Breakers depend on depth

The New Zealand Breakers will rely on their much-highlighted depth as they chase a first Australian National Basketball League (ANBL) title.
While Kirk Penney might be the standout in a franchise that places plenty of store on the team ethic, the ace shooter himself believes it will need more than a couple of top individual performances to win the championship.
"We have to go to our strengths, go to what has been working and it's our depth, like we've said all year," he said.
"From one through 10, we have guys who can play. One, two, three guys can't win this championship. It's everyone, all 10 guys stepping up to the plate."
The Breakers' best-of-three semifinal against defending titleholders Perth begins in Auckland tonight.
The second game is in Perth on Sunday, and the teams will make the long trek back to Auckland for a decider, if needed, next Wednesday.
The other semifinal is a North Queensland derby between Townsville and Cairns.
The Breakers' 22-6 record made them top qualifiers for the playoffs, which means they will also get home advantage if they make the best-of-three final.
Having confirmed themselves as minor premiers with four matches of the regular season to go, they were able to give their bench players more court time in the closing rounds.
Centre Alex Pledger got extended minutes in the wins against Adelaide and Melbourne in the last two fixtures, chiming in with two double-doubles, 12 and 16 points respectively, and 10 rebounds both times.
Young guard Corey Webster also saw a fair share of action against the Tigers.
"It's really good for them to get time," Penney said.
"Everyone is really buying into this now.
"The bench was loud in Melbourne. It was awesome.
"The players on court were working really hard and it's exciting we're all involved in this."
The Breakers took out their season series with the Wildcats 2-1, with two close wins in Auckland sandwiching a 114-74 loss in Western Australia in mid-November.
Penney missed that defeat because he was at his brother's wedding in Italy.
Matches between the Breakers and Perth are traditionally physical affairs and Penney was expecting nothing different.
He said the Breakers would have to counter the Wildcats on the boards, an area the visitors dominated before going down 82-79 in Auckland when the sides last met in February.
"In offensive rebounding they did a great job against us at home in the last game," Penney said.
"They will push and shove and hold and do whatever they have to do to win. They're a very scrappy team and a very well-coached team."
Of particular interest will be the match-up in the guard rotations of Penney, CJ Bruton and Kevin Braswell against Damien Martin, Kevin Lisch and Brad Robbins.
Braswell was this week named the ANBL's best sixth man, or top substitute, while Martin beat Breaker Mika Vukona to the accolade of best defender.
Coach Andrej Lemanis agreed the Breakers were in for a rugged battle against the Wildcats.
"That's how they play, that's how they've played all year and we don't mind mixing it up as well," he said.
"Obviously, the way the referees choose to let the game flow will have a bit of an influence on what happens - but, absolutely, we expect them to be very physical, as they always are."NZPA