NBL Grand Final series preview

On Wednesday afternoon the NBL Grand Final series will begin with Game 1 in Auckland.

The first Grand Finals appearance for either club, the Cairns Taipans will go against the minor premiers New Zealand Breakers.

Both teams needed three games to reach the Finals with Cairns overcoming number 2 seeded Townsville and the Breakers outlasting the defending champion Wildcats.

The Breakers are favourites to take out the championship. The Breakers won the season series 3-0

New Zealand

The Breakers have far and away the most talent in the series but will still be pushed if they are to take out the series. Their main push will come from SG Kirk Penney and on the play of centre Gary Wilkinson. Both Wilkinson and Penney made the All NBL First team this year after impressive seasons.

The perimeter play of veteran leader CJ Bruton off the bench will also be huge for the Breakers. Although he posted a disappointing stat line for the first series against Perth he shouldn’t be discounted in such a high pressure series.

The depth of the bench of New Zealand is huge, with Bruton, Braswell and Boucher all figuring to have big impacts.

The Breakers were taken care of by their Wildcats in Game 1 of their first round series so it’s unclear what kind of advantage they’ll experience on their home floor.

Cairns

The Taipans have made an impressive post-season push after a solid regular season. After taking care of the home court Townsville Crocodiles on Sunday the Taipans are in with a fighting chance in this one.

The Taipans will look to Alex Loughton, Ian Crosswhite and point guard Ayinde Ubaka for the majority of their scoring.

Guard Daniel Dillon also figures to have an impact off the bench after dropping a huge 21 points in the game 3 win over the Crocs.

Although they only just sneaked into the finals, the Taipans are still a big threat to New Zealand’s hopes of a first title. Their stifling defence was the best in league through the season but will be met with the leagues best offensive team in New Zeeland.

All in all it figures to be a huge NBL Finals series and a fitting end to a great season.

My Picks:

New Zealand in 3 games

MVP: Kirk Penney