Kevin Dillard has been hailed as the ultimate spark plug in the New Zealand Breakers' late-season surge towards the NBL play-offs.
Veteran Kirk Penney says Dillard has lifted the four-time champions immeasurably since arriving this month as their third American point guard of the campaign.
The 27-year-old was influential in the clutch 86-82 win over the Perth Wildcats in Auckland on Sunday, the Breakers' fourth on the trot which lifted them from fifth to equal-second on the ladder with Illawarra, ahead of Melbourne and Perth.
Less than two weeks ago the Auckland outfit were in last place on a congested league table.
Penney says every player has lifted a notch, seemingly infected by Dillard's effervescence after he replaced David Stockton.
"There's no doubt Kevin has made all of our jobs a little bit easier," Penney said.
"He has an ability to pass and an ability to score. Because of those two things, he takes a lot of pressure off other guys, and he's been a lot of fun to play with.
"He's been an awesome pick-up and we're all very thankful he's got a Breakers singlet on."
Penney is one player rediscovering his mojo in recent weeks, including a team-high 25 points against Perth.
Dillard contributed 20, along with four assists and five rebounds, only blotting his copybook with six turnovers in a worrying team tally of 24.
But Penney says Dillard shouldn't let that statistic worry him.
"Some of his turnovers were actually our fault, we weren't in the right positions. I was at fault for at least a couple."
The Breakers' final four games of the regular season include a home fixture against seventh-placed Cairns on Thursday followed by a trip to face the Sydney Kings on Sunday.
Both of those teams are still in play-off contention.
"The nature of the season means that we still have so much more to do. It's anyone's, it really is," Penney said.
