Otago Nuggets coach Alf Arlidge is a Perth Wildcats fan but found himself cheering for the New Zealand Breakers on Sunday night.
The Breakers' 93-89 win means former Tall Blacks forward Dillon Boucher will not be able to take the court for the newly-formed Auckland Pirates when they host the Nuggets in the National Basketball League season opener tonight.
Instead, he will be suiting up for the semifinal decider against the Wildcats.
That is good news for the Nuggets. Boucher is one of those players every team needs. He is not a big scorer but he clogs up the statistics sheet with rebounds, assists and steals.
"He is a great playmaker, a good defender and Auckland will miss his leadership," Arlidge said.
"But then again, Auckland has a pretty strong roster. And, in any team, when someone gets an opportunity it is a chance for them to prove their worth."
In Boucher's absence, experienced point guard Luke Martin will take more of a leadership role and American imports Raheim "the dream" Brown and Kevin Mickins are expected to have an impact on the league.
But Arlidge wanted to talk about what the Nuggets would bring to the game. Fair enough, too. The franchise has struggled to compete in the league for the past six seasons.
In 2009, the team dropped out of the league for financial reasons and its comeback was marred by some one-sided encounters and a winless campaign.
That said, the Nuggets offer their long-suffering fans some hope this year. Tall Black Craig Bradshaw will pair up with American Lance Allred in a powerful forward line-up which should give the Nuggets parity with the league's best teams and an advantage against some of the weaker sides.
Allred had a brief stint with the Cleveland Cavaliers in the NBA in 2007-08 and has made a favourable impression on Arlidge, as has Bradshaw.
"Lance and Craig are obviously going to give us more presence in the paint and at the defensive end," Arlidge said.
"Lance just seems to float around and seems to get to the spots where the ball is. He makes it look easy, he really does.
"Craig brings intensity, which I really, really like. The good thing about him is the mana that he brings. He is a winner and he just wants to win. He is just Mr Intensity all the time and is driving the guys to make them better at training. I think he has been a really good asset for us."
Bradshaw has had a tough few season with injury and was planning on skipping the season.
He had corrective ankle surgery last year and had slowly been getting stronger and fitter with each practice, although he was perhaps still a few weeks away from his best, Arlidge said.
Regardless, he will start alongside Allred, with guards Scott O'Gallagher and Sam To'omata and Riki Buckrell earning a starting spot ahead of former Cougars forward Mark Morrison.
O'Gallagher is better known for his ability to cut to the basket and get to the free throw line.
But the 26-year-old American will have to adapt his game and become more of a distributer to utilise the two big target men up front. He will probably be called on to shoot from the outside more often as well, with the likes of To'omata and Morrison also expected to shoot if they get open space.
The game was scheduled to be broadcast on Sky but conflicts with the Breakers' match and coverage has been canned.
Nuggets v Pirates Auckland, tonight
Otago Nuggets: Sam To'omata (captain), Craig Bradshaw, Lance Allred, Scott O'Gallagher, Riki Buckrell, Mark Morrison, James Ross, Sam King, Tom Rowe, Matt Trueman.
Auckland Pirates (from): Luke Martin, Raheim Brown, Kevin Mickins, Kevin Smith, Everard Bartlett, Karl Noyer, Brad Anderson, Houston O'Riley, Nick Barrow, David Beck, Dan Kong, Zach Makavilotogia, Brooke Ruscoe, Warrick Siddall.
