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Clash of the giants looms for Breakers
By Marc Hinton - Fairfax Media
Beware the Goorjian factor. That's the strong message the on-fire New Zealand Breakers will be carrying with them into Thursday night's NBL showstopper against the South Dragons on the North Shore.
Not only do the Melbourne-based Dragons come to the Breakers' house with the competition's best record (10-2), and on an eight-game winning streak that has established them as early title favourites, but they arrive with their new coach Brian Goorjian having picked up right where he left off at his last stop
Goorjian was a master motivator at the Sydney Kings where his crafty coaching and inspirational urgings always had them in the title picture (grabbing a threepeat of titles from 2003-05). And it has taken him no time to guide his new club, the Dragons, up to the same level.
It's a factor the Breakers are wide awake to as they contemplate a seismic clash between the competition's two hottest teams. The New Zealanders, with a 10-3 record themselves, can leapfrog the Dragons into top spot with a victory at the NSEC. But to do so they know they're going to have to answer the challenge by the man rated a coaching legend across the Tasman.
Breakers and Boomers guard CJ Bruton has a better handle than most on the qualities Goorjian brings to any team he coaches. The sharpshooter ran the show for Goorjian at the Kings from 2004-06 and has also been his premier point man for the Boomers in recent years.
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