Basketball: Breakers keep Pledger in cotton wool in leadup to finals campaign
A couple of pieces of the puzzle remain to be arranged before the Breakers begin their playoff campaign.
Tied with Cairns atop the Australian NBL with four games to play, one piece of unfinished business is the need to separate themselves from the Taipans and earn top spot in the standings.
However, as big a bearing as home advantage may have on their eventual finals fate, the other item to be crossed off the to-do list is potentially more pivotal.
Alex Pledger will travel to Townsville for tomorrow night's clash with the Crocs, but his level of involvement is undetermined.
The big man sat out last week's impressive win against Perth and, with the postseason looming, there is still a big question mark next to his name.
Pledger's campaign has been crippled by a toe injury that will require surgery, of that there is no doubt. But there is much less certainty surrounding just how restricting that injury will be in the final weeks and the semifinal series that will begin at the end of the month.
The seven-foot (2.15m) centre had a limited role in practice yesterday, participating in the warm-up and 20 minutes of five-on-five scout. It was his first session since an adverse reaction to a cortisone shot before the Perth game and neither he nor coach Dean Vickerman knew quite what to expect.
"He did the things that he needed to do today to say he's going to play but that's the first session he's had in nearly two weeks so we'll see how he pulls up from it," Vickerman said. "He'll definitely go [to Townsville] but there's still a question about whether he'll play or not."
While the Breakers have refused to turn their attention to the playoffs, retaining the short-term focus that has served them well this season, an exception has been made in Pledger's case.
Vickerman acknowledged the careful balancing act the coaching staff faced over the final four games, needing Pledger to see some court time but wary of impinging on his ability to contribute once the postseason arrives.
"It's about knowing that if we put him out there today, it's not going to affect him down the track.
"We can only judge it by his pain and what he feels, and make an assessment from there.
"We've just got to make sure we get enough court time out of Alex in these last few games, just to remember what he does for us and how we play with him and make sure we can take advantage of the things that he gives us.
"He's not practising a lot so he needs that game time to just make sure he's comfortable."