Basketball: Injury-hit Breakers dig deep for Perth

Paul Henare. Photo / Sarah Ivey

All season, the Breakers have touted their depth as their greatest strength. Tonight they have a chance to prove just that against fierce rivals Perth Wildcats at the North Shore Events Centre.

The runaway ANBL leaders will be without key forward Dillon Boucher and bench guard Corey Webster as they chase a seventh-straight victory - and 17th in 20 matches this season.

Boucher's ability to lock down opposing forward Cameron Tragardh proved the decisive factor in Friday's hard-fought victory over the Melbourne Tigers.

However the gory head injury he suffered drawing a charge from Corey Williams in a frenetic final quarter of that match has ruled him out of tonight's contest.

Boucher's wound required eight stitches and, while tests cleared the him of concussion, he has been suffering headaches.

"At this stage I have come to the conclusion that I won't be playing on medical advice, much to my disappointment," he said.

"The final call is [today] but at this point it is more than likely I won't be stepping on court."

Coach Andrej Lemanis was more equivocal, saying Boucher would definitely not play tonight and would be retested on Friday ahead of the team's trip to the Gold Coast.

"It's more precautionary than anything else," Lemanis said.

BJ Anthony is expected to pick up the majority of Boucher's court time.

"It's a good opportunity for BJ, he's shown that he can carry those minutes," Lemanis said.

"He'll definitely get some more playing time, and obviously Tom [Abercrombie] can play in the four spot and Gary Wilkinson as well."

With Webster also out after suffering a back strain, development player Josh Bloxham will suit up.

The absence of Boucher and Webster would be felt but the Breakers had the depth to cover for them, veteran guard Paul Henare said.

"We all know what Dillon brings to the team, and Corey is a little bit of an X-factor for us," Henare said.

"He doesn't play a lot of minutes but when he does he always makes an impact."

The likes of himself, CJ Bruton and Kevin Braswell would pick up Boucher's leadership responsibilities, Henare said.

The Wildcats also have injuries worries, with 2.07m forward Matt Knight joining season-long casualty Shawn Redhage on the sidelines. Knight suffered a bruised calf in Saturday night's 105-73 humiliation at the hands of Wollongong.

That result snapped a nine-match Hawks losing streak, and also consigned the 13-9 Wildcats to a fourth loss in five matches since Redhage suffered a season-ending hip injury.

While the Wildcats have struggled to adjust to life without their garbage man and key scorer, they remain a likely post-season opponent for the playoff-bound Breakers.

"Redhage being out hurts them but they are a team that thrives off the energy of Damien Martin, Brad Robins and Kevin Lische - the little fellas who get in the engine room and go to work," Henare said.

"They are tough, physical guys who are very fit and get after you for 40 minutes.

"All year long we have been setting ourselves mini goals to keep ourselves focused and this game is no different. It is a chance to win a series against Perth, who I think are going to be there in the playoffs at the end of the season."

With their nearest rivals continuing to struggle, the coasting Breakers are closing on some significant marks. A win tonight would all but guarantee their playoff spot.

Two more wins will tie the club-high mark for a season. As it stands 21 wins - five more from their remaining nine matches - will clinch the minor premiership for the New Zealand club, although that number will likely decrease as Townsville, Perth and Cairns accrue losses.

The players hadn't got around to crunching those numbers, Henare said.

"All year long we haven't looked too far ahead of ourselves and to change that mindset now would go against what we are all about."