just nine offensive rebounds (against 19 nabbed themselves).

It may not have been pretty - the Breakers' offence dried up quite alarmingly in the second and third quarters when they managed a collective 25 points - but the "effort" areas which Lemanis harps on about so much, were light years from the lethargic display on banner night at the NSEC.

"The emphasis was just on getting into it at the defensive end," noted the coach.
"Our rhythm started to come slowly. In that fourth quarter we started to feel some of the flow coming together.

"Our defence gave us the opportunities to keep hanging around till the offence finally found its flow. It's important you don't let your offence drive your defence - it has to be the other way round.

The offence can dry up but your defence has to be a constant."

Certainly the Breakers still have some work to do offensively. Tom Abercrombie has still not found his rhythm on that gimpy ankle; while CJ Bruton and Mika Vukona are also searching for their best at that
end of the floor.

As a team their fluency is still not there to the extent it needs to be and their own shooting marks from last Friday - 39 per cent from the floor and a woeful 47 from the line - are well short of what's required.

But Lemanis liked one key aspect about week two. "There was individual responsibility taken," he said.

"No one's pointing any fingers at anyone else -you need to be unified as a group. The chemistry of a team helps you ride out the highs and lows.

"One of the things about having won the last two championships is overcoming that feeling that because you won last year, this year will just take care of itself.

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"Inevitably the sacrifices need to be greater this year because it gets harder and harder every year maintaining a good basketball team.

"Things change, people change and the chemistry of the group needs to be reformed. That's what gave me heart [against Adelaide] - it's one of those things we've been searching for, but all of a sudden the chemistry thing started to come together."

Alex Pledger's splendid response to his sub-par opening week was a great example of this individual responsibility, reckoned Lemanis.

The big seven-footer had neglected his "primer" workout on game day which had become a regular aspect of his preparations last season.

He informed his coaches, and immediately reinstated the drill that helps get his muscles "firing". He says he will not make the same mistake again.

"That's a good sign, the fact that he's thinking about how he needs to prepare," added Lemanis.

"Everybody did their own little things and accepted responsibility for their own performances which is a very positive thing in a team."

Cedric Jackson had a huge game, harassing 36ers star Adam Gibson into a five-for-15 shooting night as well as adding 17 points, seven boards, seven assists and five steals.

New import Will Hudson also took another big stride with a nine/nine near double-double, while Corey Webster's five points and five rebounds in seven minutes were hugely promising.

This week may be about the Breakers' mental strength as much as anything. The Crocs have gone 0-2 to start the season and have already replaced their imports.

Last week's 82-58 defeat at home to the red-hot Wildcats was their lowest points total in 310 games at 'The Swamp' and their 29 per cent shooting clip the equal worst in club history.

But new imports Gary Ervin and Larry Abney will be much better after just a few days' practice last week and there are plenty of last season's Crocs around who know all about what it takes to win in Auckland.

The game will feature the first return to Auckland of Crocs swingman Peter Crawford who badly injured Abercrombie with that brutal late foul in last season's semifinal decider.

His reception may be a hot one, to say the least.