Surely Perth... But then again, Action Jackson... well, we know what he can do.. Reigning champs by early double figures

Ive lost count on how many times the Breakers have bluffed injuries. Corletto, CJ and Wilkinson all made miraculous recoveries to play big minutes in recent games.

The Wildcats also have injuries. Jervis rolled his ankle this week but should be OK to play limited minutes and Uu also did his ankle and is in doubt for the game.

Serious question:Do Perth fans actually rate U'u?

Statsheet : I think he is a decent player. He had a few break out games last year. He would be as good as most 9th and 10th players on a roster. Certainly has the potential to be a much better player in the future.

Abercrombie is listed as out:

Tom Abercrombie - Lower Abdominal Hernia - 1 to 2 Weeks

Yeah I think he's serviceable but nothing like he is built up to be on this forum

Wildcats by 13.

Unfortunately my memory of U'u just automatically tracks back to that 3 point attempt of his at PA from the baseline that went over and behind the backboard.

Hoping someone has video?

But in all seriousness I like his work ethic and his defence is very good (pressures the entire length of the court).

In terms of handling the ball as a PG - I am sure he has improved over the off-season. I think he has always been a SG so just learning the ropes of a PG has been an adjustment.

Hard for NZ to replace the likes of Abercrombie and Pledger. However, Perth will be without Daniels wont they?

I think Perth get this one comfortably given they are playing at home and have the familiarity of each other.

Tornado : Daniels will be playing. He played the last 3 pre season matches against United

Thanks Train....thought I read a while back that he was undergoing surgery and would miss the first couple of games but I must have been mistaken.

Wildcats have announced over 11,000 seats sold for the first game....level 4 being opened up tomorrow. Great start to the season.

Perth should get this at home.
Pledger will play I believe, just very limited minutes to see if he actually can play through the pain or if it's just worth shutting him down and getting him under the knife.

http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/sport/basketball/perth-wildcats-coach-trevor-gleeson-urges-star-deandre-daniels-to-have-fun-in-nbl-debut/story-fnii0apz-1227085421760

I think Pledger might play 10 minutes or less. This early in the season it dosnt make sense to play players with injuries.. you will only make them worse

How much can Tai Wynard play without jeopardising NCAA eligibility or isn't just as long as he trains & plays without contact or payment?

Pretty handy development player with Pledger injured although would be great to have a grown man protecting the rim, the 16yo aint half bad though and could play minutes behind Ibekwe & allow Wesley to play more PF behind Vukona.

U'u has his moments. He can be solid at times. As for this game the Damo V Jackson battle will be intense.

U'u best 10th man in the league

He's not the worst 10th man, but to me he doesn't clearly stand out over players like Demos, Bailey, Bruce and Djeric. I also wouldn't be surprised if Owen Odigie overtakes him before too long, and Tom Daly isn't that far behind either.

Demos isn't a 10th man. He has started at times and is a clear rotation player. Better to compare him with someone like Dom Cooks.

I don't think Perth in Perth is a gauge of any team, particularly R1. The Perth Arena is hostile and the Perth fans perhaps the nosiest in the land. Can I say the word feral without Isaac getting a request from some Perth Ambulance Chaser requesting an IP address? Perhaps better not use that word, I sure there are more appropriate words, with multiple syllables that Perth fans don't understand, to describe them ;)

Level 4 opened up so expect a massive crowd.

New Zealand undermanned and Wildcats looking to get off to a good start, Cedric's return might make this closer than most think but not enough for a Breakers victory.

Wildcats by 16

I don't know what you said, Jack, but I do know that I am instinctively angry about it.

Woo, lvl 4 open, dare I hope we press 13k?

Stop trolling Jack lol

Yes Jack....perhaps the word with more syllables you are looking for is Champions

Jack: Im a cats fan (im sitting at work in my jersey ready for the game tonight)

I have no problems with the word feral. I use it to describe us all the time. To me, "feral" is just the best way to describe the absolute passion, noise and just out-and-out impact the crowd has at perth home games. No other team has a crowd like it. If that makes us feral so be it, ill take it as a compliment :)

I was actually going to use the word fa - nat - ti - cal, but I know four syllable words might draw a blank expression from Pussycat Fans from FIFO land.

From the club website:
"So far, 12,220 tickets have been snapped up, with game day traditionally a big day for sales."

Atmosphere should be raucous tonight!

is this the TV game?

Jack : are u a 36ers supporter by any chance ;P

Vodka63....the team are champions, not the fans.

Will be a really interesting game either way.

NBL 2014/15 Round 1 Preview: New look Breakers face early test in Perth

Will those missing influence the result than those on court?

Abercrombie for mine is a big out. Looks to be a massive season opening crowd too- Perth did a great job marketing the game in the lead up.

