Breakers have lost a few games by not much against quality opposition. SEM aren't slouches, but the Breakers are surely overdue. Breakers by 6.

"overdue" is just another word for "not good enough"
Phoenix by phive or six.

Or another word for unlucky...

If SEM's defence is bad Breakers will shoot the proverbial out of it and it’s a blowout. The Breakers losses are to the consensus top 3 teams and all 3 are solid defensively.

NZ handicap +4.5 looks promising to be honest

I must say I luaghed seeing Rice simply getting his 5th by deciding to foul out with a blatant disqualifier. He was cooked and showed more than enough he can play. Off court is the test.

I was expecting Glen Rice to start swinging

is glen rice high?

Refs got It right by the law.
Still a little stiff on the first tech call but grab a guy around the head is legit.

Viewership for this game definitely just dropped dramatically

And Jon Chapman strikes again 3 games in a row I take it these refs don't get dropped

So magden didn't get a flop warning I’m confused

Rice is dominating. Most talented player in the Nbl

(Viewership for this game definitely just dropped dramatically)

I think it just picked up

Phoenix playing lazy.

Henry's gone when hopson comes back.

Those wre some brave kids rubbing the head of a guy who punched his own teammate

How can you keep Crockett and benson . Seriously there are better available,

God Rice is theatrical and dramatic.

Noticed he kept distance as well from his team in a timeout.

Rice looks like he's been shot in the leg :)

This guy has an extensive criminal history, geez didn't know how much crap his done.

Lol, he said that too.

Someone tell me why they don't give Li a shot in a situation like this. The guy is China’s best young pg prospect.

Dan Shamir hates Asians, that is why li won't get court time.

Has Li travelled with the team?

Tough run of injuries for the Breakers.

If Rice comes back in Breakers to win this. I think he's relaxed, but that doesn't mean he isn't engaged.

S,e won't go far unless they get Wesley back and 2 new imports.

So much hype going into nbl 19/29 but so many poor import choices.

Hampton gone off the boil too. Hasn't even put up a shot for nearly 2 full quarters now.

if the breakers lose it, I'll fuck them all over

it's better to join the korean team from KBL to the nbl and take out the clowns from nzb

Are they ever going to get this telecast right. It's rubbish and the commentary is crap. Hudson???? Seriously.

NZ come across as a bit of a basket case

Boucher gave that team some integrity, now it has none.

So stupid how ater majok is not in the rotation.

Where are those Pineau haters from the start of the season?
Guy is holding the fort whilst Wesley is out Injured and benson is on the bench.

When is Hopson back?

What's wrong with Weeks and when is he back!?

How does a team with so much firepower not score 20 points in 3 out of 4 quarters?

"Is it just me or do things just seem chaotic with the Breakers - guys are remonstrating, all the Breakers coaches are up and running the sideline, guys are complaining and biting at eachother on TO's etc. I have leadership concerns about this Breaker team and whether the coach really has control of this group?"

Absolutely! They've gone from the best run club in the league 5 years back to a complete shambles

Shamir looks like he’s completely out of his depth.
He’s definitely lost control of the playing group... not to mention is assistant who is constantly up pacing the sideline screaming. None of the players seems interested in listening to him with their attention all over the place during timeouts, especially Rice Jr.

But, none of it surprises me. Here are some observations from the Breakers season thus far, in order...
- Appointed new coach (and director of basketball operations!) with zero local experience
- Their best local player (Webster) who is a bit of a head case, asks for a release to go overseas but is refused and forced to stay!
- Sign Next Star RJ Hampton and promise he will start in the point guard position (the key on court leadership role). Team is being led on court by an inexperienced 18 year (albeit a very talented one) with a head case chucker (Webster) on one side, and another overrated import chucker (Henry) on the other
- Their pre-season preparation was extremely disjointed and included a distracting US tour where they got comprehensively thrashed... twice
- Their best and most experienced player (Hopson) goes down with injury... obviously not his nor their fault
- Coach (Director of Basketball Operations) Shamir during post game interviews appears relatively inarticulate while also having zero answers on why their performances are so poor and what they are going to do about it
- Replace Hopson with A-Grade stoner, headcase and well known distraction Rice Jr who is clearly a world class talent but is not the sharpest knife in the drawer nor a leader

Overall, it’s been an outstanding start to the year by the Breakers!

Webster is one of NZs greatest ever players. Best learn some respect. Easy to Moan your arse off from the sideline.

Another game. Another referee master piece!

Majok sits again??

Vodonavich 9 minutes. Would have had a donut except got a turnover.

I wasn't disputing that Webster isn’t a good player, but he is a bit of a chucker... high usage, low FG% over his career.

