Play nzherald.co.nz's rugby Pick the Score competition - go to: pickthescore.nzherald.co.nz
KEY POINTS:
They've played each other three times but neither the Breakers nor their opponent in tonight's sudden-death quarter-final, the Adelaide 36ers, really know where they stand.
Adelaide may have taken the season series between the clubs 2-1, but all three of those contests are meaningless when it comes to indicating who might have the upper hand at the North Shore Events Centre tonight.
The Breakers took the first match at home, smashing the 36ers by what was then a club record 38 points. But the 36ers were hamstrung by the late withdrawal of key import Adam Ballinger and point guard Aaron Bruce in that round three encounter.
In a virtual mirror image, the Breakers were badly disrupted for the return match in round 10. Phill Jones was serving a one-match suspension and key playmaker CJ Bruton pulled out after suffering back spasms as the 36ers posted a shock 96-86 win.
The final encounter between the sides was just 11 days ago, when injured Breakers linchpin Kirk Penney was absent for a 102-91 defeat in Adelaide.
Veteran forward Tony Ronaldson, who is embarking on his 19th playoff campaign, wasn't bothered about the lack of a full-scale dress rehearsal.
"I don't think we need to worry about Adelaide," he said. "We just have to worry about our approach to the game. We need to be aware of who they are and what they do but, ultimately, it will fall back on us, how we play.
"If we come out with aggression and desperation then we won't have to worry about [who we are playing]. We believe in our ability and our processes. It is whether we execute that [that] will be the determining factor in whether we win or lose."
Both teams should be at full strength tonight. The Breakers will have the crucial pairing of Bruton and Penney operating in tandem, while the 36ers have 2.16m dangerman Luke Schenscher coming off an impressive 37-point 15-rebound double double in their last match against the Wollongong Hawks.
Neither team has much of a finals pedigree. The Breakers' record stands at 1-1 after they defeated Cairns in Cairns last season before bowing out to the Bullets in Brisbane in their debut playoff campaign. The 36ers haven't won a playoff match since 2003.
As a team they might lack post-season experience but the Breakers have plenty of playoff veterans in their squad.
Ronaldson has played a remarkable 81 post-season matches, twice winning the title, while Bruton has played in 35 matches and was on the champion team in 2004, 2005 and 2007. Dillon Boucher remains the only New Zealander to have won an NBL title, having done so with the Bullets alongside Bruton in 2007.
That experience should be key tonight, with Ronaldson certain to impress upon his team-mates the need to play with a desperation that was absent during the team's slide down the ladder in the final third of the season.
"This is everything," Ronaldson said.
"If we lose this game there is no tomorrow. It is a do or die situation and I think that is the best situation for us to be in.
"We need to play with desperation for us to do well."
In 20 seasons in the league, Ronaldson has only failed to feature in the playoffs once - in 1991. But it is 12 years since he was last on a title-winning team and the 37-year-old knows this year might be his best chance for a final trip to the winners' circle.
Tonight's victor qualifies for a three-game semifinals series against Melbourne Tigers, beginning in Melbourne next Wednesday night.
