Who steps up for New Zealand?

The loss of near-consensus All-NBL First Team elect Anthony Lamb has the potential to rock the boat for the remainder of New Zealand’s NBL24 campaign, but both Lanard Copeland and Liam Santamaria believe the former Golden State Warrior's absence is far from a death knell for the Breakers.

Lamb suffered a lower leg injury in New Zealand’s Round 18 victory over Perth, and ESPN’s Olgun Uluc has since reported it to be a ruptured Achilles, with the club still to confirm the prognosis. The forward was seen wearing a moon boot on the bench during the game and was helped from the floor by teammates Finn Delany and Tom Abercrombie.

Santamaria and Copeland have earmarked the Breakers’ other two imports for increased roles over the final four games of the regular season.

“Their fate is still in their own hands, but I think they can cover for the loss of Anthony Lamb more so than they could cover for the loss of some other guys – in particular Zylan Cheatham,” Santamaria said on NBL Overtime.

“Zylan Cheatham is back and playing at a really high level. 24 points and eight rebounds in this win over Perth, for me, he’s their most important player. ‘PJC’, Anthony Lamb, they’ve been sensational, we know what Will McDowell-Whtie can do when he’s playing at a high level, but for me Zylan Cheatham was the key to their season.

“His injury earlier in the season is why I wrote them off and now he’s back and healthy is the reason I’m writing them back in. I think the Lamb injury caps their Championship aspirations, but I still feel like with Cheatham playing at this level, Delany back, PJC playing well, Will McDowell-White ramping up, they can make the Playoffs.”

Copeland backed Parker Jackson-Cartwright to become New Zealand’s most important player during the run home, and cited the diminutive guard’s first half masterclass against Perth as crucial evidence of his game-breaking ability.

“I called that game, and they looked like they meant business from the word go. In that first half PJC was just, no one could guard him. We talked about it the whole first half,” Copeland added.

“Rillie called time-out after time-out trying to change his defence, he was just going one-on-one and getting it done, and then the second half happened and Perth made a run, but he’s a killer, he’s one of the best players in this league and what he did in that first half scares a lot of people.

“What worries me more is in the second half PJC sat the third quarter and they lost the momentum, so who else scores for them if they’ve got no Lamb?”

Should Lamb’s reported ruptured Achilles be confirmed by the Breakers, he’ll be the latest in a string of high-profile players to have suffered the injury in recent seasons.

“We’ve seen too many Achilles injuries. I’ve done my Achilles, we’ve seen it with Jack White, Ariel Hukporti and Dejan Vasiljevic in these last few years, to see this one is a crying shame, because he’s (Lamb) been spectacular this season,” Santamaria said.

“They’re a team that, with him in the lineup, are a threat to win the championship, not just make the Playoffs – but to go on an almighty run. They were able to get that win without him but obviously it’s going to be difficult, it’s a very sad sight to see him go down.”

The Breakers face a Round 19 double-header, and open their weekend’s campaign with a clash against Illawarra on Friday night at 5:30pm AEDT, live on ESPN via Kayo.