Preview: New Zealand v Sydney (Round 6)

Friday, November 4, 2022

It's an unexpected top-of-the-table clash as the reigning champion Kings visit the upstart Breakers at Spark Arena.

When: 2pm (AEDT), Sunday 6 November, 2022
Where: Spark Arena, Auckland
Broadcast: 10 Peach; 10 Play; ESPN; Kayo; Foxtel; Sky NZ
Live scores & stats

Who won the last time?

Sydney 76 (Adams 19, Vasiljevic 16, Cooks 12) d New Zealand 70 (Wetzell 22, Delany 18, Besson 16) – Round 19, NBL22 at Bendigo Basketball Stadium

The Breakers almost claimed a prized late scalp late in their road-bound NBL22 season, closing to within a basket in the third and fourth periods as Hugo Besson went to work outside, Yanni Wetzell did his thing inside and Finn Delany did a bit of both. However, the Kings held firm in the final term thanks to five late points from Jaylen Adams.

What happened last game?

New Zealand made sure it didn’t come down to the stretch when they hosted Tassie in Round 5, a remarkable 44-10 run in 12 minutes bridging three-quarter-time turning a wrestling bout into a rout. That burst capped a statement round for NZ, going 2-0 with a combined winning margin of 61 points. It was a much closer shave for the Kings, trailing Cairns by 11 in the third, then coughing up a six-point lead late in the fourth before former Taipan Kouat Noi hit a match-winning triple off a savvy Shaun Bruce feed.

What’s working?

Attacking the rim – You could almost tattoo this into ‘What’s working’ for Sydney, so vital is it to their game style. They were +16 on points in the paint in the three-point win over Cairns, with +10 of that in the game-changing 24-8 run in six minutes surrounding the final break. The Kings were 7/9 on paint attempts to the Snakes’ 2/3 in that burst. Over the other 34 minutes, Sydney had just 16 paint makes at 47 per cent and were well beaten, 95-82.

Denying ball movement – During the Breakers’ 44-10 second-half run, their defence restricted the JackJumpers to an average of just 2.7 passes per half-court set as they bodied up cutters, switched proactively and jumped out into passing lanes. The result was Tasmania forcing penetration and shooting 2/16 while committing six turnovers in 12 minutes. Can New Zealand be as aggressive against the longer and more athletic Kings?

What needs stopping?

Barry Brown – What changed New Zealand from a slog team that grinded out low-scoring wins to a two-way powerhouse running up 191 points last round? Barry Brown. The long-stepping American scored 46 points against Adelaide and Tasmania, with no surprise about his 10/13 finishing inside. However, his 7/13 return from the arc – after shooting 4/24 in his opening three games – sent warning bells around the competition. This Brown is a scoring machine, and we’ll get to see just how good as he goes head-to-head with Justin Simon on Sunday.

Xavier Cooks – The Cookie monster toyed with a triple-double last round, finishing with 18 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists, and has averaged 10.3 boards and 6.5 dimes the past four outings, his ability to board and create crucial to Sydney’s running game. Jarell Brantley has been Mr Versatile so far for NZ, averaging 16.5ppg, 8.5rpg, 2.5spg and 2.0apg in the past two games while playing outstanding D, but he’s also had three or more fouls in six of his eight games, and his ability to defend on the move will be sternly tested by Cooks.

Who’s matching up?

Dererk Pardon v Tim Soares – What did Pardon deliver in his 25:28 on the floor against Tassie? How about 15 points at 50 per cent, 14 rebounds and a game-high +30? Sydney’s bigs love to wall up on penetration – Soares is second in the NBL in blocks and Jordy Hunter fifth – but with Pardon second in the league with 3.5 o-boards per game and a hunger for the Spalding, they’ll need to be mindful of over-helping on Barry Brown’s drives.

Izayah Le’afa & Rayan Rupert v Derrick Walton – Tyler Harvey, 12 points on 5/15 shooting. Shannon Scott, six points on 3/7. Josh Magette seven points on 2/9. Only Xavier Rathan-Mayes and Gary Browne have gotten away from Breakers’ ballhawks, but Walton will look to add to that list. He’ll go hard at New Zealand’s undersized interior – which leaked 70 per cent shooting to South East Melbourne and will be without Rob Loe on Sunday – the Kings’ playmaker averaging 25.3ppg when he takes nine or more two-point attempts.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Hustlin' hard out there!<br><br>Watch it live on <a href="https://twitter.com/ESPNAusNZ?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ESPNAusNZ</a> via <a href="https://twitter.com/kayosports?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@kayosports</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/Foxtel?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Foxtel</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WeTheKings?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#WeTheKings</a> <a href="https://t.co/TGcIkNvylP">pic.twitter.com/TGcIkNvylP</a></p>— Sydney Kings (@SydneyKings) <a href="https://twitter.com/SydneyKings/status/1586293612941541376?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 29, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Who’s saying what?

