R12 Game Preview: Phoenix v Breakers

 Opponent: New Zealand Breakers

Where: John Cain Arena

When: Sunday April 4 – 3:00pm AEDT

Tickets: CLICK HERE

Broadcast: SBS Viceland, SBS On Demand, Twitch, NBL TV

Phoenix NBL21 Record: 11-8 (third on the ladder)

After a club-record winning margin in Illawarra on Thursday night, South East Melbourne Phoenix are hoping to continue their winning ways when they host the New Zealand Breakers on Sunday.

The Phoenix defeated the Breakers earlier this year in the NBL Cup, their only matchup to this point of the season.

It will be a Kiwi extravaganza with the Phoenix boasting four New Zealanders on their playing roster plus assistant coach Judd Flavell.

SQUAD

Keifer Sykes (foot), Dane Pineau (knee jar) and Kendall Stephens (achilles) will miss.

PLAYER TO WATCH

Ryan Broekhoff exploded into form on Thursday night with 26 points including 7/11 from the three-point line in just 21 minutes.

The Boomers star shooter took a few weeks to get up to speed having not played a competitive game for over a year but reminded everyone what he’s capable of against the Hawks.

A firing Broekhoff adds an incredibly dangerous element to an already powerful Phoenix line-up and fans will hope to see some more fireworks on Sunday.

OPPOSITION REPORT

New Zealand sit eighth on the NBL table with a 5-11 record.

It’s been a tough year for the Breakers as they’ve been forced to play the entire season on the road and have dealt with a number of injuries.

Their most recent game was a win however, defeating the Bullets in Brisbane last Saturday.

Speedy guard Tai Webster and forward Finn Delany have been two standouts for the Breakers and will take up a large amount of the Phoenix’s planning for the game.

Big man Colton Iverson exploded into some form last week, putting up 10 points and a whopping 20 rebounds in the win over Brisbane.

Young Aussie gun Will McDowell-White joined the team during the week. The 6’5 combo guard is in the Boomers’ 24-man squad for the Olympics and arrives after a stint in the NBA G-League.

HISTORY VS. OPPOSITION

Head-to-Head Record:

Phoenix 2 Breakers 3

NBL21:

Phoenix def Breakers 103-89 

NBL20:

Phoenix def Breakers 103-78

Breakers def Phoenix 90-84

Breakers def Phoenix 97-92

Breakers def Phoenix 92-83

Sam Bunn for Phoenix Media (03/04/2021)