Is Le'Afa the Key for Breakers?

Take the pressure off Will McDowell-White - that’s the key for the New Zealand Breakers heading into Game 3, according to NBL Overtime’s Liam Santamaria and Corey Williams.

McDowell-White was a dominant performer in the Breakers’ victory in the Championship Series opener, but found the going tough on Sunday, as a defensive masterclass from Justin Simon saw him concede six turnovers.

Santamaria says Mody Maor may look to call on other ball-handlers to release the shackles for their star number seven.

“The onus is on the Breakers to say, ‘how do we find other ways to get Will into those advantageous situations to make reads and make plays?’,” he said.

“I think they might bring another ball-handler into the mix, with (Izayah) Le’Afa and keep (Barry) Brown Jr. off the bench.”

Williams echoed those thoughts.

“All they’ve (the Breakers) got to do is if Justin Simon is defending McDowell-White in Game 3 when they start, which they (the Kings) will because they were successful doing that … don’t bring the ball up – give it to somebody else!

“… Le’Afa or whoever … get it on the second side of the offence and go from there. That ain’t hard to do.”

McDowell-White had a near triple-double, with an incredible 19-point, nine-rebound, nine-assist effort in Game 1, but managed just seven points on two-of-eight shooting in the return fixture.

“Right your wrongs, watch the film, let’s be better,” Williams said, when quizzed on how the Breakers can bounce back.

“'Look at how bad we were' … throwing the ball out bounds, not even catching the ball. These were pre-season type of turnovers they were having.

“You think we’re going to see that team on Friday? Did we all think we were going to see the Sydney Kings we saw Friday on Sunday? ‘Game 3, we are going to adjust and we’re going to be better’.”

Fellow panellist Cam Luke pointed to New Zealand’s slow starts, after it conceded 21 points, scoring just nine at home on Sunday.

“I have a slight concern in New Zealand’s ability in first quarters in massive games,” Luke said.

“Against Tasmania they got away with it … Game 3 they’re rolling on in, they got belted in Game 2, Tassie came ready to play – Brown Jr. came off the bench and changed the game. They ended up getting into the Championship Series.

“Sydney are better than Tassie, that’s quite obvious.

“The very fact is you can’t have slow starts on your home floor to dig yourself out of holes, when you’ve got championships at your reckoning.

“While they got themselves into it, the energy they had to use essentially meant they couldn’t handle what Sydney had for them after half-time.

“Regardless of what happens on Friday in Sydney, they can’t come out sluggish at home on Sunday in front of their adoring crowd.”

Game 3 of the Championship Series in Sydney tips-off on Friday at 7:30pm AEDT. Watch the game live and free on ESPN via Kayo Freebies, and SkySport and Prime in New Zealand.