NZ Breakers coach Mody Maor discusses his team's playoff chances with eight games left in the NBL season.
Video / NZ Breakers
New Zealand Breakers coach Mody Maor is realistic about the challenge his side faces if they are to play post-season basketball.
In their final eight games of the NBL season, Maor believes the Breakers need to win six of those to have a chance of earning a spot in the top six and move into the playoffs.
It’s a tall task for a team who have struggled to put back-to-back wins together this year outside of their four-game winning streak over the Christmas period which kept them in the playoff picture.
The NBL has been a tightly contested affair this season, with every team still having a genuine chance of featuring in the post-season, though the Breakers (ninth), Illawarra Hawks (seventh) and Perth Wildcats (second) have games in hand on the rest of the pack.
“The NBL season is so short, so compact, and if there’s one thing we can predict with some level of certainty at the end, it’s that every game will matter,” Maor said.
“In the last three seasons, it’s been up to a points differential between the teams that make the play-in and don’t. We’ve always had this approach, we’ve had this approach from day one, and this is the same approach we’re going to take into the next game.”
The New Zealand Breakers are sitting ninth on the ladder with an 8-12 record. Photo / Photosport
The Breakers will host the Southeast Melbourne Phoenix in Auckland on Saturday night, looking to make amends after being demolished by the Sydney Kings in their most recent outing. The Kings got off to a hot start in the game and ultimately beat the Breakers by 29 points.
Heading into the final stretch of their season, the Breakers only have four games against teams currently in the playoff spots and this week begin their first Auckland back-to-back of the season.
The Breakers have already met the Phoenix twice this season, dropping a 103-100 game in late October before losing 90-79 in early December.
Both fixtures were away and in the second game of a back-to-back, so Maor hoped his side would be able to show what they’re capable of this time in their bid to edge closer to the top six. The Phoenix also come into the match without the services of star big man Alan Williams, with the league leader in rebounding set to have his season ended by a knee injury which will require surgery.
“Play-in and playoffs are two games away from us. This is a testament to everyone in this building really caring about everything and that allowing them to overcome the challenges they’ve been faced with,” Maor said.
“That being said, the game against Sydney was not a good game for us. We never want to look like that when we step on the floor. It doesn’t matter what the extenuating circumstances are; we want to represent the Breakers and our fans in a different light. When we lose like this, it definitely [leads to] a few sleepless nights.”
