Will New Zealand finally pull the rug from under Korea?

SEOUL (FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 Asian Qualifiers) - Korea have had New Zealand's number since last year, but Tall Blacks look primed and ready to finally break the curse against their East Asian foes.

New Zealand fell to the Koreans twice in the FIBA Asia Cup 2017 and once again were tripped up in the first window of the Asian Qualifiers last November. In all those matches, the smaller Koreans utilized their vaunted shooting and speed to outplay the Tall Blacks, who just cannot seem to find the right formula to finally Korea, one of Asia's traditional hardcourt powerhouses.

Coach Paul Henare's wards are coming off a huge win in Dongguan over erstwhile unbeaten China, and that should prop up their chances really well in this joust with Korea. The Tall Blacks lived with letting former NBAer Yi Jianlian rack up a hefty amount of points, but they shut the other marquee Chinese players down and cruised to their second win of the Asian Qualifiers.

Korea, meanwhile, are coming off an expectedly easy win over hapless Hong Kong. The Koreans actually had a slow start here and had to play from behind early on against the Hong Kongers, but coach Hur Jae's crew righted the ship midway through the first half and proceeded to break the game open. Against New Zealand, however, Korea can ill-afford another slow start.

Key Matchups:
Jeon JunBeom was the chief architect of Korea's conquest at Wellington in the first window. The 6ft 5in (1.95m) wingman drained 6 triples last November against the Tall Blacks, and that was one of the most critical reasons for Korea upsetting higher-ranked New Zealand. Tasked to guard Jeon this time around will be Jordan Ngatai and Reuben Te Rangi, and they have to make sure that Jeon won't catch fire. Otherwise, the Tall Blacks could be in hot water again.

Ricardo Ratliffe did not have a monster game against Hong Kong in his first game as a naturalized Korean because he didn't have to. Hong Kong were certainly a few notches below Korea's quality, but New Zealand will definitely be much stronger. Ratliffe will probably square off against exemplary Tall Black big man Isaac Fotu, and this time around the veteran KBL foreign reinforcement will have to bust out big time.

Tai Webster is coming off a superb outing against China, and for sure he will be among coach Henare's top weapons at the Jamsil Arena. His ability to break the defense down with penetration coupled with his playmaking and outside shooting make him such a tough mark for any defender, and that means guys like Park ChanHee, Lee JungHyun and Heo Hoon will have to bring their A-game.

Key Stats:
Three-point shooting is usually a strength of New Zealand, but against Korea, it has been their bane. In two of their wins over the Tall Blacks, coach Hur Jae's wards hit double-digit triples, and they should expect New Zealand to adjust their D accordingly. Webster, Ngatai, Shea Ili and the other Tall Black guards have to make sure they shadow Korea's snipers lest things get out of hand.

In total, Korea have had 32 more assists than New Zealand in their last three meetings. That's a cause for concern for coach Henare, whose defense really needs to tighten up in the face of all of Korea's trademark crisp cutting and passing. Once again, the workload here will fall mostly on the laps of the Tall Blacks' guards, but their frontliners also have to make sure they're not caught sleeping under the bucket as Korean bigs like Kim JongKyu and Oh SeKeun love finding those open spots where it's very easy to score.

One thing New Zealand have going in their favor is bench scoring. They have an arguably deeper roster than Korea, and that's something they have to unleash as soon as possible. Guys like Ili, Alex Pledger and Ngatai have the potential to put together some wicked runs that can erase any deficit or blow up any lead. For New Zealand to come out with a big win, their supporting cast have to step up.

FIBA