Basketball On The Internet.

IT should be no surprise, given the way defending NBL champion New Zealand stormed into the playoffs, that February was a top month for the club.

Equally unsurprising was the fact Breakers playmaker and championship expert Cedric Jackson scored Player of the Month honours and Dean Vickerman took the Coach's award.

THE NBL's announcement today: Deano and The Entertainer.

The Breakers closed January ending a losing run by beating Townsville, then took care of Adelaide, Cairns and United twice, before eliminating the regular season champs 2-0 in the semis for an unblemished February.

Finishing 7-0 sure beats starting 9-0, as Melbourne found when it tinkered with its lineup and paid the ultimate price against the big-game old hands.

Jackson, league MVP in 2012 and a Larry Sengstock Medallist, averaged 17.8ppg, 5.7apg and 6.5rpg through February, nailing a career-best seven threes against the 36ers in Adelaide, with 10 rebounds and six assists in a 31-point night.

He shot the 3-ball - generally scouted as his offensive weakness - at 50 per cent for the month.

Breakers fans will be hoping he continues that stroke tonight when New Zealand tries to avoid elimination in Game 2 of the Swisse Grand Final series against Perth at North Shore Events Centre.

“We’ve got the advantage now and it’s who can recover the best and who can make good enough adjustments from Game 1 to Game 2," Vickerman said.

“The recovery in this series is just massive with the schedule so who knows what can happen in Game 2 with different people flying back and forth, and who can deal with it the best? I think we are in a pretty good position to deal with it.”

We'll know soon enough.