Basketball: Breakers to sit tight with the line-up they've got

Kirk Penney is back in action with the Breakers for the Taipans clash tonight. Photo/ Brett Phibbs

What you see tonight against the Cairns Taipans could well be what you get for the rest of season as far as the Breakers are concerned.

Much will depend on the impact of Kirk Penney's return but the club have no immediate plans to bring in a second import to replace the departed Awvee Storey.

Breakers officials have a lazy eye on the international player market but a new signing would come in only as last-ditch attempt to rescue a failing season, coach Andrej Lemanis said.

With his players already having had to deal with Penney's absence and the late arrival and early departure of Storey, Lemanis is wary of the potential disruption that would be caused by further roster changes.

"If we can keep this squad together I think that is the best scenario for us," Lemanis said. "[Another import] is certainly a back stop. It is something you have always got there if the season turns to rubbish."

With veteran guard John Rillie having replaced Storey, that decision leaves the roster looking light in the bigs but with plenty of depth in the guard spots.

With the team languishing near the foot of the league in three-point shooting percentage, the rebalancing may not be a bad thing - although a lack of a truly dominant big has long been the team's Achilles heal.

Lemanis isn't much of a big-picture man, preferring to deflect questions along those lines with a stock answer about focusing on the now, but the coach will know a vital stage of the campaign has arrived. Having notched a first road win of the season in Townsville last Friday to stay in what is still a seven-team playoff hunt, the Breakers now have three consecutive home games.

After tonight's visit by the Taipans, the next two opponents are pace-setters Wollongong and Perth but, with Penney back in action, the Breakers are well placed to make a mid-season run up the ladder.

With road wins scarce and seven of their final 11 games to be played in Australia, it is vital that they do.

"With the way we played against Perth and Townsville you would think if you add the reigning MVP to that we are not in a bad spot," Lemanis said.

"But it is about coming out and building. In our last home game against Perth we made some progress but we regressed against Cairns in what was a pretty ugly game. We can't keep slipping back to go forwards. We need to build on what we achieved [against the Crocodiles]."

Lemanis is certain to be impressing on his players the need to focus solely on a Phill Jones-led Taipans side that walked all over them in a 77-64 victory just eight days ago. That result levelled the season series at 1-1 after the Breakers cruised to a 95-75 in the season-opener in Auckland.

Cairns sit second-bottom on the ladder thanks to their eight losses but they match the Breakers' six wins and are riding a two-game win streak that has resurrected their failing playoff hopes.

Like every team in the league except the Crocodiles - who are 4-4 away from Townsville - the Taipans have just a single road win.