Basketball: Race for playoffs goes to the wire

By Peter Jessup

The National Basketball League could not have wanted for a better finish to the season, with every game in this weekend's last round having a bearing on qualifying for the final-four playoffs next weekend.

Leaders Auckland go to Waikato tonight for a match the third-placed Warriors have to win.

At the same time, North Harbour, also in the four-way tie for third, host second-placed Wellington. The other third-placed sides, Nelson and Canterbury, also have to win to stay alive. Nelson play Otago at home and Canterbury have Palmerston North away.

"If I was Auckland I'd think about letting us beat them," said Waikato coach Jeff Green.

That would mean another Waikato-Auckland game next weekend as one of the semis. Green said Auckland had done his side over in the three games they had played this year.

"In the back of their heads will be the fact they don't have to win, and they'll be wondering whether they want us or Canterbury in the semi, even if they don't admit it," Green said.

Both sides are injury free, Waikato for the first time in a while and, expecting a packed house at the Leisure Centre, will give Auckland a good run.

But Green admits Auckland's depth on the bench hurts every side.

"We can score plenty of points. But they can score plenty even with their second side and their defence is excellent, whereas it's been a weak point for us this season. We need to be at the top of our game," he said.

North Harbour should have the confidence from a first-round win in Wellington, the firepower of Kirk Penney outside and Dave Daniels inside, and the motivation, given that they will be out if they lose to the visiting Saints.

Tyrone Brown will play for Wellington after being censured but not suspended following a scuffle last weekend with Canterbury's Jason Kyle, who also escaped a ban.

Nelson have five Tall Blacks back as they host Otago, but even if they win points differential means they need to rely on other results to go through.

Coach Nenad Vucinic said he would buy his opposite Joe Frost a big steak and a lot of beers if Frost could get the Palmerston side up to beat Canterbury.

Should Canterbury lose that one, the league would face the embarrassing outcome of a finals weekend without the home team represented.

And the league yesterday announced that NBA star shooter Clyde Drexler will attend the playoffs in Christchurch next weekend and conduct training clinics there and in Auckland.

Drexler, who had 12 seasons with the Portland Trailblazers before going to Houston to win a title in 1995, was voted one of the 50 greatest players of all time when the NBA made that call on its 50th anniversary in 1996.