Basketball: Breakers refuse to take Adelaide lightly

CJ Bruton. Photo / Getty Images

Everything points to a routine victory but the Breakers insist complacency will not be an issue as they take on the lowly Adelaide 36ers on the North Shore tonight.

The 6-9 36ers are the only team yet to post a road win this season, having lost all five trips away from The Dome.

The Breakers, by contrast, are 5-1 at home, with the round six slip-up against Wollongong the only blot on their copybook.

The Kiwi side are also riding a five-game winning streak against the 36ers, including two tough road wins in Adelaide this season.

While the 36ers have chopped and changed imports in search of the right formula, the Breakers have very much stuck to theirs. And while the Breakers have dealt with the odd annoying niggle, Adelaide's injury woes have bitten deep. Darren Ng, Rhys Carter and Nathan Herbert are all sidelined.

It might shape as a mismatch, but the Breakers are not taking anything for granted.

"The group is wise enough and old enough, we have enough old heads who have won [championships], not to get complacent," coach Andrej Lemanis said. "Our practises are unbelievably competitive. Everybody is focused."

For an example of what can happen if a team goes off the boil, the table-topping Breakers need look no further than the free-falling Hawks. The Wollongong club set the pace over the first two months of the season but have dropped out of the play-off picture after five straight defeats.

The Breakers suffered a similar fate last season and with Cairns, Perth and Townsville still snapping at their heels, are still a long way short of securing their playoff spot.

"It is a tough league," Lemanis said. "Every game you come out and it is a war. It is tough to win. So far we have been able to do a good job getting over the hump and have put ourselves in a good position."

CJ Bruton is the latest Breaker to feel the effects of a bruising campaign. The veteran guard has a right elbow injury that is affecting most aspects of his game.

He has received intensive treatment but may opt for a cortisone shot if the pain doesn't subside over the next two weeks.

The injury has particularly affected his shooting range, limiting him mainly to mid-range shots, although he chipped in 13 points in last week's victory over the Taipans, including a clutch three-pointer.

"When I'm open I still have to take those shots," he said. "If you are going to back off me I can still make it."

Imports Gary Wilkinson and Kevin Braswell have both played through injuries recently but Lemanis said he was not looking for opportunities to spell key players to keep them fresh for the post season.

"You come out and you play each game on its merits and try to win it," he said. "We've got to continue to get better leading into the playoffs. What we do is be smart with the way we manage [injured players] through the week."

Tom Abercrombie will continue to start in his place for the foreseeable future but the 35-year-old Bruton was relaxed about the prospect of losing his long-term grip on a starting spot.

"I'm not here for myself, I'm here to win the championship."

Bruton already has three championships to his name but he wouldn't be drawn on whether it felt like he was heading for a fourth.

"I don't know. Each year you have a point where you think it is going to be that way. We are just building towards it."

The team was still taking baby steps and was in no danger of peaking too early, he said.

"Definitely not. There is a lot of work to be done. We haven't hit our straps as a team."

BREAKERS V ADELAIDE
North Shore Events Centre, 7.30 tonight