“Four of those games were one-possession games against good teams, so there are a lot of things we’re doing well. We just haven’t been able to put it together yet for a million different reasons. We need to take it another step every day.
“It’s a dangerous place for a basketball team to tear everything down, throw stuff at the wall and see what sticks. We have a way we want to do things, there’s a process we want to achieve, we know exactly where we are in all those areas. We’ve just got to keep chipping at it – one whack at the stone until it’s going to crack.”
The Breakers will look to show improvements this week with two games in quick succession. The side visits the Tasmania JackJumpers in Launceston on Thursday night, before hosting the bottom-placed Illawarra Hawks in Auckland on Sunday afternoon.
The struggling Hawks pulled the trigger on a major move this week, sacking head coach Jacob Jackomas and replacing him on an interim basis with American Justin Tatum, the father of NBA superstar Jayson Tatum.
Tatum has been working with the Hawks as an assistant coach but steps into the role as an unknown quantity. His first assignment at the team’s helm will be in Sunday’s game against the Breakers.
“It’s a pretty known thing in basketball that once a coach gets fired, the game after, the players respond and take ownership on themselves,” Maor said.
“That team lacks nothing in talent – Harvey, Robinson, Clark, Froling – that team has a lot of firepower so A – I’m expecting the players to respond, and B – I don’t know the coach, he’s never coached before so there’s no film I can go and study, and he has a week to prepare for us. We’re going to have 24 hours, so I’m sure within his preparation he’s going to have his fingerprints on the things he wants to see.”
Through the Breakers’ struggles, Maor has been willing to take the heat off his players and shoulder the responsibility. While the Breakers hold a similar record to the Hawks, his position is not in question. Unlike the Hawks, who were the worst team in the league last year and continued as such to begin this campaign, the Breakers have been successful under Maor and his quality as a coach is clear.
“If I’m comfortable standing here when we win games and, everybody gets credit, but I get some of it, then I think it’s my job to shoulder the blame and responsibility when things don’t go well,” Maor said.
“My players understand the difference between blame and responsibility, and I’m responsible for them performing at a high level and together we need to achieve our goals, not in a separate manner.”
However, he was hopeful the improvements he has been seeing on the training court will show when it matters most and the side can start to build on their potential.
“I think that one of the best connectors and things that force teams to come together is adversity, and we’ve created a fair amount of adversity now. I felt some growth and steps forward as a unit during this time, and I hope we’ll see it on the court. We’re still not where I want us to be as a team in how close we are and how connected we are to each other, but I definitely saw steps forward.”
Breakers round 8 NBL fixtures
v Tasmania JackJumpers, Launceston, 9.30pm Thursday.
v Illawarra Hawks, Auckland, 4pm Sunday.
Christopher Reive joined the Herald sports team in 2017, bringing the same versatility to his coverage as he does to his sports viewing habits.
