Basketball: Lesson learnt from hiding

The defending champions will be hoping to set things right against the Kings in Sydney this afternoon. Photo / Photosport.NZ

Charge up table hid Breakers' lack of an all-round game but coach vows to have all guns blazing from now on.

The 24-point thumping was a definite nadir but the warning signs were apparent long before Breakers suffered their heaviest defeat of the season.

The defending champions will be hoping to show they have heeded those warnings when they clash with the Kings in Sydney this afternoon, a week after being embarrassed on their home court by the Hawks.

That loss snapped a three-game unbeaten streak but, while it may have helped the Breakers charge up the Australian NBL standings, coach Dean Vickerman revealed the winning run obscured deficiencies.

The Breakers, Vickerman believed, were emerging triumphant courtesy of impressive patches rather than all-round performances. Wins over Townsville and Sydney appeared comfortable on paper but the Kiwi club were fortunate, he said.

So when Kirk Penney orchestrated a destruction of his former side at Vector Arena last weekend, that fortune ended in emphatic fashion. And, ahead of their two-game festive road trip, it may have done the Breakers a favour, elucidating a few minor issues that added up to a major setback.

"If we had lost by a couple or won by a couple in that one, it might have hidden some things," Vickerman said. "In the last couple of games, in our own reviews we haven't really rated the performance that highly. We thought we won games in small patches where we performed well. We were a four or five [against Illawarra] - that's the way we came out and played."

Making that figure much healthier will be the goal in Sydney, a target that can be attained through improvements in a few avenues. One is obvious - the Breakers continue to turn over the ball far too often and lead the league with 14.2 a game. Another is more surprising - despite being the best rebounding team in the competition, Vickerman feels his side have recently slackened off in what's normally an area of strength.

And a third is the catch-all of energy and effort, two factors always in abundance in champion sides but ones that were seriously lacking against Illawarra.

"There was a definite level of desperation that needed to change - we tried to really pinpoint that this week," Vickerman said. "When we're good we're beating teams by 10 on the boards and getting those second opportunities.

"Sometimes it's about frustration and it's how you deal with it. I thought we let some of that effect our energy levels. Everyone's going to make some errors but we've just got to move on quickly to the next play, and that was a big focus."

As a vocal leader at both ends of the court and his team's chief ball-handler, the Breakers will be wanting to receive a greater contribution from Cedric Jackson after his ineffective outing against the Hawks. But the point guard will be far from alone in seeking a happier end to his 2015, with the champs following today's clash with a New Year's Eve encounter in Cairns.

"We've had a couple of little wake-up calls this year and responded well every time that happened," Vickerman said. "We'll go on this road trip with absolutely no excuses. We're pretty close to full health, everybody understands their role on the team right now and we'll be confident we can play well."