Preview: Round 19 Kings vs Breakers

Written by Matt McQuade for Kings Media 

 

With six games remaining in the NBL21 regular season, the fate of the Brydens Lawyers Sydney Kings rests in their own hands.

Win the majority of those games and a spot in the playoffs is assuredly theirs. But go less than .500 the rest of the way and they’ll be relying on other results to fall their way to get into the NBL Top Four.

The second half of last Sunday’s come from behind win over the Adelaide 36ers at Qudos Bank Arena should give Kings’ fans some confidence that the purple and gold has the juice to make a serious run at the NBL finals. Down 42-37 at intermission and playing sluggishly by their own admission, Sydney came out with much greater energy and intent in the second stanza to get a win that snapped a three-game losing streak and now sees them in fourth place on the NBL ladder.

It’s a tough road ahead, sure, with four of those six remaining games on the road. But if the Kings play their final games with the same level of energy and commitment that they showed in that second half against the 36ers, they’ll give themselves a shot to do what is required to ensure they see postseason action.

It starts in Round 19 with two road games against the New Zealand Breakers – Sydney becoming the first NBL team to travel overseas since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic. The Breakers have returned home after an absence of more than five months and will play their last seven games of the season in New Zealand.

They did a magnificent job under incredibly trying circumstances to remain involved in the National Basketball League this season and their return home is a reward for that effort. There’s no question they and their fans will be pumped to end their campaign on a high.

The Kings must expect sell-out crowds, very passionate fans and a Breaker squad that despite being out of playoff calculations will come out with maximum intensity.

Sydney’s first game in New Zealand will be on Thursday night at The Trusts Arena in Auckland and their second matchup is on Saturday at TSB Stadium in New Plymouth, about a four-and-a-half-hour drive south of Auckland. Neither game will come easy, despite the fact the Breakers will be missing their captain Tom Abercrombie through injury.

New Zealand still has plenty of talent to throw at Sydney. They’ll be hoping to get smooth import Levi Randolph back from injury for some additional punch, but regardless, they still have the Webster boys, Tai and Corey, as a deadly perimeter combo; Finn Delany has established himself as one of the best forwards in the league; Colton Iverson is a powerful force in the low block, Will McDowell-White is an emerging backcourt talent, Rob Loe is a quality backup big man and Rasmus Bach can fill it up from long distance.

For their part, the Kings will be looking to the returning Xavier Cooks for more game time after an encouraging couple of games back following his serious foot injury. When fully healthy, X has serious bounce and a nose for the basketball; he’s an excellent rebounder and rim protector who can impact the game at both ends of the floor.

Casper Ware had a 40-minute franchise record for assists in a game last weekend against Adelaide and his floor leadership will be a huge key on the road; Jarell Martin’s offensive ability is something this team will lean on heavily down the stretch; Jordan Hunter’s size, mobility and activity in the post will be an enormous factor; the veteran nous of both Daniel Kickert and Brad Newley is always important and both Craig Moller and Shaun Bruce will need to provide quality minutes as they have for most of this season as two of the competition’s better role players.

It’s an enormous challenge for the Brydens Lawyers Sydney Kings this week. As it will be in all their remaining games this season. But the opportunity is there to do something special, starting in New Zealand.

Rise With Us Sydney.

 

WHO

Sydney Kings vs. New Zealand Breakers

WHEN

Thursday 20 May, 5:30pm AEST tipoff

Saturday 22 May, 5:30pm AEST tipoff

LOCATION

Thursday: The Trusts Arena, Auckland

Saturday: TSB Stadium, New Plymouth

TV/RADIO

Thursday: SBS Viceland; SBS On Demand; NBL.TV; Cluch Radio, SWR99.9FM Radio

Saturday: SBS Viceland; SBS On Demand; NBL.TV; Cluch Radio, SWR99.9FM Radio

THE PLAYERS

Kings

Casper Ware (import); Shaun Bruce; Xavier Cooks; Jarell Martin (import); Jordan Hunter

Brad Newley; Craig Moller; Tom Vodanovich; Daniel Kickert; Jarrad Weeks; Jaylin Galloway (development player); Archie Woodhill (development player); Lochlan Hutchison (development player)

Breakers

Tai Webster; William McDowell-White; Levi Randolph (import – pending medical clearance); Finn Delany; Colton Iverson (import)

Corey Webster; Rasmus Bach; Rob Loe; Daniel Trist; Kyrin Galloway (development player); Isaac Davidson (development player); Taine Murray (development player)

THE COACHES

Kings

Adam Forde (NBL rookie head coach, NBL career record 15-15)

Breakers

Dan Shamir (2^nd season with Breakers, record with Breakers 24-33)

2020/2021 REGULAR SEASON SERIES

Kings lead 2-0

Kings def. Breakers 84-74 @ Qudos Bank Arena, Round 5

Kings def. Breakers 96-78 @ John Cain Arena, Melbourne, Round 7 (NBL Cup)

NBL LADDER

Kings 15-15, fourth

Breakers 9-20, eighth

KEY STATS

Kings

Points: Casper Ware, 18.7ppg

Rebounds: Jarell Martin, 6.9rpg

Assists: Casper Ware, 4.5apg

Breakers

Points: Tai Webster, 17.9ppg

Rebounds: Colton Iverson, 8.3rpg

Assists: Tai Webster, 5.6apg

KEY MATCHUP

Jordan Hunter vs. Colton Iverson

When these two teams last met back in February, a Round 7 matchup in Melbourne as part of the NBL Cup, Jordan Hunter had the breakout game of his young professional career, blasting New Zealand for 24 points in just 19 minutes on a perfect nine of nine from the field. He was spectacular that night, and his dominant performance led the Kings to a huge win. Brydens Lawyers Sydney Kings Head Coach Adam Forde would be more than happy this week to see similar numbers from his candidate for NBL Most Improved Player, whose game this year has grown exponentially in just his second season. Iverson is a big, powerful unit who doesn’t generally look to score but can be tough to defend deep in the post; his forte is grabbing copious amounts of rebounds and setting bone-crunching picks for the Breakers’ phalanx of outside gunners.

THE QUESTIONS

Can the Kings deal with the emotion of these games in New Zealand?

Will Jarell Martin dominate offensively?

HISTORY

All-time Head-to-Head

56 games played; Kings lead 29-27

In Auckland

26 games played; Breakers lead 15-11

At The Trusts Arena

First meeting

At TSB Stadium, New Plymouth

1 game played; Breakers lead 1-0

DID YOU KNOW?

Three Kings have made history this season as they have entered the ranks of players to now feature in the all-time top ten individual career statistical leaders for the franchise in a few categories. Casper Ware currently sits eighth all-time for Sydney in career free throw percentage at 79.6%, and he is seventh in career assists per game at 4.1 dimes per contest. Daniel Kickert sits in second place all-time in career three-point percentage at 44.1%, and Brad Newley is ninth in three-point field goals attempted with 549 in his 142 games for the club. ‘Newls’ also currently sits just outside the top ten in eleventh place for games played for the Kings, needing to play another nine games for Sydney to pass BJ Carter in tenth.