KEY POINTS:
CJ Bruton will travel with the battered and bruised Breakers on a three game road trip that starts tonight against Melbourne Tigers, but how much court time the star point guard will receive is unknown.
Bruton pulled out of Thursday night's defeat after suffering back spasms in the
warm-up. His condition had improved yesterday but he was "not 100 per cent" when he boarded the plane to Melbourne, coach Andrej Lemanis said.
Bruton is not the only injury worry for the Breakers as they prepare to face fellow play-off contenders the Tigers, Taipans and Crocodiles in the space of seven days.
Star shooting guard Kirk Penney has been carrying an ankle injury that limits his lateral movement on defence, while Oscar Forman has a knee contusion, Dylan Boucher a hamstring twinge and Paul Henare severe blisters on both feet.
There is some good news, though, with veteran guard Phill Jones to return from his one-game suspension for striking Perth's Shawn Redhage.
Jones' suspension probably wouldn't have been fatal against the lowly 36ers (4-5) on Thursday but, coupled with Bruton's late withdrawal, the absence of his offensive presence was a crucial factor in the Breakers' third defeat of the season. They mustered just 86 points in the defeat, their lowest tally of the season and just the second time they have scored under 100 all season.
"It is not a time to hang our heads, that's for sure," Lemanis said.
Their strong start to the season meant the Breakers could afford to drop games without tumbling too far down the ladder.
"It is something that isn't going to kill us right now," he said of the mounting injury toll.
"Everyone goes through a time of the season when they get presented these challenges and I think the group will step up and make the adjustments," he said.
"And it is much better doing it when you are 7-3 than when you are 3-7. We have got a little bit of breathing space."
The Breakers got the better of the Tigers (6-3) on the North Shore in round two but they be will huge underdogs to repeat that result tonight against the title favourites. They are already 0-2 against the Taipans (5-5), who they face on Wednesday, but they did account for the Crocodiles (4-5) comfortably enough in Townsville last Saturday.