The New Zealand Breakers are loving being the hunters, as their grappling brand of basketball tears down offences all around the league.

Coach Mody Maor isn’t buying into the talk that their ladder-leading position changes anything heading into Sunday’s blockbuster clash with Sydney.

“I don’t think there’s a target on our backs,” he said.

“I think everybody underestimates us anyway, and I like it that way. We’re playing the champs, the target is on their back.”

Funnily enough, the Kings are enjoying being the hunted.

“It’s fun, I think we’ve felt that going into each and every game, if we’re off our game in the slightest, we’ll get beaten because everybody else is on their A game when they come play us,” coach Chase Buford said.

“We’ve been off our game a couple times and not gotten away with it.”

They haven't been off their game on the road though, winning their first four away games this season to make it a record-making 14 straight.

One place they haven't triumphed in, however, is Spark Arena, which has provided an imposing atmosphere the first two games back.

“It'll be a good test for us as it's one versus two, but it will also be a lot of fun,” DJ Vasiljevic said.

“I've never been to New Zealand and am looking forward to experiencing their country and that Spark Arena home atmosphere.”

The Kings’ shooting guard knows New Zealand have been wearing opponents down in JackJumper-like fashion, but he is confident the fight they showed in their comeback win over Cairns, with great contributions from the bench, holds them in good stead.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Putting in ??????<br><br>Watch it live on <a href="https://twitter.com/ESPNAusNZ?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ESPNAusNZ</a> via <a href="https://twitter.com/kayosports?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@kayosports</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/Foxtel?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Foxtel</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WeTheKings?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#WeTheKings</a> <a href="https://t.co/Px4ID65IWy">pic.twitter.com/Px4ID65IWy</a></p>— Sydney Kings (@SydneyKings) <a href="https://twitter.com/SydneyKings/status/1586296349389213697?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 29, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

“We just kept fighting and fighting and never gave up, especially defensively,” Vasiljevic said.

“A big part of that was also our depth and the fact we like playing with one another. We're all having fun on the court, which has always been a massive thing for me.”

The Breakers are getting 29.1ppg from their reserves, up from just 22.5 last season, and they add another handy contributor to that crew with captain Tom Abercrombie’s return from eye injury.

“We get deeper. Tom’s a first-team all-defence NBL guy,” coach Maor said.

“We’re very far from satisfied, and this group knows this. Our expectations for ourselves are high, and with high expectations come high demands.”

Those demands start with trying to slow mercurial point guard Derrick Walton, but Jarrell Brantley knows precocious French Next Star Rayan Rupert will be up for that challenge.

“He sees no fear, and I think that’s everything you need in that type of league, in every league. He’s special for sure,” Brantley said.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Following in the footsteps of Ousmane & RJ!! ?<br><br>Check out some of our next-up star Rayan Ruperts highlights over the last two games! <br><br>Catch him live this Sunday, tickets available now: <a href="https://t.co/Lczt2bZw2y">https://t.co/Lczt2bZw2y</a><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/UNBREAKABLE?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#UNBREAKABLE</a> <a href="https://t.co/cakMc1rgzI">pic.twitter.com/cakMc1rgzI</a></p>— Sky Sport New Zealand Breakers (@NZBreakers) <a href="https://twitter.com/NZBreakers/status/1587206733948420097?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 31, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Perhaps even more testing is point forward Xavier Cooks, who has taken it to a new level after his extraordinary but underrated NBL22 season.

“He’s just doing what he does,” former King Tom Vodanovich told NZ Stuff media.

“He’s a guy who can put up big numbers every night. We’re going to have to come in and play good defence and hopefully we can slow him down a little bit.”

While that will be a stern challenge for Brantley, Vodanovich and Co, the Breakers have been defending as a cohesive unit, and that breeds confidence.

“The guys are behind you yelling, and you know where the support is,” Vodanovich said.

The challenge for Sydney is to play their up-tempo style through New Zealand’s defensive physicality, but coach Buford feels the win over Cairns prepared them well.

“There was about 500 collisions tonight but only 50 foul calls. It was one of the most of the most physical games I've seen for a 200-point NBL game in terms of free-flowing scoring. They called 50, they could have called 150 with all the grabbing and holding,” he said.

“(New Zealand) are an aggressive defence, they like to get up and into you and claw, the same way Cairns does, so we’ll have be stronger with the ball, more mentally strong playing through the grabbing and holding.

“More than anything, they're a contrasting style to us in that they're going to slow it down and plot their way through the game and try to keep it to low possessions, where obviously we’re the complete opposite of that, it will be an interesting clash of styles.”