BENDIGO Braves’ defence – or lapses in it – are at the heart of the side’s form slump, according to coach Ben Harvey.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The Braves dropped two games on the weekend to Basketball Australia’s Centre of Excellence (COE) and Dandenong Rangers, and have now lost three of their past four.
Harvey, who led the Braves to a SEABL national championship in 2016, said it was a familiar tale in both losses, with the Braves paying dearly for breakdowns on defence.
“It was the same pattern (on Sunday), our third quarter on Friday night was very poor,” he said.
“We were up by 11 on Friday night – we kept them to 33 (points ) in a half and then they score 35 in one quarter.
“Our defence is just so inconsistent right now. Every time we get over 40 stops we win, every time we get under 40 we lose – it’s as simple as that.
“And we are way off – (Sunday) it was 31 stops, Friday night it was 34.
“We are struggling with our attention to detail, IQ and communication on defence.”
The Braves’ woes were compounded by a thumb injury to Daniel Hansen in Friday night’s loss to the COE.
The back-up guard missed what was scheduled to be his 100th SEABL game and remains in doubt for this Friday night’s clash against Sandringham Sabres, which will serve as the opening of the new Bendigo Stadium show court.
The Braves’ fortunes went from bad to worse when point guard Indiana Faithfull was ejected early in the Rangers clash following a technical foul.
“That left us with eight players – the guys put up a good fight, but it was disappointing to be up by four at half time and come out and do the exact same thing as Friday night and be poor defensively,” Harvey said.
“It’s pretty simple, you have to play four quarters at this level.”
Harvey said it was disappointing to have squandered a bright opening to the season, highlighted by four straight wins and five in the Braves’ first six games.
That impressive opening had the Braves in top spot on the ladder at the start of the month.
They are now 5-4 and in eighth position.
He said the clash against the Sabres, who lost 97-66 to Geelong Supercats on Saturday, would be a definite opportunity to regroup.
“We won’t reach our goal of being 8-3 before the Queen’s Birthday weekend,” he said.