NZ Breakers captain Tom Abercrombie Photo: Photosport
The timing of the Breakers' stateside trip to play a couple of NBA games is a boost for the brand but has the potential to derail their Australian NBL campaign.
The Breakers tip off their NBA sojourn against the Portland Trailblazers on Wednesday followed by a game against the Utah Jazz a week later.
While the NBA sides are in pre-season ahead of the regular season which tips off on 24 October, the Breakers are two games into a 20-round Australian NBL season.
With one win and one loss so far this season the Breakers aren't where they would want to be before taking a break from their main focus of going one better and winning the NBL Championship.
This is the third time the Breakers have travelled to the US to play NBA teams. The previous two times have been during the Auckland-based club's pre-season.
The last time the Breakers and NBA had a cross-over games was in 2019 when the Breakers lost to the Memphis Grizzlies and the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Breakers coach Mody Maor calls this latest trip a "tricky situation" that could turn into a "horrendous experience".
"It's not something you really want in the middle of a season but it could be an incredible blessing for us if we take advantage of it and do things the right way.
"These are two weeks that we can come out of them stronger, better, more connected, tougher with a better understanding of schemes and execution and hopefully a better understanding of what wins or it could go completely the opposite way if we think we go on vacation to the States it could be a very bad thing."
After a disrupted pre-season with players involved in the FIBA World Cup in August and September the Breakers were already on the back-foot heading into the season.
Maor hoped the next fortnight would allow the team to "chip away at the areas we need to be better".
"[If we] come back and keep thinking talent is what is going to carry us over the hump then it will be a horrendous experience."
Finn Delany who is back with the Breakers after a season playing in Europe is expected to sit out the NBA games.
It will be Delany's third time travelling to the US with the Breakers he has not always taken the court during these trips.
The Breakers are not the only NBL team meeting NBA opposition with the Cairns Taipans to play the Toronto Raptors on Wednesday and the Washington Wizards on 16 October.
-RNZ
