Basketball: Two-game performance counts for report cards

The Breakers met individually with their two coaches, Frank Arsego and Wayne Brown, during the week for an early performance review of their season, with goals set and marking organised for Monday.

The players rated themselves and that will be compared to the score the coaching staff gives them after the two-game weekend against Melbourne Tigers last night and the Townsville Crocodiles at home tomorrow.

They are both good tests, with the Tigers shooting at 44 per cent average and the Crocs at 48 per cent, highest in the NBL league, while the Breakers' greatest failing has been getting the ball to drop.

The Breakers badly need a win in front of the Waitakere home crowd.

The report card process was brought forward because of the crash they suffered against Cairns in their last game at home.

They last played the Crocs in Townsville in pre-season, following the Cairns "Blitz" tournament, and were soundly beaten in the second half after competing well in the first.

Crocs US imports Casey Calvary and Robert Brown average 63 and 61 per cent accuracy and 18 points a game while Boomers guard John Rillie offers ever-ready rebounding.

In recent games it has been the US imports and the experience of the best Aussies who played there that has undone the Breakers.

They haven't closed out games they should have, they've competed well for long periods then dropped off and been unable to catch up.

The review process will have put pressure on the big names to come up with better stats: Pero Cameron has been inconsistent, Mike Chappell usually below his best, Ben Pepper hot and cold in the course of games and Aaron Olson up and down game to game.