KEY POINTS:
Slump arrested, the Breakers' next mission is to beat the in-form Melbourne Tigers in a home-and-away match-up on Thursday and Saturday, victories that could earn the side a coveted quarter-final bye.
With a spot in the playoffs all-but assured - they could lose their remaining seven games and most likely still scrape in - the urgency lies in the jockeying for positions.
The Breakers could finish third as easily as they could finish first or second - the problem being there is a world of difference between second and third.
The teams that finish first and second in the regular season have a huge advantage, avoiding a sudden-death quarter-final and getting home court advantage for the best-of-three semifinals.
If the Breakers can roll the Tigers home and away this week, they will have gone a long way towards nailing one of those two positions.
No teams outside the two Melbourne franchises and the Breakers have a realistic shot at the quarter-final bye.
The Breakers have a tough run in, with just one "soft" match in their final seven matches, a home game to ninth-placed and strife-riven Cairns.
Home games against the Tigers and Dragons are balanced, with away matches to the Tigers, 36ers, Hawks and Spirit. On their last road trip, the Hawks and Spirit both beat them in upsets.
The home straight to the end of the regular season has been made longer with the injury to floor general CJ Bruton. The Australian is struggling to get back to full fitness after straining his ankle and conceded eight turnovers against Townsville.
He is being used while still not at peak condition, largely to rest Paul Henare, which has thrown the Breakers off kilter. They were at their best when Bruton ran the show for the majority of the match, with Henare being used in short, high-impact bursts.
The opposition have been quick to recognise that the Breakers' equilibrium has been upset, with Sydney Spirit veteran Jason Smith blunt in his assessment following his team's surprise 86-85 win over the New Zealand franchise recently.
"These guys are pretty unsure about how they go about their business without CJ at the point and I think they're vulnerable now," Smith said.
Coach Andrej Lemanis admitted Bruton was still some way short of where he wanted to be.
"He's still working his way in... obviously he won't be pleased with the eight turnovers," Lemanis said in the wake of their morale-boosting victory over the Townsville Crocs. "He's got to find confidence again in the ankle. He gets frustrated when he can't push off and do the things he wants to do.
"As the team adjusts to his current role the better they will be."
For the sake of their post-season hopes, that adjustment can't take too long.
