Breakers look to Peyton to keep up the momentum

The Peyton Siva factor looms large as Breakers coach Dan Shamir looks to cajole a seamless transition from his team’s third Covid-19 outbreak of this increasingly problematic Australian NBL season.

The 2-7 Breakers – battling to keep their heads above water — returned to practice in Melbourne on Monday after a week in isolation dealing with their largest Covid setback of the campaign. They had eight players test positive, plus some members of staff, resulting in the whole team being placed in isolation for seven days.

That came after their best period of the season with victories over Brisbane (88-83) and Sydney (82-75) bookending an 89-78 defeat to the red-hot Melbourne United that had its encouraging aspects. The big poser for Shamir now is just how much momentum has been lost to the untimely break , and how quickly his side can regain the rhythm that was finally evident over that three-game period.

Those questions will be answered when the Breakers step on court in Hobart on Sunday for their second clash against expansion side the Tasmania Jackjumpers (2-5), and back it up at the same venue on Wednesday against Brian Goorjian’s dangerous Illawarra Hawks (4-3). Both games will be played behind closed doors.

The Kiwi outfit isn’t sure what lies beyond that as the NBL unfurls its schedule piece by piece amid the widespread Omicron outbreak, but Shamir is certain of one thing: ‘‘We need to win every game.’’

Siva looms as a vital figure as the experienced American point guard finally evolves into the influential figure the Breakers had him tabbed for. He’s been coming off the bench, but playing starters’ minutes since his return from a serious hamstring injury, and is averaging just under 16 points, 4.5 rebounds and nearly 5 assists over that recent threegame span.

‘‘We played pretty well against Brisbane,’’ said Shamir of the recent turnaround. ‘‘Sydney was a grind, but I was very happy with how we played the last six minutes . . . we made a few shots, and had a 30-point fourth quarter, and the main thing that happened in my eyes was the return of Peyton to really playing well. He runs the team, puts everybody in place and had a lot to contribute in those two [victories].

‘‘I hope the next few days physically we’ll be able catch up, but I don’t know how it will affect the rhythm of how we play,’’ Shamir told Stuff from Melbourne. ‘‘We need to overcome the beginning of it. The best example of that was South East Melbourne going to Brisbane a week ago after their break, and falling 31-6 in the first quarter. We have to overcome that.’’

The most glaring concern for the Breakers right now is their depth at the four and five spots. Yanni Wetzell and Finn Delany are carrying heavy loads, and their backup is wafer thin. Shamir has clearly lost faith in the struggling Rob Loe at centre, where development player Sam Timmins has emerged as next cab off the rank, while Kyrin Galloway and Loe are platooning piecemeal minutes at power forward off the bench. Shamir has even turned of late to a fourguard finishing lineup that clearly ticks his boxes.

The Jackjumpers first up is must-win. They’ve lost five of six since debuting with an overtime victory over the Bullets. That one win over that span? Against the Breakers on December 26.