Can star duo take Breakers to Play-In?

Thursday, December 21, 2023

Peter Hooley believes New Zealand could be primed for a Finals push, thanks to a returning pair of stars.

Breakers fans have received an early Christmas present with the news key pair Zylan Cheatham and Will McDowell-White are set to return to the side, after missing weeks with foot and leg injuries respectively.

Cheatham hobbled off the court in the Breakers’ Round 5 clash with Adelaide and returned to the active roster last week, although he didn’t make it off the bench against the Taipans.

McDowell-White suffered a fractured fibula in Round 8 against Tasmania.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">He's back! ? <br><br>Will McDowell-White will suit up for tomorrow's matchup against the Sydney Kings ? <br><br>Tickets: <a href="https://t.co/keofZ0Yefh">https://t.co/keofZ0Yefh</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/UNBREAKABLE?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#UNBREAKABLE</a> <a href="https://t.co/ORlrfpF0sw">pic.twitter.com/ORlrfpF0sw</a></p>— BNZ Breakers (@NZBreakers) <a href="https://twitter.com/NZBreakers/status/1737619955473121408?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 20, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Although the Breakers currently sit ninth on the ladder, former NBL champion Peter Hooley believes the return of the key duo could set them up for a late-season Play-In push.

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“I’m super excited to see this New Zealand team just back on the floor together. It’s weird to say how much damage they can do in the back end of the season, because we just need to see role clarity and a consistent period of health,” Hooley said on NBL Now.

“It’s weird to say it’s exciting times in New Zealand because of how poorly they’ve started, but this is the beauty of the Play-In tournament. If this was any other year where the Play-In tournament didn’t exist, with the way New Zealand started you’d be thinking this season is done.

“All of a sudden you look at the ladder, they’ve played two games less than the sixth-spot Taipans and they’re two games behind them. If they get that and start winning games, they get to the sixth spot, they get to the fifth spot, and they make the Play-In tournament.

“With the talent that is on this roster with Anthony Lamb and Parker Jackson-Cartwright, they figure out Cheatham, Will McDowell-White, all of that, this is one of those teams that no matter how it started at the beginning of the year, they can do damage in the post-season just by continuing to stay healthy and continuing to roll.”

While the return of McDowell-White – who was nominated for the NBL’s Most Improved Player award last season – is a net positive, it remains to be seen how he meshes with fellow ball-heavy guard Parker Jackson-Cartwright.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">He's back! ? <br><br>Will McDowell-White will suit up for tomorrow's matchup against the Sydney Kings ? <br><br>Tickets: <a href="https://t.co/keofZ0Yefh">https://t.co/keofZ0Yefh</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/UNBREAKABLE?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#UNBREAKABLE</a> <a href="https://t.co/ORlrfpF0sw">pic.twitter.com/ORlrfpF0sw</a></p>— BNZ Breakers (@NZBreakers) <a href="https://twitter.com/NZBreakers/status/1737619955473121408?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 20, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Prior to his injury, McDowell-White had been moved to the bench by Mody Maor in an attempt to get the best out of both players, but Hooley says the pair of guards, alongside Cheatham and Anthony Lamb, could be the best ‘big four’ in the NBL.

“We didn’t see it at its best,” Hooley said of the partnership. “There was a bit of trying to figure out who was going to be the main ball-handler between Jackson-Cartwright and McDowell-White, and when PJC signed I think a lot of people envisioned – maybe even Mody Maor – he would come off the bench and be the Barry Brown Jr. type scorer.

“Will McDowell-White we know was the big free agency signing, but all of a sudden he does his hand and you need to throw PJC into that starting point guard role and he dominated, so you think when Will comes back how you slot him in?

“Let’s be honest, Will McDowell-White is not a bench player in the NBL, he’s a starting point guard and he’s one of the best local point guards we have, but trying to fit along a player that was already comfortable in PJC, it was hard and they couldn’t figure it out.

“Health is going to be important for them, but if they focus on ticking off small goals ... anything can happen.”

New Zealand will open Round 12 with a clash against last season’s Championship Series rivals Syndey before traveling to face Brisbane on December 27.