Round 7 Preview: Kings vs. Breakers

By Matt McQuade

 

Finally, the Brydens Lawyers Sydney Kings are BACK.

Back at Qudos Bank Arena, that is.

This Sunday at 3:00pm, the mighty purple and gold will take to the floor at their home stadium for the first time since going down to Melbourne United in Round 4 of the NBL22 season.

By the time Sunday rolls around, it will have been 21 days since fans in the Hoops Capital will have seen their beloved team at the Q.

And there’s no question the group is desperate to get amongst it again in their own stadium.

Sydney faces a New Zealand club that has gone through an incredible amount of adversity in the past 18 months since the Covid-19 pandemic really began to ramp up, with the Breakers facing the prospect of playing every game this season on the road.

It’s a tough proposition to say the very least, and you can have nothing but sympathy for what that ballclub has had to endure.

Still, this is a professional league where wins and losses are paramount. Accordingly, any compassion for the league’s international franchise goes out the door once the ball is tossed in the air.

The fact is, the Breakers are a very talented unit despite their (at time of writing) 1-6 record. They pose a serious challenge.

It starts with a frontcourt led by Most Improved candidate Yanni Wetzell (20.3ppg, 7.3rpg, 1.2spg, 65.8% FG, 78.6% FT), who is having an All-NBL level campaign. He’s a mobile big man who can run rim to rim; he’s got great size and terrific footwork in the low block, and he’ll rebound and defend all day.

Then you’ve got the relentless activity of Finn Delany (12.6ppg, 5.9rpg, 37.8% FG, 75.0% FT), whose ability to step outside and knock down the perimeter shot makes him a difficult cover at the best of times; while Next Star Ousmane Dieng is raw but has shown flashes of his potential. He’s a tremendous athlete who can shoot the three and the Kings can’t allow him to gain any self-belief.

However, it’s in the backcourt where New Zealand is particularly strong.

Import point guard Peyton Siva (8.0ppg, 2.0rpg, 2.3apg, 1.0spg, 31.8% FG, 88.9% FT) has had an injury-interrupted season but showed last week in his team’s gutsy win over Brisbane that he’s an excellent floor leader who can impact the game at both ends of the court.

Hugo Besson (15.3ppg, 4.6rpg, 39.6% FG, 34.8% 3PT FG, 82.6% FT) and Jeremiah Martin (12.2ppg, 3.4rpg, 5.0apg, 1.6spg, 39.3% FG) are two quality imports with varying skillsets. Besson is a deadly shooter with unerring confidence who can drop a ton of points on you if he gets in a flow; Martin is a dynamic left-handed combo guard who can get into the paint seemingly at will and is disruptive defensively.

Then there’s former King Will McDowell-White (10.7ppg, 5.1rpg, 3.7apg, 44.4% FG, 43.2% 3PT FG, 75.0% FT), whose improvement over the past 12 months has been dramatic. He gives the Breakers yet another playmaker who can score and set up his teammates for easy buckets.

“New Zealand’s record isn’t terrific but they’re a really good team,” Brydens Lawyers Sydney Kings Head Coach Chase Buford said.

“They are talented, they play hard, they play the right way, they’ve had a bunch of close games.”

“We’re going to have to be ready for them.”

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Sydney is coming off a tough loss to the Illawarra Hawks in Wollongong on Thursday night, a loss exacerbated by the unfortunate knee injury suffered early on by import guard R.J. Hunter, who will miss Sunday’s game and whose immediate future is uncertain.

But as they have done many times this season, the group showed a ton of heart and character in shrugging off the hurt of losing a teammate. They gave the Hawks everything they could handle and then some for three and a half quarters before fading in the final few minutes.

That performance, combined with the successful reintroduction of import point guard Jaylen Adams and the likely availability of Angus Glover, should give Sydney plenty of confidence heading into what now becomes a crucial game, especially given the Kings now sit with a less than .500 record on the season and need a victory to stay in striking distance of the league leaders.

