Herbert lauds Breakers coachability, chemistry

Gordie Herbert can't fault how coachable his BNZ Breakers have been in a challenging opening to NBL27 but he is especially happy with the way Sam Mennenga and Carlin Davison are stepping up, and saw encouraging signs first up from Nelson Weidemann.

The Breakers are now back home in Auckland this week having been on the road for almost two full weeks for away games to the Perth Wildcats, Sydney Kings and Tasmania JackJumpers.

They came away with an impressive win in Canberra against the defending champion Kings while putting in a strong three quarters against the Wildcats in the first game without Parker Jackson-Cartwright, and then it was a tight battle with the JackJumpers on Sunday.

That leaves the Breakers now with a 4-4 record as they hit the road once more this weekend to play the Cairns Taipans on Sunday in Reuben Te Rangi's 400th NBL game before finally returning to Spark Arena next Friday night against the 36ers.

For coach Herbert, he always knew how challenging the start was going to be with seven of the first nine games away from New Zealand, but there's positives to every situation.

"It's been a tough road trip and got to see Australia quite well the last few weeks, and it's a beautiful country with great people," Herbert said.

"This Tasmania is an amazing place I have to say but it's tough and we play seven of our first nine games on the road so we're just trying to get through this first part.

"Hopefully we get (Josiah-Jordan) James and Parker back at some time and we can become stronger because of it."

While there's always things to work on in games and conceding 19 offensive rebounds and having 18 turnovers themselves wasn’t ideal against the JackJumpers, Herbert can't fault the effort and work ethic of his group.

And especially with the continued absence of Jackson-Cartwright and James, and while spending so much time travelling and away from home, he does commend the fight his Breakers players are showing.

"I think the work ethic of our players has been outstanding and to a certain extent I think we were playing on fumes a little bit in this game," Herbert said.

"We were dead tired after the Sydney game and then had more travel to come to Tasmania, but that's the nature of this job.

"It's like I told the players, if we think we're mentally tired then we will be tired and we have to fight through it.

"I thought for the most part they did an outstanding job fighting through it and they never gave up, they fought through it and we just kind of ran out of gas there a little bit, and they made some big plays and we didn’t, so give them credit."

Two players to have especially stepped up this season and in particular on the most recent three-game road trip have been Sam Mennenga and Carlin Davison.

Mennenga has turned himself into a genuine MVP contender and in those three games against Perth, Sydney and Tasmania, he produced an average of 34.3 points, 9.7 rebounds and 3.0 assists on shooting 39/57 from the field at 68 per cent including 67 per cent from three-point range.

Then there was Davison who slotted into the point guard role in the absence of Jackson-Cartwright, producing 12.0 assists with 12.7 points and nine rebounds on shooting 55 per cent from the floor.

"Sam's a workhorse, he's playing with tremendous effort and obviously we're asking a lot from him with Parker out," Herbert said.

"And Carlin's really evolving and he had a little bit of a tough time there in the second quarter, but I thought he really bounced back after half-time."

German international Nelson Weidemann also joined the Breakers on the road trip as an injury replacement and was able to make his debut on Sunday in Hobart against the JackJumpers.

The experienced combo guard might take some time to adjust to the NBL officiating after picking up five fouls in 16 minutes of court time, but outside of that he showed some tremendously encouraging signs.

Not only did he score six points and knock down a couple of three-pointers, but he also had two steals and played strong defence on that side of the floor where Herbert sees him being able to have a significant impact.

"He's just had one practice with us and it's a bit of a new situation for him, but I think once he gets his feet on the ground he can be a good defensive presence for us hopefully," Herbert said.

"I think he can be a good piece for us especially being a defensive stopper for us at the defensive end on the perimeter."

Another aspect of this Breakers team that Herbert has been impressed by with how much time they've been spending together on the road is the chemistry within the group, and how open to being coached all the players have been.

"I think we have good chemistry and with the injured players out, other players have stepped up and haven’t felt sorry for themselves," Herbert said.

"They've taken responsibility and it's been great to see. We're then on the road again on Saturday but every team kind of goes through this kind of schedule at some time during the year.

"The one word I'd use for this team is that they're very coachable and they learn, we get things done in practice and they understand that it's not criticism, it's coaching that we're doing with them.

"I think our future's really good, we just have to get on the right page with a couple of other guys and our future is heading in the right direction so to speak."