Hawks V Breakers: It's no two-man show

By Tim Keeble
Updated November 5 2012 - 9:15pm, first published October 14 2009 - 11:19pm

Wollongong Hawks coach Gordie McLeod doesn't want Saturday night's home meeting with the New Zealand Breakers to be all about a one-on-one battle between NBL luminaries Tywain McKee and CJ Bruton.Basketball followers are salivating at the prospect of the head-to-head showdown between Hawks star McKee and two-time Olympian Bruton.But McLeod is a huge believer in teamwork and the last thing he would like to see is a two-man sideshow which could harm his Leg 1side's focus and chemistry.While McKee's duel with Bruton will almost certainly have a major bearing on the result, the Hawks can't afford to sit back and enjoy the show."The way we've structured our team ... it's about our team, it's not about one person,'' McLeod said."If we think we're going to win a competition with an import, we're kidding ourselves.''Bruton was magnificent in the Leg 2Breakers' come-from-behind win over Melbourne last week, pouring in 32 points in the absence of the Kiwi team's regular scoring leader, Kirk Penney.McKee tallied 20 points in last week's 71-59 home victory over Cairns and is averaging almost 22 points per game.The Taipans' defensive tactics centred largely around aggressively double-teaming McKee.Aside from four turnovers and a few rushed shots, Coppin State University's all-time leading scorer kept his cool under pressure and finished as the game's standout player.``McKee's the form guard right Leg 3now. We wanted to make it as tough as possible,'' Cairns coach Aaron Fearne said after his team lost to the Hawks.``He makes plays and he did that down the stretch with some big plays.''McLeod said the league-leading Hawks (2-1) were well equipped to cope with teams that tried to physically bully McKee.``That suits us with the personnel we've got,'' he said.``The thing the guys have done really well all year is be unselfish and get the ball to the open man, and that's how we have to play if we're going to be successful.''McLeod is hoping his team Leg 4repeats last week's tenacious defensive effort.``The guys did a fantastic job at the defensive end of the floor,'' the coach said.``Our team defence was extremely good and we did a great job on the boards by not allowing a lot of second-chance points.''Hawks centre Tim Behrendorff will be keen to take on his former side after recovering from a knee injury.Penney will miss the game with a back injury and is expected to be sidelined for at least a month.A Hawks win would ensure they retain a share of top spot at the very least.

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