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New Zealand Breakers vs Illawarra Hawks |
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|---|---|---|
2016/17 NBL Season, 18 November 2016 |
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| North Shore Events Centre, Auckland, NZ | ||
| New Zealand Breakers | Illawarra Hawks | |
| 100 | SCORE | 85 |
| 33 | Q1 | 16 |
| 24 | Q2 | 22 |
| 23 | Q3 | 31 |
| 20 | Q4 | 16 |
Kirk Penney plays his first game against his old club in Friday night NBL when the in-form New Zealand Breakers host the inconsistent Illawarra Hawks at the North Shore Events Centre. Join The Roar for live scores and coverage from 5:30pm (AEDT).
Sharp-shooting guard Penney, who started out at the Breakers and then moved to the Hawks has gone back to where it all started this year, and it sets this up as a massive contest.
If not for the Penney reasons, then for the fact that the sides played a double overtime game last season in New Zealand last year, and the serious ladder implications involved with a double header between the sides this weekend do.
Coming into the game, the sides are separated by just a single game with the Breakers flying in recent times to get themselves into third with five wins and four losses, while the Hawks have fumbled and bumbled their way through the last few weeks so sit five with four and five.
This is shaping as one of the more aggressive games for the season, with both teams knowing how to put up plenty of points in a hurry.
The highest score this season, or at any point during the 40-minute era, belongs to the Illawarra Hawks after they ran up 122 on the Adelaide 36ers in the first round of competition, while the Breakers aren’t far behind, kickstarting their season in Round 4 by putting 119 on the 36ers.
After a tough start to the season, the Breakers offence has really started to flow in recent weeks and it all came to relevance last week as their defence got involved and they won in overtime on the road against Perth.
Even with star guard Ben Woodside out injured, their offence was still solid and the Breakers are once again in the championship picture.
The Hawks are less-so in that picture, with some abysmal play at times this season. Their imports, led by 2014 MVP Rotnei Clarke haven’t been producing to anywhere near the neccessary levels, and they don’t have a stack of other talent on court.
Oscar Forman has struggled at times and AJ Ogilvy hasn’t had the same impact in the paint that he had last year, when he and Kevin Lisch carried the Hawks into the finals.
Whether they can turn it around on the road in New Zealand is a difficult question to answer but they did get up over the Adelaide 36ers last weekend in less than convincing circumstances, so if their defence stands up they are certainly a chance.
Prediction
The Breakers should be far too strong at home. Expect a high scoring game, Penney to light it up and the Breakers to run away down the stretch.
Breakers by 15.
Be sure to join The Roar for live coverage of Kirk Penney’s first match against his old club from 5:30pm (AEDT) and don’t forget to add your own comments in the section below.
Follow Scott on Twitter @sk_pryde