Herbert: Why DJ Is the Breakers' X-Factor

Gordon Herbert was delighted with how DJ Vasiljevic, Sam Mennenga and Parker Jackson-Cartwright fired in his debut as New Zealand Breakers coach, but the best thing for the coaching great was how much improvement his team still has.

The Breakers were home at Spark Arena to open NBL27 on Sunday night, but they did so without import wing Josiah-Jordan James and lost Kouat Noi early with an ankle injury.

They went on to beat the Illawarra Hawks 95-81 and the signs were especially encouraging with dominant showings from their gun point guard and big man.

Jackson-Cartwright finished with 23 points and 13 assists, while Mennenga added 27 points and 8 rebounds, including a trademark poster dunk early in the piece.

Then there was new addition Vasiljevic, who showed not only what he can do scoring with 24 points on 6/10 three-point shooting, but also the gravity he pulls toward him to open space for his teammates.

"He's [Vasiljevic] somewhat of an x-factor for us I think and even when he's not shooting the ball, he creates space for Sam and Parker to play because they have to guard him," Herbert said.

"So he creates space and it's nice to have one Serbian mentality with us and I think more so for me his basketball IQ is outstanding than the shooting if that can make sense.

"When you have shooters like DJ, that creates that space which is so important in today's game."

While Mennenga, Jackson-Cartwright and Vasiljevic fired, with 393-game veteran Reuben Te Rangi adding 11 points on 3/5 shooting, the Breakers still have room for growth.

That's clear with James out for at least four weeks and Noi sidelined with injury. Import centre Charles Bediako, meanwhile, fouled out in under 23 minutes but still managed 6 points and 7 rebounds, a sign of the upside he offers.

Izayah Le'Afa is only just back on the floor from injury, and Mojave King has recently joined the squad, so what's most encouraging for Herbert is the upside on offer.

"I thought we had some really good individual performances within the team mentality, which was really important. There's a lot of stuff to clean up, which is normal in September, but we'll get there," Herbert said.

"The positive thing was that our compete level was outstanding and the basketball stuff it takes some time.

"We'll get there, but it's a day by day process and we've got a long ways to go, and we just have to take it one game at a time and strive to get better each day."