Basketball: Breakers look for balance

CJ Bruton. Photo / Getty Images

The New Zealand Breakers will look to balance intensity with staying fresh as they complete their regular season with three matches that will have no bearing on the Australian National Basketball League playoffs.

The competition leaders host the Sydney Kings tomorrow night and the Adelaide 36ers next Wednesday, before heading to Melbourne to face the Tigers three days later.

While the Breakers are already confirmed as top qualifiers for the post-season, the Kings, the 36ers and the Tigers occupy the bottom three spots on the ladder and are out of finals contention.

Guard CJ Bruton said there was a good spirit within the Auckland-based club despite a run of just one win in their past four outings.

"We know we've got it wrapped up, which is good, but we know there's a lot of work ahead," he said.

"We have bodies we need to heal up. We don't want to go into the playoffs a little banged up, but we have to keep pace obviously."

Bruton said all teams went through the patch the Breakers had experienced over the past three weeks.

What mattered now was the end result of being in top shape when their best-of-three semifinal comes around.

"We're going to the playoffs and we need to be healthy and ready from the get-go," he said.

"From now until then, we have time to work on things and iron out some wrinkles. We need to get our chemistry back and keep everyone moving."

While Sydney, Adelaide and Melbourne are all headed for an early end to their campaigns, Bruton expected the Breakers to face highly motivated opponents.

Apart from each club wanting to finish on a high, there would players in all three rosters playing for contracts for next season.

As well, Sydney, who have a star performer in centre Julian Khazzouh, have shown over the past few weeks that they will be a tough hurdle to get past.

With a win-loss record of 1-14 at one stage, the Kings have turned their campaign around with seven victories in their last 10 matches.

The Breakers came out on top in their two previous meetings with the Sydneysiders this season, but both were before the turn of the year.

Bruton won two of his three ANBL titles with the Kings and he was happy they had made a return to the league after a couple of seasons' absence.

While facing his former club didn't quite have the special feel to it as the very first time it happened, he still wanted to put one over his former colleagues.

"I played with a few of those guys," he said.

"It's good to see them there now that the team has come back. I'd like to beat them just to say, 'I beat you guys again'."

- NZPA