New Zealand Breakers coach Dean Vickerman wants better from his bench against the Adelaide 36ers on Friday as they try to climb out of their NBL mid-season malaise.
The fourth-placed Breakers (11-7) have struggled for offensive bite in recent weeks, most notably in their last-start 73-66 loss on New Year's Eve to Cairns.
The defending champions want better when they host the fifth-placed Adelaide (9-9), who are coming off a 16-day break.
Breakers captain Mika Vukona is in doubt with a sprained ankle suffered at practice on Tuesday but Vickerman says prolific guard Corey Webster will be fit to play, despite sitting out Thursday's session with a back twinge.
Vickerman has been happy with his team's defence but admits they had struggled to adapt offensively to the late loss of forward Tom Abercrombie in Cairns.
"We haven't moved the ball as well as we'd like. Scoring 66 points in the last game, we'll see a change in how we space the floor and score the basketball."
Vickerman is imploring bench players Reuben Te Rangi and Everard Bartlett to improve their output, having struggled recently to step up when Webster and influential point guard Cedric Jackson took breathers.
Te Rangi is well short of the standards set last season, averaging 3.1 points per game and less than 33 per cent in his shooting from the field.
Bartlett started the season strongly but his points per game has dropped to 6.6.
Both players are handed 15 minutes per game on average but Vickerman says he won't consider reducing that - yet.
"We feel like we haven't had the bench scoring and production that we need," he said.
"We need that punch off the bench so we can rest people. All those guys are putting in the work and I still have to show confidence in them."
Vickerman identified guard Jerome Randle and centre Daniel Johnson as Adelaide's obvious scoring threats who they would need to nullify.
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