Basketball: Bruton on ice after form goes off boil

CJ Bruton (left) says tendinitis in his knees has begun to affect his shooting technique. Photo / Sarah Ivey

CJ Bruton has had some cold spells in his career - but never this cold. Things have got so bad for the veteran Australian guard that for the first time in his career he is subjecting himself to ice baths.

When he joined the Breakers four years ago his services came with a firm no ice baths policy. But now, desperately needing his shooting stroke to heat up, he has relented and decided to take the chilly plunge in an attempt to cool the fire in his tendinitis-ravaged knees.

"I got in an ice bath for the first time since I have been in NZ," Bruton said. "I have never done that. I said to Drej [coach Andrej Lemanis] when I got here, 'I don't do ice baths', so to see me get in an ice bath tells you something."

He needs it, all right. Heading into tonight's encounter against Townsville at Vector Arena - a match that has taken on increased significance following the champions' two-match swoon - Bruton is coming off one of the worst outings of his storied career. He went 0-9 from the field in Sunday's defeat in Cairns and was called for a contentious, costly charging foul in the closing seconds.

It wasn't a one-off. Worryingly, given his status as a 10-point player under the salary cap, Bruton has struggled mightily all season. A career 43 per cent shooter, his success rate has dived to a subterranean 28.8 per cent this season. Sunday's match was his second scoreless outing of the campaign, while even his most productive night - a 21-point effort on 8/19 shooting against Sydney at Vector - he describes as "terrible".

His problems, he says, all stem back to those increasingly dicky 35-year-old knees.

"If you can't bend down you can't get in a stance to be able to shoot a ball," he said. "I try to sugar coat it as much as I can but when you walk and run you need to be able to bend. Right now my timing is a little off."

While he plans to have scans to check for any other issues, he has been told rest is the only cure for his tendinitis. With a hectic schedule coming over the holiday period, he insists he won't take a large chunk of time off. Instead he sits out of training with ice packs strapped to his knees and hopes for the best on game day.

"Obviously looking after my knees right now is where it's at," he said. "If I can squat, I feel like I will be in good stead to be able to move and help this team."

Until then, he is resigned to taking a lesser role in the side.

"My drive for the game is still there," he said. "Right now I need to be smart. If I can help the team I will but I don't want to hurt the team."

Coach Andrej Lemanis insists he retains full faith in a player whose role has become even more crucial following the departure of Kirk Penney.

"CJ is a veteran - he can rock up after not playing for a month and still have an impact on the game," Lemanis said.

While Lemanis will likely be pondering hows and whens of going to his go-to guy, two straight losses have erased any wiggle room. A third defeat on the bounce tonight would start to look less like a blip and more like a significant problem.

ON THE COURT

Breakers v Crocodiles

Vector Arena, tonight 7.30.