Parker Jackson-Cartwright ruled out for season with tibia fracture

• Parker Jackson-Cartwright has a stress fracture in his tibia and misses the rest of NBL27
• He averaged 18.2 points and 7.8 assists for the Breakers in nine games
• Carlin Davison averaged 12 assists in the three games PJC missed in October
• Every injured NBL player, with expected return dates

New Zealand Breakers captain Parker Jackson-Cartwright ($405,200) has been ruled out for the rest of NBL27 with a stress fracture in his tibia.

The club announced on Tuesday that Jackson-Cartwright had been managing a lower leg injury with the medical staff, but his symptoms got worse on last week's road trip to Tasmania and further scans revealed the fracture. He now needs immediate rest and rehabilitation.

"This is devastating for the club, but first and foremost it is devastating for Parker," Breakers president of basketball Dillon Boucher said.

"He lives and breathes the Breakers; he loves the club, the city, the country, and our fans.

"The decision is taken with his welfare top of mind, to allow him to rest, heal and return better than ever in 2027."

The injury lands with the Breakers ninth at 4-8 and on a five-game losing streak.

Jackson-Cartwright averaged 18.2 points, 7.8 assists and 3.9 rebounds in nine games this season, shooting 45.7% from the field and 22-from-59 from three.

His numbers had already dropped off. He averaged 22.3 points and 8.9 assists in his first seven games, and missed three games in October. In his last two he scored six points in 23 minutes in the loss to Melbourne United, then two points in 11 minutes in last Friday's 79-77 loss in Launceston, where he did not play after the 3:43 mark of the second quarter.

Boucher said no decision had been made on a replacement.

"This has happened over the past 24 hours and is still very new; our focus is on Parker and preparing the team for our game against Brisbane on Friday night," he said.

Boucher said he would speak with owner Marc Mitchell and coach Gordon Herbert about the club's options and a plan for the rest of the season.

Davison takes the ball again

The Breakers have already played without their captain this season. In the three games Jackson-Cartwright missed in October, forward Carlin Davison ($121,600) took over the playmaking: 11 assists at Perth, 14 in the 102-101 win in Sydney and 11 in Tasmania.

That is 12.0 assists a game, against 6.6 across his whole season. Nobody in the league has handed out more assists per 36 minutes since October 10.

There was better news on Charles Bediako ($277,000). Scans on the centre's lower back came back clear, with no fracture, and he will be a game-day decision against the Brisbane Bullets on Friday at 5.30pm AEDT.

What it means for SuperCoach NBL

Jackson-Cartwright was owned by 7.8% of SuperCoach NBL teams at the Round 8 lockout, and he was already the sell in our Round 9 buy, hold, sell. He averaged 39.0, but dropped $71,300 in the last price update. Anyone still holding him should trade him out now.

Davison is the obvious beneficiary. He averaged 43.0 in the three games Jackson-Cartwright missed, including 61 in Sydney, against 28.6 for the season, and he is owned by 10.4% of teams.

The Breakers play twice in Round 9: they host Brisbane on Friday and visit the Sydney Kings on Sunday. Sam Mennenga ($303,100) is also worth watching: he is the club's most-owned player, at 28.4%.