Just checked on Ticketmaster:
Gold is down to single-seats.
Silver is down to single-seats.
Bronze you can get at most two seats together.
Nickel still has a bit to get through on those tier 4 seats, but those are the $20 seats, so I bet they'll keep selling fast.

Love Boti's "Guam Invitational" call for the Wildcats Vs Breakers games this season.

Is Boti seriously still flogging that dead horse.

Wildcats by 10+ should still be an exciting game to watch though!
Crowd looks great!

Wow! WEBSTER nice move

Daniels looking tentative, Breakers D looking really good!

Not sure if Rhys Carter or Chris Paul. Geez.

Love watching Rhys Carter play...especially when he is in this frame of mind!!

Ebekwe!!!!

Great defense by the Breakers...on the coverage side of things, not minding the TV coverage so far! Not sure what it is but it just seems...sharper..

Few points:

1. Ernest Ross has the build of a loose forward rugby player

2. Perth don't know what they are doing on offense..it was the same last year. The ball goes to a player and just stops whilst they look for a pass. Theres no structure or movement.

3. NZ Breakers are legit contenders - only took a half to confirm that. Exceptionally deep and balanced as ever.

4. Every team is going to play zone against Perth and it will work very well. Perth may well be the worse shooting team in the league.

5. Daniels is having a very average half. Way way too early to pass judgment onhis future but once again confirms that our league and the standard of defense is above and beyond what the international community believes.

And the Redhage flopping rears its ugly head. Gets an USF.

Cedric Jackson has not missed a beat...just...WOW!

No one can stop Cedric, man he is quick.

Daniels showing some life!

Redhage another flop.

Stop buying it refs!!

That lady Mel is a pretty good interviewer. She seems confident unlike when Ronaldson was interviewing the players..that was cringe.

Was writing while I was watching...big win by the Breakers!

http://tbldaily.com/breakers-hold-wildcats/

Why do Perth need 4 Assistants and what are they writing down considering the technology available.Gleeson focus on the game not the refs...you got smashed 22-11 on the boards in the first half and Jervis sat there twiddling his thumbs.Ross is like a Mack truck!!!

Seasons greetings all!

Man, life is good!

Massive win by the Breakers.

Welcome back Cedric, glad to have to you back bud.

Hawks made it through also, only downer for the night was my team, the Sixers.

This season is going to be crazy.

Coverage here in Sydney blows though. Can't wait to move back to a real basketball city!

Bought the NBLTV susbscription, have to stream this year after last seasons coverage debacle.

I know this has been a well hashed issue, but still, what is going on with the coverage of basketball in Oz? It is appaling. /rant.

Just back from the game Cedric a class above - really wonderful player.

Very impressed with Ibekwe.

Te Rangi was so also just so cool under pressure.

Well beaten by the better team, and yes I've had some of that arrogance kicked out of me tonight.

Breakers look pretty sharp so far, great win for them. Cats were just ugly in the first half, did enough in the second half for me to think they will still be a force this year. Daniels showed glimpses of greatness. Cedric.....man he is just all class.

The refs have no idea what a travel is. Daniels travelled on 3 of his second half scores.

Perth's offense looked bad. Havent seen much or Ross yet but it looks as though they dont have enough penetration. Daniels only made a couple of scores off penetration, the first was a travel and the second was a travel and was against Bailey (cant recall who the first was against). Not having enough guys who can put the ball on the floor at an elite level is a problem. Nottotally insurmountable, given they can space the floor and they have 4 men like Redhage and Wagstaff who can shoot, but it will be interesting.

Oh and I'm not sold on Gleeson as a coach either. Last year the Cats clearly had the best roster in the league, so all they did was win what was rightfully theres. Now that the rest of the league has caught up a little in the talent department, the real test comes.

Perth's offence was bad last year but it never really caught up with them. This year's different I reckon

Sigh, that wasn't great.

Well done to New Zealand, huge bit of work for your boys. Jackson was definitely amazing, especially in the first half.

Nice bit of revenge for the first game of 12/13, I guess!

Final 5 seconds of 3rd quarter though, hoo. Play of the year already sorted out there.

The shooting stats from Beal, Martin and Knight were pretty damn grisly. A combined 3/26. Given that's 3 of the starting 5...

Lot of passengers, can't help but feel we needed more pre-season games.

Good to see Daniels get his bearings in the second half though.

I'm replaying this game right now. Oh boy, this is going to be a great season. Real excited by the opening games so far.

i think a lot of people forgot how good Cedric Jackson is at both ends of the floor.
Great win for NZ to start the season but it's only one game and they'll need to keep improving because Perth will.

