With the victory, the Breakers remain ninth in the 10-team league with a 5-9 record. With 14 games remaining, the challenge for the Breakers now is to reproduce that level of performance on a consistent basis.
Throughout the season, the side have shown glimpses of their potential in patches, though those have been mixed in with some pretty ordinary stretches and as a result, they have let some games slip from their grasp.
Maor admitted as much when speaking after the win over Cairns on Friday night but said the record didn’t reflect the work the team was putting in behind the scenes.
“We’ve been definitely dropping games, and a lot of it was because for big stretches we haven’t been playing the way we need to play as a team on offence and defence,” Maor said.
“With it were stretches of fantastic basketball, also in the losses, and if you were in our practices over the last three weeks, you would have no idea what our record is. If you were in our locker room before this game, you would have no idea what our record is. These guys are doing the work every day, grinding it out, trying to get better and it was due for it to click.
“If we need more motivation to win the next game then we’re in the wrong business. All you need to do is look at the table. We know exactly what we can do and we know exactly what it takes. I don’t think complacency is something we’re going to need to fight.”
The Breakers could get a big lift in their hopes of turning their season around soon, with star import Zylan Cheatham nearing a return. Cheatham hasn’t played since suffering a fractured foot during a game on October 27, but he was back warming up with the team ahead of Friday night’s game.
In just four appearances this season, Cheatham is averaging 19 points and five rebounds per game, shooting at 60 per cent from three-point range and leading the competition in free throws per game.
His return would add another scorer who can shoot the ball and create his own looks, which would give opposing defences plenty to worry about alongside fellow Americans Anthony Lamb and Parker Jackson-Cartwright.
“There’s a process of getting back from a long injury,” Maor said. “It’s really important for me that he is around the team. We missed Z in a lot of ways - basketball, but also his leadership. Him being around the team is huge and it’s a big part of him getting incorporated and hitting the ground running. If you watched the warm-up, you can see he’s getting back to his old self physically. [He’s] getting closer.”
Christopher Reive joined the Herald sports team in 2017, bringing the same versatility to his coverage as he does to his sports viewing habits.
