One of the NBL’s fiercest rivalries heats up again in Round 16 when the desperate New Zealand Breakers host the inconsistent but in-form Perth Wildcats at Vector Arena. Join The Roar for live scores of the match from 5pm (AEDT).
It’s been hard to get a read on exactly where the Breakers have been at throughout the season, with injuries and off-court issues seemingly hampering the Auckland-based club at every turn.
The Breakers have been everywhere from the top of the table to the bottom, but sitting in sixth place at the moment with a reasonable chance of makingt he playoffs probably doesn’t sum it up too badly.
New Zealand do seem to be on the rise though, with the signing of Kevin Dillard to fill the spot vacated by the injured Corey Webster doing a fantastic job at getting the clubs stuttering offence started.
The Breakers have picked up a couple of massive wins in their last two contests, beating the Sydney Kings on the road a fortnight ago, before getting the better of the Illawarra Hawks.
Dillard has been sensational in those games, but being backed up by Kirk Penney and Thomas Abercrombie is certainly helping to take a bit of pressure off the scorer.
The Wildcats, on the other hand have looked like a different team since Damian Martin returned from injury, the club able to finish their long road trip on a positive note and not looking back since.
The major problem for Perth – one that Cotton hasn’t quite been able to fill yet – is not having a genuine finisher. They have lost a couple of games on the line in the last fortnight, to Adelaide and Cairns and it’s not helping their cause for a 31st straight finals berth.
Perth need to get out of the one-dimension offence trap they have fallen into at times this season in this one if they are to win against what is known as a sturdy Breakers defence.
Prediction
As always between these two teams, it’s a tough game to call. The Breakers are no doubt desperate, but the Wildcats should have too much across the floor for them with Cotton leading the way on attack and Martin at the defensive end.
It’s going to end up being another classic though you feel, despite the snooze-fest the sides put on last time they met.
Wildcats by 7.
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Follow Scott on Twitter @sk_pryde