Preview: NBL25 R15 Home v NZ Breakers

The New Zealand Breakers arrive at the Brisbane Entertainment Centre on Wednesday night a very different looking team than last time but the Brisbane Bullets are just focused on what they need to do to get back to winning in NBL25.

It's a crucial match up to close Round 15 in the NBL season for both teams as well at the Brisbane Entertainment Centre with the Bullets and Breakers attempting to keep themselves in the top six race.

Despite still having played some strong basketball in a lot of ways the last three games, the Bullets have lost three straight to the Illawarra Hawks, Tasmania JackJumpers and Sydney Kings to come into Wednesday night's match up with a 9-11 record.

New Zealand is only just behind at 8-12 having lost nine of the last 10 matches but the Breakers have been impressive in their last two hit outs with a big New Year's Eve win in Cairns and then leading Perth on Sunday with four minutes to go before Matt Mooney fouled out.

The two teams have already met twice this season for a win apiece with the first meeting in Perth at HoopsFest where the Bullets went ever so close to pulling off a remarkable comeback win with the Breakers just holding on for the four-point win.

The second clash was also in Brisbane on October 17 where the Bullets scored the 84-73 victory, but it's fair to say both teams have changed significantly, and been through a lot since then.

Josh Adams, Deng Adel and Emmett Naar will all be out there on Wednesday night for the Bullets who weren’t there in that victory against the Breakers back in October.

As for New Zealand, they will be playing a third game without star point guard Parker Jackson-Cartwright who is serving a five-match suspension but they have covered for him well in the last two games.

The first one was a win over the Taipans on New Year's Eve with Matt Mooney and Tacko Fall combining for 44 points, 15 rebounds and 10 assists.

That pair also produced 56 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists in a tight loss to Perth in Auckland on Sunday while the other significant change for the Breakers the last two games has been 261-game veteran Mitch McCarron starting as point guard in Jackson-Cartwright's absence.

Wednesday night's game will be the first time that the Bullets have come up against Fall, who has now played the last nine games with the Breakers as the tallest ever player to compete in the NBL standing at 7'6.

That creates a different look in terms of trying to deny him the ball near the basket and having to play a different defensive scheme than against any other NBL opposition.

However, rightfully Bullets coach Justin Schueller is just focused on what the Bullets need to do themselves and to tidy up a couple of areas to get back to winning because for the most part they've been doing a lot right even in the last three matches.

"To be honest and it will sound like a cliché, we've been talking about us and our controllables and how we want to go about things," Schueller said.

"Every team's got a slightly different style and an area that we've got to go and focus on, but really it comes down to where we do see how we want to play, and continuing to grow that.

"We believe we're getting closer and closer to where we want to go with that one. That's the key to us moving forward and giving ourselves a playoff chance."

Bullets captain Mitch Norton is certainly not breathing any sigh of relief with the Breakers missing Jackson-Cartwright because he knows what a competitive beast McCarron is to come up against.

But like his coach, he is just focused on making sure the Bullets do what they need to do to get back to winning and get right back in the top six race.

"Macca's a hell of a player and is a championship winning point guard in this league, and he knows what it takes to win," Norton said.

"It's no easy task just because Parker Jackson-Cartwright is out against them, but it is about us as a group and us moving forward. I'm sure we'll look at that in preparation for this game and come up with a plan to try and combat them."

GAME INFO

Who: Brisbane Bullets vs NZ Breakers

Tip off: 6:30pm (AEST), Wednesday 8 January, 2025

Where: Brisbane Entertainment Centre

Tickets: Available Here

Watch: ESPN via Foxtel and Kayo