KEY POINTS:
The chatter in NBL circles is that star import Jason Crowe and his teammates at Waikato Pistons aren't exactly bosom buddies.
Crowe has been the key figure for the Pistons this season but there is a school of thought that it is his negative effect on the team's chemistry that has caused them to disintegrate after a stunning start to their campaign.
After beginning their season with six straight wins, the Pistons looked all but unstoppable. Crowe and his fellow American import Brian Wethers racked up some staggering numbers in those early games and have sporadically continued to do so.
But the dynamic duo's approach of relying on each other and pretty much no one else isn't believed to have gone down well with the team's local players.
After beating the Stars to go 6-0 in early April, the Pistons went a modest 7-5 for the remainder of the regular season. Once runaway favourites to top the league, they ultimately needed a last-round victory over the Stars in Auckland that snapped a three-game skid to secure second spot and home advantage for tonight's sudden-death semifinal.
The reason for decline, many believe, is the same reason they started so well - Crowe and Wethers.
Undoubtedly one of the most talented players in the league, Crowe's reliance on this talent in preference to utilising his teammates hasn't escaped the attention of Stars coach Kenny Stone.
Driving the wedge further between Crowe - and to a lesser extent Wethers - and their teammates was the Stars' best chance of snatching a finals place, Stone said.
"I guess the key for us is whether we can force them to play as individuals.
"Obviously with Pero [Cameron], Ben Hill and Mike Homik they have got some talented players. I think their challenge has been playing together as a team."
It's a problem Stone can identify with. The Stars were imperious in sweeping aside Harbour Heat on Wednesday but too often this season they have been a fractured unit. And stopping the Pistons playing as a team is one thing. Stopping Crowe and Wethers from beating you anyway is quite another.
The Stars didn't get within 15 points of the Pistons in their two regular season meetings. When the teams met in the final round of the regular season, Wethers scored 30 points, mainly in the second half, as the Pistons overturned a halftime deficit to win 94-79. Crowe was almost as effective, notching 26 points, six rebounds and five assists.
Having been kicked out of the playoffs and then reinstated, the Stars won't lack for motivation. "We came in as the last qualifier so the expectation is that Waikato will be in the finals," Stone said. "So we have got nothing to lose. It is one-off and anything can happen."
