IN SOME rare Monday night National Basketball League (NBL) action, the New Zealand Breakers will be looking to move back into the top six of the standings when they take on a struggling Brisbane Bullets outfit.

The Bullets will host the Breakers at Brisbane Entertainment Centre in a clash between two sides coming off a loss earlier in the weekend. Although there is a bit of a contrast in form over the course of the season, both sides will be just as eager for an early-week win tonight.

The Breakers will be looking to stay in touch with the top six with another win on Monday night, while the Bullets will be eager to get a win on the board for their new head coach following a change in leadership last week.

Brisbane Bullets vs. New Zealand Breakers

Brisbane Entertainment Centre
Monday, December 22 @ 7:30pm

The Bullets are in the midst of a difficult season, currently sitting in ninth spot on the ladder with a record of five wins and 14 losses. It has forced the team to make several roster changes throughout the course of the fixture, and it has not been a fix with Brisbane on a hefty losing streak coming into tonight’s clash with New Zealand.

Last week, it reached boiling point, with the Bullets opting to part ways with their coach Stu Lade following a disappointing performance this season. The duties were handed over to assistant coach Darryl McDonald, and the Brisbane players will be looking to secure the win for their interim head coach on Monday.

With some big names sidelined in Casey Prather, Dakota Mathias and Lamar Patterson all missing through injury, the Bullets will need someone to step up. Javon Freeman-Liberty will certainly need to get the job done if the home side are to cause an upset. The import showed what he is capable of earlier in the season, averaging 19 points across his first two games with the team, and will need to reach that level of output once again.

The Breakers were one of the form teams of the competition coming into Round 13, before sustaining a shock loss at the hands of the Cairns Taipans, marking their second defeat in a row after falling to the SEM Phoenix, and they have now fallen down to seventh spot on the ladder following a drop in form recently.

However, yesterday’s result at MyState Bank Arena which saw the Tasmania JackJumpers fall to the Perth Wildcats, the Breakers now have a chance to move back into the top six if they get the job done tonight, given they have a better percentage than Tassie, so a win here is crucial.

There is no one more important to New Zealand’s success in the NBL than point guard Parker Jackson-Cartwright, who will need to be at his best tonight. The import’s ability to not only bring himself into the game, but his teammates as well is instrumental to the Breakers’ offensive production and will need to be in full force in Brisbane.