Basketball: NZ Breakers coach Mody Maor embraces underdog tag heading into sudden-death ANBL finals grudge match

NZ Breakers coach Mody Maor was at his sardonic best when addressing his team's chances against the Sydney Kings in their Australian NBL play-in game on Wednesday.

Last year's finalists will go head-to-head at Qudos Bank Arena, where the stakes will be at their highest. Win and advance to a second sudden-death play-in game to earn the right to play the winner of the seeding qualifier between Tasmania JackJumpers and Illawarra Hawks, where the next step is the semi-finals.

Lose, and the curtains come down for good on your 2023/24 campaign.

The bookies are leaning heavily towards the Kings to get the job done on their homecourt - and Maor has no hesitation endorsing that stance.

"Sydney are definitely the favourites," Maor said after Monday's training in Auckland.

"They have the higher seed on purpose. It's not by accident, they've earned this.

"They're the most talented offensive team in the league. They have the ability to explode in every game.

"People are right to write us off."

While the defending champion Kings finished only one spot higher on the ladder than the sixth-placed Breakers, they'll undoubtedly take plenty of confidence from the massacre they inflicted on the Kiwi team the last time they locked horns across the Tasman.

Led by a 39-point blitzkrieg from Jaylen Adams, the Sydneysiders demolished the Breakers 105-76 in a demoralising defeat many predicted would be the stand of the ending for the NZ side.

But rather than wilting, the Breakers stood up to reel off four wins in their next five games, before salvaging their season with a home win over the Bullets.

As Maor points out, that miserable night in Sydney was far closer to the exception than the norm when it comes to their rapidly growing rivalry with the Kings, which dates back to last season's epic five-game finals series.

"That was a very unique game," Maor noted.  

"I don't think this is the tale of the tape, when these two teams meet. We were on a back end of a back-to-back, a very challenging one. They came in and played an incredible game from their standpoint, shot 60 percent from three in the first half and broke it completely open.

"They showed us some of the things that they do and there's things to look at and study and do better but that game doesn't dictate anything."

More encouraging for the Breakers will be the result prior, when they closed out a comprehensive 109-101 win over the Kings at Spark Arena back in late December.

In fairness, that version of the Breakers was exceedingly more dangerous simply on the baiss that Anthony Lamb was on the court. The American import has since seen his first year in Auckland prematurely ended by a ruptured Achilles.

His absence makes the availability of the Will McDowell-White that much more critical. In the latest in a series of ailments that have plagued his campaign, the Australian was forced off the court with a shoulder injury in their final regular season game against the 36ers in Adelaide last Sunday.

Maor didn't give much away regarding McDowell-White's prospects against the Kings, simply assessing his condition as "okay."

The prognosis was more convincing for forward Finn Delany, who Maor expects to return after being hobbled by back spasms in Adelaide.

With or without the above players, Maor is confident his team - who have essentially been in must-win territory since early January - have the firepower to stun the Kings.

"We've been in post season mode for a very long time," said Maor.

"It's been over six weeks since we've been in a situation where every game matters to us. So, we're kind of riding the same wave, which is great.

"The energy's never dipped. The level of commitment the level of focus is incredible. Practice is really fun.

"I feel we're in a good place coming into [Wednesday] night."

NZ Breakers coach Mody Maor was at his sardonic best when addressing his team's chances against the Sydney Kings in their Australian NBL play-in game on Wednesday.

Last year's finalists will go head-to-head at Qudos Bank Arena, where the stakes will be at their highest. Win and advance to a second sudden-death play-in game to earn the right to play the winner of the seeding qualifier between Tasmania JackJumpers and Illawarra Hawks, where the next step is the semi-finals.

Lose, and the curtains come down for good on your 2023/24 campaign.

The bookies are leaning heavily towards the Kings to get the job done on their homecourt - and Maor has no hesitation endorsing that stance.

"Sydney are definitely the favourites," Maor said after Monday's training in Auckland.

"They have the higher seed on purpose. It's not by accident, they've earned this.

"They're the most talented offensive team in the league. They have the ability to explode in every game.

"People are right to write us off."

While the defending champion Kings finished only one spot higher on the ladder than the sixth-placed Breakers, they'll undoubtedly take plenty of confidence from the massacre they inflicted on the Kiwi team the last time they locked horns across the Tasman.

Led by a 39-point blitzkrieg from Jaylen Adams, the Sydneysiders demolished the Breakers 105-76 in a demoralising defeat many predicted would be the stand of the ending for the NZ side.

But rather than wilting, the Breakers stood up to reel off four wins in their next five games, before salvaging their season with a home win over the Bullets.

As Maor points out, that miserable night in Sydney was far closer to the exception than the norm when it comes to their rapidly growing rivalry with the Kings, which dates back to last season's epic five-game finals series.

"That was a very unique game," Maor noted.  

"I don't think this is the tale of the tape, when these two teams meet. We were on a back end of a back-to-back, a very challenging one. They came in and played an incredible game from their standpoint, shot 60 percent from three in the first half and broke it completely open.

"They showed us some of the things that they do and there's things to look at and study and do better but that game doesn't dictate anything."

More encouraging for the Breakers will be the result prior, when they closed out a comprehensive 109-101 win over the Kings at Spark Arena back in late December.

In fairness, that version of the Breakers was exceedingly more dangerous simply on the baiss that Anthony Lamb was on the court. The American import has since seen his first year in Auckland prematurely ended by a ruptured Achilles.

His absence makes the availability of the Will McDowell-White that much more critical. In the latest in a series of ailments that have plagued his campaign, the Australian was forced off the court with a shoulder injury in their final regular season game against the 36ers in Adelaide last Sunday.

Maor didn't give much away regarding McDowell-White's prospects against the Kings, simply assessing his condition as "okay."

The prognosis was more convincing for forward Finn Delany, who Maor expects to return after being hobbled by back spasms in Adelaide.

With or without the above players, Maor is confident his team - who have essentially been in must-win territory since early January - have the firepower to stun the Kings.

"We've been in post season mode for a very long time," said Maor.

"It's been over six weeks since we've been in a situation where every game matters to us. So, we're kind of riding the same wave, which is great.

"The energy's never dipped. The level of commitment the level of focus is incredible. Practice is really fun.

"I feel we're in a good place coming into [Wednesday] night."

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