Basketball: Attack like pythons, coach tells Breakers

Breakers coach Andrej Lemanis wants his team to be like pythons in tonight's Australian NBL clash against the Brisbane Bullets at the North Shore Events Centre.

The Breakers are back from Sydney having dipped out to the Razorbacks (97-104) and Hawks (95-98) in matches that could have had different outcomes if the Kiwi side had taken their opportunities.

"We keep putting ourselves in a situation where we can win, but can't quite get over the hump," Lemanis said. "There's always a time in the game where we let the opposition back in and it's frustrating.

"I've told the guys we need to be like pythons and squeeze the life out of our prey. We need to be absolutely ruthless when we feel the momentum going our way, turn the screws and pile on the pressure."

Lemanis was pleased with his team's attacking play, but the shooting percentage was poor despite plenty of open looks at the basket.

He is refusing to be downcast, even with very little time to re-group.

"It's time to take a stand on our home court and given that Brisbane is one of the favourites to win the championship the match presents us with a great opportunity to wipe out the frustration we've felt on this trip."

Brisbane, with new recruits CJ Bruton, Dusty Rychart and Dillon Boucher joining their line-up for this season, sit third on the table with a three-win, two-loss record.

Lemanis said the Bullets had a gun squad and the footage he'd seen confirmed their standing as a favourite.

"They play an up-tempo game and like to press and run a lot. They're a great team, but that only provides us with extra incentive to compete with them and prove ourselves."