Has NZ's bubble burst? & will Cairns having their backsides whacked give them a bounce back factor?

Dare I say it.... I think Cairns may fire up & get this one with the ex breakers to have big games!

Is the over 180 pts a good bet knowing those two teams have nothing to play and have horrendous defenses?

Did you go for it, Dione?
Past performance is no guarantee of future results, but looking good so far.

Why has Long barely played? Combo of fouls and bench playing well?

I'd be inclined to start the game , rather than go over to the time out huddle and get ignored ... if i was the ref that is ...
.... looks like players have to always put the ball on the floor before they shoot.... caint shoot without putting the ball on the floor first.... especially the big centers in close , are getting the ball knocked away when they put it on the floor, rather than just taking the shot..

Screens are the death knell for Trimble. Dies every possession a screen is set on him

@screen
yes went big on it, free $$$ :)
only need 27 pts in the 4 th quarter..

O.T

^ things dried up pretty badly down the stretch, but you got there.

And now we got ourselves some OT

Breakers playing for their season and Corey Webster is looking flat and down(God forbid something has happened and justifies this look) whilst sitting on the bench. Heck Shea Ili (who just fouled out) and Finn Delany were at least cheering the team on and looking positive. I just don't get it- surely this negative demeanour is a morale killer......

shit that was close haha , Fortunately the first 3 rd quarter were offensives explosions

OT.....in Cairns...

Looks like the snakes have got this one.
... and that their baseline LED signage has a similar issue to that at Optus Stadium with being sharp/abrasive

Those fouls by NZ at the end of the game were no different to Casper's against Perth at the end. Both fouls no play at the ball but refs not blowing USF. It seriously does my head in

Well done Cairns! For the Breakers, as a long time fan, All I can say is that i enjoyed Cairns' effort and the way they played!

Loss number 12; not much room for error if they want to make the finals

Which NZ player was completely out of any sort of defensive position when fouling?

I noticed one of them hug a Taipan from behind. But there was probably a random uppercut swipe at the ball so hey that's okay

Yeah it was Weeks on Newbill with about 12 seconds left. But again, totally fine

Breakers culture may need a change. Can't do that without heads rolling.

Webster would be the worst contract in the league, dude doesn't even finish games

Congrats Mike Kelly, you just out coached another NBL head coach....

NZ giving 1.5 start is stealing money,GET ON!

You got robbed son.

Did anyone else see the Jarrad Weeks foul?

I didn't see it. Wish I'd stuck with the game considering it went to OT, but I tuned out in the 2nd Q when the Breakers pushed the lead out.

Not surprised though, I'll check it out on NBL.tv tonight,

So , two intentional fouls by NZ , to stop the clock , nearing end of game .
I prefer deliberate foul rule rather than usf rule .
Although I'm old ........ and , it is nearly time for my tablet...

Agree 100%. To flog a dead horse, I still don't understand why we want to penalise guys for extending the game in those situations. Yeah, don't karate chop a guy in the neck, but everybody in the arena (or at home) knows a foul is coming - as long as excessive force isn't used, I really don't get what the league is trying to stamp out. The off-the-ball 'hack-a-Shaq' type of fouls I'm a lot more open to being called as USF, but fouling the ball handler in the dying seconds of a close game... I just don't get it. In all my years of playing and watching never once did I think it was something that needed addressing.

I'll flog with you, Angus

*eyes emoji*

I still don't understand why we want to penalise guys for extending the game in those situations. Yeah, don't karate chop a guy in the neck, but everybody in the arena (or at home) knows a foul is coming - as long as excessive force isn't used, I really don't get what the league is trying to stamp out.

To me it's really simple. Basketball is trying to create a cleaner, more free-flowing game by eliminating actions that - while accepted for years - really are nothing to do with basketball. Grabbing a guy, purposely bumping a guy, .. that type of thing is not basketball. Either play legal defence, or get out of the way so that the guy who just beat you can score like he deserves to. Fans like seeing points put on the board. If a team has the ball and a numerical advantage and look like generating a score out of it, then plenty of people would like to see them have a chance to rather than a "professional foul" killing the play with minimal penalty to the lazy team.

To me it's as simple as that, and I am on board with it as a philosophy.
Just because something has been some way for years doesn't mean it's the best way and should be beyond questioning.

"Everybody in the arena knows a foul is coming" - yes, because that's what people are used to. That is what has happened in the past.
Now there's been an adjustment.
Teams can still foul, but now they're required to at least be slightly "basketball" about it.

I honestly don't get what is problematic about this. Yes there's an adjustment to be made, just like with any change of rule/interpretation, but after that we've got a better product. It's a way of tipping the balance more in favour of the offence while still being totally fair about it. It's not stopping anyone from playing defence.

The off-the-ball 'hack-a-Shaq' type of fouls I'm a lot more open to being called as USF, but fouling the ball handler in the dying seconds of a close game... I just don't get it.

Again, pretty simple to me. It's just taking a modification to the game and being consistent with it. What I "just don't get" is why people have such a problem with eliminating things like lazy grabs of the body/shirt from behind. What is so good about that happening? How does that make the game more skilful or watchable?

In all my years of playing and watching never once did I think it was something that needed addressing.

It's not something I really considered either. I pretty much accepted the way things were. So props from me to FIBA for being thorough enough to come up with this, because I think it's an improvement even if a player or two takes a while to adjust.

"Either play legal defence, or get out of the way so that the guy who just beat you can score like he deserves to. Fans like seeing points put on the board. If a team has the ball and a numerical advantage and look like generating a score out of it, then plenty of people would like to see them have a chance to rather than a "professional foul" killing the play with minimal penalty to the lazy team."

Agree here, but to me this is more relevant to the "clear path" category of USF on a break or break opportunity, which I didn't mention in my post but I also agree with this call and I think it's a positive change because the break is generally the highlight-reel maker of the sport.

I'm specifically talking about a guy fouling in a must-foul situation late in a game - not on a break, but on, say, an offensive rebound to the other team. I just disagree that wrapping a guy up (softly) should be considered "unsportsmanlike", because he didn't pretend like he was making a legitimate attempt at the ball without fouling.

And there are so many jersey/shorts grabs during most games that go unwhistled, yet in any other situation than late game when they DO get called it is usually as a regular foul rather than USF also. Not consistent.