If the Kings are going to emerge victorious, it will need to be based on a superior defensive effort coupled with good execution offensively, especially in the halfcourt. Much will depend on frontline stars Jarell Martin and Xavier Cooks, both of whom were outstanding on Thursday, while Jaylen Adams will be much better for his run and Wani Swaka Lo Buluk continues to impress.

But Sydney will also need Dejan Vasiljevic to knock down some shots, Angus Glover – if available – to bring his usual high-energy game and both Tom Vodanovich and Matur Maker to be productive off the bench against a New Zealand unit that will take it to them all night.

This is a big one for the purple and gold.

Let’s get it done.

 

WHO

Brydens Lawyers Sydney Kings vs. New Zealand Breakers

WHEN

Sunday 16 January, 3:00pm tipoff AEST, doors open at 1:30pm

LOCATION

Qudos Bank Arena

TICKETS

Available via Ticketek or the Qudos Bank Arena Box Office

TV

ESPN, 10 Peach

RADIO

Cluch Radio

THE PLAYERS

KINGS

Jaylen Adams (import); Angus Glover (subject to clearance); Wani Swaka Lo Buluk; Xavier Cooks; Jarell Martin (import)

Shaun Bruce; Matur Maker; Tom Vodanovich; Jaylin Galloway (development player); Jayden Hodgson (development Player)

BREAKERS

Peyton Siva (import); Hugo Besson (import); Ousmane Dieng (Next Star); Finn Delany; Yanni Wetzell

Will McDowell White; Jeremiah Martin (import); Kyrin Galloway; Sam Timmins (development player); Rasmus Bach; Isaac Davidson; Geremy McKay

THE COACHES

Kings

Chase Buford, NBL rookie head coach, record 3-4

Breakers

Dan Shamir, 3^rd season with Breakers, record 28-43

2021/2022 REGULAR SEASON SERIES

First meeting

NBL LADDER

Kings 3-4, sixth

Breakers 1-6, tenth

LAST GAME

Kings lost to Illawarra Hawks 97-89 @ WIN Entertainment Centre, Round 7

Breakers def. Brisbane Bullets 88-83 @ Nissan Arena, Brisbane, Round 6

KEY STATS

Kings

Points: Jarell Martin, 15.4ppg

Rebounds: Xavier Cooks, 9.0rpg

Assists: Jaylen Adams, 5.5apg

Breakers

Points: Yanni Wetzell, 20.3ppg

Rebounds: Yanni Wetzell, 7.8rpg

Assists: Jeremiah Martin, 5.4apg

KEY MATCHUP

Jarell Martin vs. Yanni Wetzell

Kiwi big man Yanni Wetzell is one of the up-and-coming stars of the National Basketball League, and he’s having an outstanding NBL22 campaign. He was sensational against Brisbane last week with 27 points and eight rebounds, and he’s thriving in a system that boasts three quality playmakers, all of whom can get him the rock in the places where he can be most effective. So far, any team that’s gone single coverage with Wetzell defensively has paid the price. And while Jarell Martin has been productive again for the Kings this season, Chase Buford has been riding him to be even more aggressive offensively, words the Sydney big man heeded against Illawarra when he was in constant attack mode and finished with a team-high 23 points on the night. Jarell will need be similarly locked in against his New Zealand counterpart if the Kings are to come away with the W.

THE QUESTIONS

How will the Kings defend the Breakers’ versatile backcourt?

Can Angus Glover and Dejan Vasiljevic help fill the void left by R.J. Hunter?

HISTORY

All-time Head-to-Head

58 games played; Kings lead 30-28

In Sydney

28 games played; Kings lead 17-11

At Qudos Bank Arena

8 games played; Kings lead 7-1

DID YOU KNOW?

The Kings have had a great deal of success against the Breakers at Qudos Bank Arena, and are currently riding a five-game winning streak over New Zealand at the venue. The only defeat for Sydney by the league’s international franchise came back in Round 11 of the 2017/18 season. The biggest win by the purple and gold over the Breakers at the Q was in Round 17 of the 2016/17 season, when the Kings held New Zealand to just 57 points in an 84-57 blowout.

 

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