Basketball: Penney puts return to court on hold

Kirk Penney. Photo / Kenny Rodger

Kirk Penney's Breakers comeback is on hold after the star shooting guard suffered a setback in his comeback from a back injury.

Coach Andrej Lemanis had hoped to suit up his primary scoring threat for tonight's visit of the Adelaide 36ers but that now looks extremely unlikely after further back pain yesterday.

Penney described the latest setback as a "little tweak" but admitted he could no longer put a timeframe on his likely return.

"I'm just at the point that when it is right it is right," he said.

"But I don't know when it will be good. I'd love it to be a week away but I feel like if I give a date then pressure is building on that date.

"It is a bit frustrating but it is a good heads-up for me not to force it or push it. It will heal in its own time and there is nothing really you can do about it.

"It might set me back a little bit but not too much more. It is just my body telling me to rest."

Penney might remain optimistic but his continued absence will be causing a few flutters at a club that has been through a similar thing with centre Rick Rickert. The American centre was expected to miss just a few weeks with a disc problem in his first season but was forced to undergo surgery and endure a nine-month recovery.

Rickert's return to top form has been a major plus for the Breakers as they adjust to life - in the short term at least - without Penney.

Back-to-back home wins have lifted the club to third on the NBL ladder.

Adelaide, who also boast a 3-3 record, took the first meeting between the clubs 80-76 at home in round three.

Getting a read on the visitors isn't easy. Last week they tripped up at home to bottom club Melbourne Tigers before rebounding to smash Cairns by 37 points on the road.

"They are like a lot of teams, still trying to find their rhythm and consistency," Lemanis said.

"They are certainly a team that believes in getting points in the paint. They will put their heads down and drive to the basket and put pressure on you to deal with that."

The man likely to be doing just that is Dillon Boucher, who tonight plays his 100th Breakers game.

In his second spell at the club, Boucher finds himself in an unfamiliar role of starter after being promoted in place of import Awvee Storey for last week's victory over Townsville.

"We needed some energy to start games and we needed some defence so that was why I've been injected in there," Boucher said.

"It worked last week and hopefully it will work [tonight] as well."

Boucher's efforts have been a major factor in the improvement of a Breakers defence that now ranks second in the league in points-against.

But if there is a knock on the Breakers' D, it is their tendency to concede fouls, an area in which they lead the league.

Boucher is the league's most prolific offender. Adapting to the changes in refereeing interpretations this year had not been easy, he admitted.

"As a team we probably haven't adjusted too well because they have really cracked down on hands on people. It is something we have been conscious of and Andrej has been calling a lot more fouls in training trying to get our hands off each other."

Adelaide boast a 12-7 head-to-head record against the Breakers, although the Breakers have a 6-4 edge in Auckland. The Breakers stormed to a 131-101 playoff victory in the last match between the pair at the NSEC.