| 2019–20 New Zealand Breakers season | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Head coach |  Dan Shamir | ||
| Captain |  Thomas Abercrombie | ||
| Arena | Spark Arena | ||
| NBL results | |||
| Record | 15–13 (53.6%) | ||
| Ladder | 6th | ||
| Finals finish | Did not qualify | ||
Stats at NBL.com.au | |||
| Player records | |||
| Points | Webster 19.6 | ||
| Rebounds |  Ashley 6.5 | ||
| Assists | Hopson 4.7 | ||
| Uniforms | |||
|
| |||
| All statistics correct as of 21 April 2020. | |||
The 2019–20 NBL season was the 17th season for the New Zealand Breakers in the NBL.
Season summary
For the 2019–20 season, the Breakers acquired the services of internationally respected Israeli coach Dan Shamir, replacing Kevin Braswell.[1] He bought with him nearly two decades of extensive experience coaching in Europe and Israel, the highlight being part of two Euroleague championship wins with Israel's Maccabi Tel Aviv.[2]
Shamir recruited seven new players,[1] including US teen sensation R. J. Hampton as part of the NBL Next Stars program.[3] The Breakers and SKY Sport agreed to a multi-year naming rights sponsorship through to 2023,[4] along with broadcast rights for the next four years, including free to air viewing of 14 games on Prime in New Zealand.[5] The club also announced it would take four games around New Zealand, one each to New Plymouth and Invercargill, plus two in Christchurch after a near 15-year hiatus.[6] The Breakers began their 2019–20 campaign with a pre-season trip to the United States with games against NBA teams the Memphis Grizzlies and Oklahoma City Thunder, losing both by double digits.[7][8]
Turmoil engulfed the early stages of the season, with their on-court woes of a 2–7 start coinciding with off-court woes.[9] An injury to import Scotty Hopson led to the controversial signing of troubled American journeyman Glen Rice Jr.,[10] who less than two weeks after arriving in Auckland was arrested after a scuffle in a bar and subsequently suspended indefinitely by the club.[11][12] Additionally, Breakers owner Matt Walsh was fined $5000 and given a two-game ban for getting into a heated argument with the NBL commissioner after a game, and forward Tom Vodanovich was met by police following a flight from Perth to Auckland in November after taking a sleeping pill in conjunction with alcohol that led to misbehaviour on the flight.[13] The multitude of incidents led to the questioning of the club's culture, with the new ownership seemingly moving away from the family values installed under previous owners Paul and Liz Blackwell.[14] Despite the controversy surrounding the club, the Breakers were playing to record home crowds[15] and the 24 October encounter against the Illawarra Hawks—which saw Hampton matched-up with LaMelo Ball—was the most-watched game in NBL history with nearly two million views globally on Facebook. There were an estimated five million views on highlights from the game shared on social media platforms including Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.[16]
A loss against the Adelaide 36ers on 24 November saw them drop to 2–8 — their worst start to a campaign since their debut in 2003–04 when they also lost eight of their first 10 games. Additionally, the team lost Corey Webster to an ankle injury.[17] Rice was reinstated to the roster for round 10 following an investigation by Basketball Australia,[18] but following his return match against the Taipans, he was arrested again for breaching bail conditions and was subsequently sacked by the Breakers.[19] His release coincided with the return of Hopson from injury.[19][20][21] After dropping to a 4–10 record, Webster left for China.[22] A remarkable turn around occurred from round 13 onwards with the Breakers reaching 8–10 by the end of December following a four-game winning streak,[23] and then winning 11 of their last 14 games to finish the season 15–13, only missing the playoffs on points differential.[24][25] The late-season push saw the Breakers being dubbed "the team no one wants to play in the playoffs".[26]
Roster
| 2019–20 New Zealand Breakers roster | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Players | Coaches | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Updated: 18 December 2019 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Depth chart