My post was focused on the numerous factors that have contributed to the Breakers breakdown (pun intended)

That's true. But Webster is a bright spot. He is playing well and attitude is great. Give the guy a break, he deserves it

Webster's defence and passing has been outstanding. He must be top 5 in assists.

I can’t remember the last time the Breakers played that badly.

I don’t think Shamir is the only problem. The Breakers generally play well in the first half. There’s also been moments where their passing and offence has also been sublime. It’s like they go and get stoned at halftime.

The fact he's continued to play after they refused his release is a sign he’s turned his career (and life) around. So credit where credit is due

A lot of upset Breakers fans on social media.

Where are you Matt Walsh?

Yes maccub.

But u forget he is the owner and can do what he wants. I didn't like what he did last year, bc I felt any new owner needs to.learn the ropes. But this year is his.

Changes had to be made.

Support the team and hope they do well, otherwise there won't be a team

Creek not performing ... who the f..k brought that up before ??
21 , 4.5 and 6.5 at good clips with peripherals and has lead them to a 5 and 2 record . He is the league MVP at the moment .

Was at the game today and noticed Walsh screaming at Loeliger following the Hampton ejection.

Not a good look, imo.

"Changes had to be made.

Support the team and hope they do well, otherwise there won't be a team"

I agree and I have been patient in the “give new ownership” a chance. But that was farcical. Fans deserve some answers. From both Shamir and Walsh. Some of the issues you'd expect from an inexperienced coach. Presumably that’s why they got rid of Braswell and brought in someone like Shamir. Can’t help but think now that Braswell wasn’t the problem last year...

Shamir coaching looks like the same formula as braswell last year. No offence. Just jack it up. He has even gone more perimeter focused. At least he plays Webster and Henry together. Braswell hardly ever played Webster and Richard. But Henry is playing poorly as the league has scouted he is a lefty.

Why recruit majok and Deng. Pointless. Henry played top minutes last night, which to out could say was needed as they needed a PG, but they have no problem playing people out of position at centre. And Henry isn't playing well.


And the refs. Good on Walsh for unloading on loriger. That was a terrible call on Hampton. Can u imagine Perth ever having such a call. And the boards lighting up if it did.

The calls against Hampton were correct, so for Walsh to get into a screaming match with the league boss at the game just shows what an absolute moron he is.

Putting aside everything else and focusing on the ejection, there was talk this morning that Hampton was hit in his back the play prior. Watching him on Madgen, he's holding his back when it happens. Madgen flops. Hampton barely stands over him. In my view, Hampton should only be given an unsportsmanlike for the contact to the head of Roberson.

I think Hampton was deservedly tossed for the shoulder on Madgen (unsportsmanlike) and then the contact to the head of Roberson.

A number of other things...

When you watch the scuffle, Rice Jr pushes Abercrombie in the back while he is trying to calm Hampton, then does it again and jaws at him. This is a guy who's come in with a known bad attitude, pushing a veteran experienced player in the league. Rice Jr should not have been brought into this mess as he’s clearly only going to make things worse.

Then their assistant coach runs onto the court mouthing off. As Hammer said, that guy needs to chill out, but alarmingly Shamir looks to have very little control over him. His barking continued in the following huddle.

Walsh then after the ejection, walks around in front of the crowd and makes an absolute fool of himself mouthing off at Loeliger. This is despite it being the right call per the video review.

Wow, the Breakers are a mess

Did he really put a shoulder into Madgen? For mine, he doesn't drop his shoulder at all. And Hampton is so skinny. That was a standard foul at worst. Madgen flops like he’s been hit by Jawai or Vukona. The flopping in the league is a disgrace.

But yes, Rice on Abercrombie was strange. RJ and Abercrombie are close, apparently, so it makes sense Abercrombie was trying to get away from there as quickly as possible. Creek was also professional in trying to break it up. Roberson was a bit of a dick for such an experienced pro, trashing talking an 18 year old. Scenes like a social league.

Why didn't they tech the Phoenix bench for the trainer coming on the court?

Where was he meant to go? He bumped Madgen, Madgen is under him, he looks down. It's not like he stepped over him ala Iverson.

Is there a clip of the incident for those of us that missed it please?

A good summary and a link to video from Olgun: https://twitter.com/OlgunUluc/status/1193066398676701185?s=20

Thanks.

"Did he really put a shoulder into Madgen? For mine, he doesn't drop his shoulder at all." Guess you don't know a lot about basketball then. Deliberate foul and then stood over him which is an inflammatory action not needed.

That was in response to the comment that Hampton dropped his shoulder. It's a standard foul no more no less.

He’s standing over Madgen’s feet. He arguably trips into this stand over by Madgen. It’s not like he’s standing over Madgen’s chest after walking over to Madgen. We might as well start teching Long for his aggressive flexes as Post-dunk or post-block because it’s disrespectful.