Ibekwe was pretty solid apart from picking up a few needless fouls but the effort was there and that sweet 2 handed dunk off the sweet Rhys Carter inbounds pass was awesome.
Rhys Carter had a great game with Cory Webster leaving the game with a back injury. Shot the ball very well but it was his passing game that impressed me the most.
As NZ's 10th man/worst player I thought Duane Bailey stepped up in Abercrombies absence and played a good game behind TeRangi who's performance wasn't to shabby either. Both guys showing their outside shooting and not getting too badly burnt at the other end.
Alex Pledger didn't look bad considering his injury but def looked like he hadn't played much in a while but will be badly needed especially given Ibekwe picks up fouls like Mika Vukona.
Perths new import looked a whole lot better in the second half, he'll find his feet shortly and will be one of the leagues better players.

Was a great game - Breakers stunned the home fans early, but that 5 point play to close out the third stirred the #RedArmy.

Some great highlights - let's hope the NBL can package them up and use them to promote the game!

Recap: http://pickandroll.com.au/nbl-201415-round-1-jackson-breakers-stun-wildcats-perth/

Maybe the 4 Assistants write things down to justify there existance...Great story on Melbourne City in the Age yesterday.They invest there money in facilities and technology.Maybe thats where the money could be better spent.

Breakers - You can see the difference between last year and this year. Jackson and that extra depth inside are the difference. Carter played really well and Te Rangi was solid on D vs Daniels. When Ibekwe got in foul trouble they could just bring on Pledger or Wesley.

Perth - Couldn't buy a basket. Thought they just went 1 on 1 too much. They should've given it to Knight more as well.

That's a win for the ages for NZ, a real statement without Abercrombie and then Webster, who are prob their two most dangerous scorers.

If this team clicks around Jackson this season they are going to be mighty hard to stop. An MVP import, four international level starters, some excellent role players and what looks like a superb defensive culture.

Of course, it's just one game!!

Yup just one game, something for them to build on. Thought the defense was pretty solid apart from a couple of wide open looks Beal got from the perimeter.

Credit where it is due was a great win by nz.

Very disappointed with the performance of the cars. They just don't seem to have any chemistry. I do think they will be better moving forward.
Said this last year, probably on cats facebook, Gleeson is not the best coach and now adding that Muppet woolpert I think its going to come down to how the coaches make adjustments not the players.
This is townsvilles former coaching unit with 2 others.
I would love to stand corrected but their offense stinks and as said above they will be found out.
Cedric is class.
Great work to breakers.

Why do Perth have four assistants? Lol

Any else think Daniels moved really slowly on defence and didn't switch on screens multiple times resulting in open shots.......and that air ball.

Perth's offense is soo stagnant.

Theres no movement, structure or strategy.

NZ will play uptempo this year and that will cause some teams problems.

Professionalism is one thing. Overkill is another.

I heard last year that Perth actually only made a small profit..because their.costs are so high.

Why not cull 2 coaches and put their salary into an academy program.

I migt be a little bias but i think the Breakera have it sorted in terms of professionalism..they have their own training facility and their aasistant coaches also run the academy program and $ gets put into it..their training facility is perfect size without going overboard.

If players want to pray how hard is it to stop by a church on the way.

Perth haven't developed any players hence the lack of local WA talent apart from Hire. Yes they have built a core over the past 5 years but I think for spots 9/10 they should go to locals for example is it really worth bringing in U'u from the USA instead of say a SBL kid whose from Perth?
They should have an academy instead of 4 assistants and just have one of the 2/3 assistants do it like Flavell with the Breakers or don't have so many people travel on the road.

Webster, Abercrombie, Pledger, Vukona, Bailey, TeRangi all came through the Breakers Academy/Development Player program along with Rob Loe, Isaac Fotu, Tai Webster, Jack Salt and now Tai Wynard.

26 points in the 1st half *shudder*

Winning the 3rd Qtr 31-17 was promising, but only one team came to play in that 1st half. Really disappointing.

Actually the 4th quarter was the worst - absolutely dismal. Error after error, turnover after turnover, miss after miss.

Wildcats made 3 shots from 18 attempts. Also made 1 offensive rebound - with 47 seconds left in the game.

With the game on the line - epic fail. The dud coach exposed - no plan, no structure, no idea.

Woolpert is only here for now the experience...he was here to cover Gleeson while at the World Cup and was offered a very small amount to stay for the season but won't travel. Seriously people, do your homework before talking shit. I love how listening to the fair weather fans comments...lose one game and it's sack the coach.

I reckon the people labelling Gleeson as a dud coach are the same people that were critical of his appointment as head coach and then calling for him to be Coach of the year after winning the championship.

Cats had a shocking first half. They had a few shockers last year and the year before that. Im not worried yet , it's just the first game. I'd be pretty worried if I was the Hawks...Cats have a history of biting back with a vengeance after a shocker.