Basketball: Slow-starting New Zealand Breakers hoping to get on a roll

Scotty Hopson of the New Zealand Breakers. Photo / Photosport

Although the New Zealand Breakers' winless start to the Australian National Basketball League season is far from ideal, it could yet be a sign of things to come in their 2019/20 campaign.

For the first time since 2008, the Breakers have kicked off their ANBL campaign with back-to-back losses.

In 2008, they qualified for the playoffs for the first time in franchise history.

It's been a rocky start for the club, who drew the competition favourites the Sydney Kings in their first two games. However, with LaMelo Ball and the Illawarra Hawks in Auckland tonight, director of basketball Dan Shamir said his side was looking ahead, not backwards.

"We could have played better against the Kings," Shamir said. "Hopefully when we meet them later this season we will show that, but those games are gone. We're not going to win those games anymore.

"There is always the next game to grow, and show that you're better, and this is where my head is at and what we're hoping to do [against Illawarra]."

Spark Arena is expected to be full for the much-anticipated showdown between future NBA stars RJ Hampton and Ball, with at least 8000 likely to attend.

Ball, whose older brother Lonzo plays for the New Orleans Pelicans in the NBA, has seen a heavy minute allotment in the opening rounds — averaging about 32 per game. Hampton has been used more sparingly, with the Breakers point guard capped around 20 minutes per outing.

Hampton, projected as a top 10 pick in next year's NBA draft, is the star of the Breakers this year. But while Shamir wants to give him gametime and help him develop, he is also taking into account what is best for the team and their chances to win games.

"Sometimes it has to do with how the game develops and some of it is planned. Overall for our players, for our rotation, for a player like RJ to play around 20 minutes, this is probably the number and I'm hoping we get the most out of every player in the minutes that they play."