KEY POINTS:
With imports Rick Rickert and Wayne Turner under an injury cloud, the Breakers aren't taking anything for granted against the Cairns Taipans tonight.
The Breakers (8-5) routed the Taipans 107-87 in Cairns just five days ago but they are expecting a tougher challenge on the North Shore in what will be the third encounter between the clubs this season.
Rickert's presence on the boards will be missed. He has been ruled out with a back injury, while Turner failed to finish training yesterday and his role will be limited even if he makes a return from the thigh injury that has sidelined him for two matches.
Rickert, central to the Breakers' revival, was to have an x-ray and MRI scan yesterday to determine the extent of his sciatic nerve strain, which is affecting his hamstring.
The Taipans (6-6) have injury worries of their own, with star forward Martin Cattalini ruled out for the season with an Achilles injury that requires surgery. Veteran forward Tony Ronaldson should be back to full fitness for the Breakers, while American Rashad Tucker is expected to return for the Taipans.
The Breakers won Saturday's match with a sublime long-range shooting display, landing 14 of 25 from beyond the arc. The Taipans, by comparison, went 0 of 19 from three-point range.
Breakers guard Phill Jones, whose 12 points in Saturday's match all came from threes, isn't expecting a repeat of those lopsided statistics. He said: "We gave them a bit of a thrashing in the last game but they are a good team. They will have scouted us and they'll be tougher."
With both imports struggling for fitness, Jones said the Breakers would once again turn to a bench that had stepped up its productivity during the four-match winning streak. "It is the real strength of our team," Jones said. The likes of Mika Vukona, Paora Winitana and Ryan Kersten had all been impressive in recent weeks.
A win tonight would extend the Breakers' home-winning run to six matches, with home matches against the lowly Dragons (3-8) and top-of-the-table Kings (11-1) to follow in consecutive weeks.
"The next three games are really key for us," Jones said. "We've just got to keep doing what we've been doing. Hopefully, we can push on and keep winning."
The season series against the Taipans stands at 1-1 after the Breakers made up for their round one loss at the weekend.
Coach Andrej Lemanis said the chance to earn the split over one of the more fancied teams in the league was a motivating factor.
"The desire to keep the series alive in Cairns last weekend was part of our motivation, so it would be nice to record back-to-back wins and clinch our personal battle two-one," Lemanis said.