| Pos. | Starting 5 | Bench 1 | Bench 2 | Development |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| C | Ater Majok | Robert Loe | ||
| PF | Brandon Ashley | Finn Delany | Tom Vodanovich | |
| SF | Scotty Hopson | Thomas Abercrombie | Jordan Ngatai | |
| SG | Sek Henry | Ethan Rusbatch | ||
| PG | R. J. Hampton | Jarrad Weeks | Terry Li |
Pre-season
The Breakers pre-season games included one regular pre-season game against the Adelaide 36ers, two games in the NBL Blitz and another two games in the NBLxNBA series, and only played a total of five games.[27][28][29]
Standings
| 2019–20 NBL pre-season ladder | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Ladder | Information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Total Rounds Total Games Legend
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Game log
| 2019–20 game log | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
NBL Blitz: 1–1 (Home: 0–0; Road: 1–1)
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Pre-season: 0–2 (Home: 0–0; Road: 0–2)
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NBLxNBA: 0–2 (Home: 0–0; Road: 0–2)
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Regular season
The regular season of the NBL consisted of 28 games, with 10 of the Breakers' 14 home games held at Spark Arena, two held at Horncastle Arena, one at TSB Stadium and one at iLT Stadium Southland.[30][31]
Standings
| Pos | 2019–20 NBL season | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | Pld | W | L | PCT | Last 5 | Streak | Home | Away | PF | PA | PP | |
| 1 | Sydney Kings | 28 | 20 | 8 | 71.43% | 4–1 | W2 | 12–2 | 8–6 | 2642 | 2472 | 106.88% |
| 2 | Perth Wildcats | 28 | 19 | 9 | 67.86% | 4–1 | W3 | 11–3 | 8–6 | 2529 | 2409 | 104.98% |
| 3 | Cairns Taipans | 28 | 16 | 12 | 57.14% | 3–2 | L2 | 11–3 | 5–9 | 2587 | 2547 | 101.57% |
| 4 | Melbourne United | 28 | 15 | 13 | 53.57% | 4–1 | W3 | 9–5 | 6–8 | 2638 | 2560 | 103.05% |
| 5 | Brisbane Bullets | 28 | 15 | 13 | 53.57% | 3–2 | W1 | 10–4 | 5–9 | 2607 | 2557 | 101.96% |
| 6 | New Zealand Breakers | 28 | 15 | 13 | 53.57% | 4–1 | W4 | 9–5 | 6–8 | 2514 | 2468 | 101.86% |
| 7 | Adelaide 36ers | 28 | 12 | 16 | 42.86% | 1–4 | L2 | 8–6 | 4–10 | 2654 | 2768 | 95.88% |
| 8 | S.E. Melbourne Phoenix | 28 | 9 | 19 | 32.14% | 0–5 | L8 | 6–8 | 3–11 | 2671 | 2761 | 96.74% |
| 9 | Illawarra Hawks | 28 | 5 | 23 | 17.86% | 0–5 | L10 | 3–11 | 2–12 | 2354 | 2654 | 88.70% |
Updated to match(es) played on 16 February 2020. Source: NBL.com.au
Ladder progression
- Numbers highlighted in green indicate that the team finished the round inside the top four.
- Numbers highlighted in blue indicates the team finished first on the ladder in that round.
- Numbers highlighted in red indicates the team finished last place on the ladder in that round.
| 2019–20 NBL season | ||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 |
| Adelaide 36ers | – | 8 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 |
| Brisbane Bullets | 2 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 5 |
| Cairns Taipans | 7 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 4 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| Illawarra Hawks | 6 | 5 | 7 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 |
| Melbourne United | 5 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 4 |
| New Zealand Breakers | – | – | 9 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 8 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 6 |
| Perth Wildcats | 4 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| S.E. Melbourne Phoenix | 3 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 |
| Sydney Kings | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
Game log
Awards
Player of the Week
Round 12, Scotty Hopson
Round 16, Scotty Hopson
See also
References
- 1 2 Hinton, Marc (7 August 2019). "New Breakers coach Dan Shamir eyes epic challenges: 'We'll have to be so smart'". Stuff. Retrieved 15 June 2020.
- ↑ NZME, Christopher Reive Christopher Reive is a sports reporter for (31 July 2019). "Basketball: Breakers confirm Dan Shamir as new coach; announce Scotty Hopson signing". NZ Herald. ISSN 1170-0777. Retrieved 1 April 2020.
- ↑ "NBL Unveils its Next Star in RJ Hampton". NBL.com.au. 28 May 2019. Retrieved 28 May 2019.
