Basketball: New Zealand Breakers remain winless after grim Australian NBL defeat to Tasmania Jackjumpers

Jack McVeigh of the Jackjumpers drives to the basket against Finn Delany of the Breakers. Photo / Getty

NZ Breakers 75
Tasmania Jackjumpers 84

More than a quarter of the way through the NBL season, the New Zealand Breakers are yet to get on the board, falling to the Tasmania Jackjumpers 84-75 in Hobart on Boxing Day for a sixth straight defeat.

Having already set their franchise record for consecutive losses to begin a season, they've now gone about extending that mark in appropriately frustrating fashion.

The Breakers were slow out of the blocks, drew close at times in the second and third quarters, before finding themselves in a 19-point hole early in the fourth quarter.

They finished the game in adequate fashion and looked like they might mount a late run to pinch it, but rushed offensive sets and an all too familiar style of isolation basketball saw them get in their own way.

In every game this season, they have had their obstacles and the game against Tasmania was no different. Thomas Abercrombie was again unavailable due to injury, as was import guard Peyton Siva, while it was the first game in a Breakers jersey for new import Chasson Randle who is still coming to terms with the style of the league and where he fits in the team.

Still, this was a game on the schedule the Breakers should have been targeting as their chance to get off the mark. In their first season as a part of the NBL, the Jackjumpers started their season 1-4 and are still finding their feet as a unit.

It's becoming a matter of same story, new week for the New Zealand side, despite a game-high 24 points from American import Jeremiah Martin and 20 on just eight shots from impressive centre Yanni Wetzell.

Their slow or non-existent defensive rotations are exploited by any team willing to be patient on offence and move the ball to the open man, while the Breakers' offence has relied heavily on guards playing with an uber-aggressive mindset and driving to the hoop as well as the three-point shot – something that has been far from a strength of the team. The Breakers put up more shots than Tasmania, had a higher percentage from inside the arc, but their love of the long ball was the difference maker.

Against Tasmania, they shot just 14 per cent from beyond the arc. When they move the ball and work for the best possible look, the potential is there and it allows Wetzell to get into the game more, with the big man being the bright spot in a dark opening quarter to the campaign.

Young French import Hugo Besson has also been good to start the season with a number of 20-point games, however the Breakers can't be relying on a 20-year-old fresh to their squad to carry them on a nightly basis in the tough and demanding Australian league.

Their next opportunity to try to right the ship comes against the Cairns Taipans in Cairns on New Year's Eve.

NZ Breakers 75 (Jeremiah Martin 24 points, Yanni Wetzell 20)
Tasmania Jackjumpers 84 (Josh Adams 21 points, Clint Steindl 14)
1Q: 16-25. HT: 39-50. 3Q: 56-69.