Basketball New Zealand

Alex Pledger (Dave Lintott)

Marc Hinton, Fairfax
On the surface, it’s a cruel blow.

The NZ Breakers have lost star big man Rick Rickert for tonight’s must-win Australian NBL match against the Wollongong Hawks, with the absence of their chest-thumping centre sure to be keenly felt at the North Shore Events Centre.

But one man’s pain is another’s gain, and in this case towering Tall Black Alex Pledger looks poised for a belated opportunity to stake his claim as a legitimate player in this league.

The big question, as the 12-13 Breakers fight for their playoff lives, is can Pledger provide the sort of game-changing contribution that Rickert has made his forte for much of this impressive season of his?

Rickert is averaging 12 points, just over seven rebounds and nearly two assists a game this campaign. In many ways he’s the heartbeat of this talented, yet frustratingly inconsistent group.

Pledger, on the other hand, has barely made the court in a campaign dogged by injury, illness or his coach’s lack of faith.

That coach, Andrej Lemanis, confirmed yesterday that Rickert, who had not been able to train on his injured ankle all week, would be a non-starter against the Hawks. And that Pledger, a hero in the Tall Blacks’ epic series win over Australia last year, would finally get his chance on, er, centre stage.

Lemanis will likely promote veteran Tony Ronaldson, who this week announced his pending retirement after 20 years and 662 games in the league, to start in the five spot. But against the big Hawks frontline Pledger will be needed.

“I don’t think we’ll try Pledge right from the start, but he’ll certainly get his opportunity,” said Lemanis. “We need him to come out and play well and be ready to go. It’s a good opportunity to step up and help us out.”

Lemanis said Pledger, who has struggled with a back complaint for much of the year, had put in a couple of good practice days ahead of the Hawks match and was hopeful the 2.13m big man would rise to the challenge, as he clearly had with the Tall Blacks.

“He’s always been that guy we’ve wanted to get right, believing he can come in and help us. This could be the perfect storm that enables him to do that.”

Lemanis, though, admits Rickert is a major loss. “He’s someone who cannot be defended one-on-one in the low post, and that helps your flow on offence. And his activity on the boards is always valuable. Pledge certainly helps on the boards and hopefully he can find a way to put some points up too.”

No pressure then on the man his team-mates call Chief. Certainly, in his own understated way, the quietly spoken seven-footer will be jumping out of his skin to finally get a chance, even if it comes just three games from the end of the regular season.

There was at least some good news for the Breakers ahead of the pivotal clash, with pogo-stick forward Tom Abercrombie cleared to take his place after his recent ankle woes. His athleticism, growing offensive game and shot-blocking will be sorely needed.

At the end of an emotional week at the club, with future hall-of-famer Ronaldson announcing his pending final bow, it will be interesting to see how the Breakers come out. On a three-game winning streak that coincided with Ronaldson sharing his news with his team-mates, they should take care of the Hawks if they play anywhere near their best.

But the Hawks have been their bogey side this year, having beaten them three times already. They too have had their injury issues, losing star point guard Tywain McKee, but have battled to stay in the playoff picture with a 13-11 record.

“If anything, the guys want to play well to make sure Tony goes out on a happy note,” added Lemanis. “And Rick being out is just one of those things we’ve had to deal with all season.”

NZ Breakers: Tom Abercrombie, Kevin Braswell, CJ Bruton, Dillon Boucher, Oscar Forman, Paul Henare, Kirk Penney, Alex Pledger, Tony Ronaldson, Jeremiah Trueman, Corey Webster.

Wollongong Hawks: Tim Behrendorff, Mat Campbell, Tom Coenrad, Larry Davidson, David Gruber, Daniel Jackson, Luke Martin, Rhys Martin, Glen Saville, Cameron Tragardh.