NBA Calibre Battle Brewing

Friday, March 3, 2023

NBL analyst Liam Santamaria and 2010 MVP Corey Williams have shared their thoughts on the must-watch Championship match-up between NBA calibre players Xavier Cooks and Jarrell Brantley.

Cooks’ and Brantley’s stats have been almost on par for majority of this season, with both players averaging 16 points per game - however Cooks shades his Breakers counterpart in both assists and rebounds per game.

Conversations are flowing about Cooks’ NBA ambitions, with several teams keeping tabs on the NBL MVP and reigning Larry Sengstock Medalist.

While Cooks is looking to get to the NBA for the first time in his career, Brantley has already experienced it having played 37 games for the Utah Jazz between 2019 and 2021.

Santamaria and Williams believe Brantley will make Cooks sweat in the match-up, which could see the Breaker get the better of his counterpart.

“Where I think it’s going to be most interesting about where it’s refereed is the Cooks/Brantley match-up at power forward,” Santamaria said.

“I think it’s the marquee match-up heading into this series.

“It’s all about the matchups. You’ve got the MVP and the guy I think should’ve been Defensive Player of the Year, Jarrell Brantley.”

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">?? Seven points in 15 seconds<br>?? ???? banked three<br>?? A pure game-winning performance<br><br>Jarrell Brantley balled out last time he faced the Kings. Can he do it again in the Championship Series? ?<br><br>Live on ESPN via Kayo Freebies on Friday, March 3 from 7:30pm AEDT ? <a href="https://t.co/pQ5pc69qGm">pic.twitter.com/pQ5pc69qGm</a></p>— NBL (@NBL) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBL/status/1630800400839479296?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 1, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Williams added Brantley’s NBA past will give him the confidence and momentum to front Cooks this Championship Series.

“I know he’s [Brantley] looking at this match-up like, Cooks listen, you’re nice but I’m nice too. I know that if I come in here and play you, if there’s talks about you going to the NBA, I’m going to the NBA,” Williams said.

“That’s exactly how he is going to take this match-up.

“Silent assassin, don’t do too much talking.”

The debate surrounding the matchup between the star power forwards evolved into a debate surrounding who could win the series, with the pair of analysts agreeing they think Sydney will fall short in their quest for back-to-back titles.

“The Sydney Kings are the greatest team in the league. I just think this Breakers team is a great match up for them. They are coming in with an emotional state of mind that makes them that little bit more hungry than this Kings team,” Santamaria said.

“I’m telling you, New Zealand for the win. I’m telling you,” Williams said.

Game 1 of the Championship Series is on Friday night at 7:30pm AEDT at Qudos Bank Arena. Watch the game live on ESPN via Kayo Freebies.