NBL legend Derek Rucker believes there is one factor that differentiates New Zealand Breakers’ coach Mody Maor from his opponents.
The Kiwi franchise finished the regular season in second place, winning themselves an automatic semi-final berth and home-court advantage in the upcoming finals.
BREAKERS WIN ‼
— Sky Sport New Zealand Breakers (@NZBreakers) February 4, 2023
Road dawgs finish the regular season with a dub against Brisbane in OT 🙌
The road continues, bring on the finals 👊#UNBREAKABLE #roadtothechampionship #JobsNotFinished pic.twitter.com/Q2lDHGl2cQ
Maor led the Breakers to 18 wins and 10 losses across the season, a far cry from the previous year in which they finished bottom of the standings with just five victories.
Having turned the side around in just his first year at the helm, Rucker says Maor’s direct character is what has won over the changing room and brought the best out of his players.
“I think he’s very direct and I think he has the trust of the group,” Rucker told SENZ Mornings.
“I spend a lot of time reading the body language and the team collective body language in the time outs and so forth and the way players react to him, the way players interact with each other when he isn’t watching.
“All of those things are vital to a team’s success and I believe that all those signs are very positive and they’re things that lead to success.”
Stay tuned for venue, date and ticket info coming tonight 🤞 #UNBREAKABLE #RoadToTheChampionship pic.twitter.com/uuTJvRHHu8
— Sky Sport New Zealand Breakers (@NZBreakers) February 6, 2023
While Maor’s influence is clear, Rucker believes the return home and the rise of point guard Will McDowell-White have also contributed to their drastic improvement in 2023.
“Being at home, having a regular home/away season has assisted him tremendously but they got their import selections right, they have had relatively good health and the rise of Will McDowell-White under Mody’s direction has been massive,” Rucker added.
“I think that Will is the second-best point guard in the competition and when you have a leader like that, that gives you a really good chance historically in this competition to win the championship.”
24-year-old McDowell-White was instrumental in the Breakers’ 80-75 overtime win against Brisbane on Saturday with 15 points, eight rebounds and nine assists.
https://t.co/hQeiEx9XTs pic.twitter.com/7Zr98hUX0B
— Sky Sport New Zealand Breakers (@NZBreakers) February 5, 2023
The Breakers will now await the result of the Cairns and Tasmania seeding qualifier, playing the victor in a best-of-three series.