- ↑ "SKY Sport Unveiled As Naming Rights Partner". www.nzbreakers.basketball. Retrieved 1 April 2020.
- ↑ "SKY Sport Unveiled As Naming Rights Partner". www.nzbreakers.basketball. Retrieved 2 April 2020.
- ↑ "RJ Hampton to play in Christchurch as Breakers bring ANBL back to the city". Stuff. Retrieved 2 April 2020.
- ↑ Price, Josh (11 October 2019). "Basketball: New Zealand Breakers provide value despite NBA thrashing". NZ Herald. ISSN 1170-0777. Retrieved 1 April 2020.
- ↑ "Steven Adams: "Dan Shamir is a Smart Dude"". www.nzbreakers.basketball. Retrieved 1 April 2020.
- ↑ "Glen Rice Jnr: The highly touted Breaker that didn't last two weeks". Stuff.co.nz. 20 November 2019. Retrieved 22 November 2019.
- ↑ "Breakers Sign Glen Rice Jr as Injury Replacement". NBL.com.au. 5 November 2019. Retrieved 5 November 2019.
- ↑ "Breakers recruit Glen Rice Jr arrested after bar incident". stuff.co.nz. 16 November 2019. Retrieved 18 November 2019.
- ↑ "Breakers Suspend Glen Rice Jr Indefinitely". NBL.com.au. 18 November 2019. Retrieved 18 November 2019.
- ↑ Long, David (19 November 2019). "Out-of-control NZ Breakers letting down loyal fans by setting bad examples". Stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 22 November 2019.
- ↑ "Breakers boss confirms Tom Vodanovich mixed sleeping pills with alcohol on flight". Stuff.co.nz. 19 November 2019. Retrieved 22 November 2019.
- ↑ "New Crowd Record Will Be Broken Against Hawks on Thursday". www.nzbreakers.basketball. Retrieved 2 April 2020.
- ↑ "ANBL: Hampton v Ball match-up breaks viewing record". Newshub. Retrieved 2 April 2020.
- ↑ Hinton, Marc (25 November 2019). "Corey Webster's injury, defensive woes leave Breakers' ANBL season on the brink". Stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 25 November 2019.
- ↑ Hinton, Marc (7 December 2019). "NZ Breakers coach Dan Shamir has no regrets over Glen Rice Jr's hasty return". Stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 9 December 2019.
- 1 2 Waugh, Lachlan (9 December 2019). "Basketball: Troubled Breakers star Glen Rice Jr's contract ripped up after second arrest". nzherald.co.nz. Retrieved 9 December 2019.
- ↑ "Breakers Turn Drama into Another Home Win". NBL.com.au. 9 December 2019. Retrieved 9 December 2019.
- ↑ Hinton, Marc (10 December 2019). "NZ Breakers take important first step in healing process after Glen Rice Jr shambles". Stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 10 December 2019.
- ↑ "Breakers Accept Buyout For Corey Webster". NBL.com.au. 18 December 2019. Retrieved 18 December 2019.
- ↑ "Four wins in a row for resurgent New Zealand Breakers". Stuff.co.nz. 29 December 2019. Retrieved 30 December 2019.
- ↑ Hinton, Marc (8 February 2020). "Scotty Hopson, Finn Delany propel NZ Breakers past Brisbane in playoff push". Stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 8 February 2020.
- ↑ "New Zealand Breakers' turbulent season ends without finals basketball". Stuff.co.nz. 16 February 2020. Retrieved 16 February 2020.
- ↑ "New Zealand Breakers, the team no-one wants to play in NBL playoffs". Stuff. Retrieved 2 April 2020.
- ↑ "36ers add another home game to exciting pre-season schedule". www.adelaide36ers.com. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
- ↑ "NBL Blitz Landing Page". landing.nbl.com.au. Retrieved 22 August 2019.
- ↑ "NBL news: NBLxNBA NBA preseason games, NBA preseason, Los Angeles Clippers, schedule". Fox Sports. 3 July 2019. Retrieved 22 August 2019.
- ↑ "National Basketball League | NBL". www.nbl.com.au. Retrieved 22 August 2019.
- ↑ "Christchurch Games Announced for NBL Regular Season". www.nzbreakers.basketball. Retrieved 4 September 2019.