Can New Zealand cover for McDowell-White?

The Breakers have been left reeling at 3-7 following Sunday’s loss to Illawarra, and head coach Mody Maor has lamented the loss of Will McDowell-White following his team’s defeat to the NBL’s bottom side. 

McDowell-White did not appear after half-time in New Zealand’s Friday night win over Tasmania and has since been ruled out with a fractured fibula.

The Breakers scored the lowest total of NBL24 so far at just 65 points in their four-point loss to Illawarra.

“Losing Will definitely affects how we play,” Maor said post-game. “He’s the engine, he’s the one that gets us moving from action to action and he’s the one that gets everyone involved.

“A next man up mentality is important, but nobody can do what Will does. We needed other players to contribute doing other things they do well, and in a quick turnaround there’s no time to re-invent the wheel, so we tried to rely on the things we had, and obviously it didn’t work.

“I’m on the same wheel I have been since the beginning of the season. Find a way to play, get the team to do it, lose a key player, reinvent the wheel again. This is where we are now. Will is going to be out for a significant amount of time and we have ten days until our next game to find a way to play together as a team.”

Forward Finn Delany played over 30 minutes in the defeat, while only teammates Anthony Lamb, Parker Jackson-Cartwright and Cam Gliddon scored in double figures.

He says his side struggled to find its groove on offence in the loss.

“Our offence didn’t feel like it flowed and I think they (Illawarra) controlled the game, to be honest,” Delany said.

“We had chances down the end but we let it slip. I think they made winning plays at the end of the game and we didn’t.

“It’s a short season and we’ve dug ourselves a hole. We took a step out of that hole last game but we’ve let it fall away a little bit tonight.

“We have to progress with great urgency about what we’re going to do. We always have enough, we just have to find ways to finish games and win, ultimately.”

The Breakers will next play against Adelaide on Thursday, November 30.