Basketball: 'We feel pretty good about life'

Andrej Lemanis expects the Breakers to face a spirited Tigers tonight at the North Shore Events Centre. Photo / Getty Images

Life could hardly be much better for the Breakers.

Undefeated in five matches this year, the 15-3 league leaders require just three more wins to clinch an ANBL playoff spot - something they may well achieve with over six weeks and seven matches remaining in the regular season.

Barring a couple of niggles, most of which seem to be receding, the squad is fully fit. The team has been playing to packed houses, and the humidity levels that transformed the court surface at North Shore Events Centre into something on which you'd more likely see Torvill and Dean skating about have even abated. For now.

The state of the NSEC court surface on muggy nights remains a long-term concern, but one for which the Breakers have no simple solutions.

"At the end of the day it is not something we can worry about," coach Andrej Lemanis said.

Such is their position of strength atop the ladder that thoughts at the Breakers have even turned to the logistics of hosting playoff matches, with general manager Richard Clarke ruling out a potential switch to the larger Vector Arena due to the inability to pre-book dates combined with a massive increase in hosting costs.

Tonight's opponent, the Melbourne Tigers, aren't likely to be troubled by too many post-season concerns.

Once a league powerhouse, the Tigers have endured a dreadful season. They sit second-bottom with a 7-12 record. Last week they sacked coach Al Westover and import Eric Devendorf. Centre Luke Nevill has also left the club, taking up a contract in Russia.

Westover's assistant Darryl McDonald has taken over the head-coaching reins, while development players Yusuf Qaafow and Moses Adepoju have been promoted to plug the gaps created by the loss of Devendorf and Nevill.

"We're heading to a scouting meeting right now so hopefully my assistants are on to that," Lemanis said when asked what he knew about Qaafow and Adepoju.

Although the changes hurt the once mammoth Tigers in terms of size, experience and scoring potency, they should be quicker and much-improved defensively.

That new formula worked against the free-falling Hawks, with the Tigers posting a 93-72 victory in their last outing.

"They are going to come in with confidence after their win," Lemanis said. "Change sometimes inspires a new energy and lease of life in a team. And they are quicker now with those guys gone. They are quicker up and down the floor, which means they can get more points in transition, easy baskets. That is always difficult to defend.

"They'll come in, I'm sure, feeling good about life, but we feel pretty good about life as well."