'Every game is Game 5'

After being blown out of the water by 23 points in Game 1, the Tasmania JackJumpers need to attack the remainder of their Championship Series against Melbourne United like every clash is Game 5, according to Liam Santamaria.

Tasmania exploded out of the blocks in Game 1 with 24 points in the first quarter, and entered the first break trailing by just two points, but United systematically picked their opponents apart in the second and third quarters, before they blew the margin out in the final term.

It was a game in which Tasmania’s stars never soared to their full potential, but Santamaria believes it’s the defensive end where the JackJumpers can claw their way back into this series.

“They have to clamp down, that’s what they’ve got to do. The JackJumpers are built around their defence and we saw earlier in the season when their defence was kind of not where it needed to be they actually started to slide away from where they needed to be,” Santamaria said on NBL Now.

“You’ll remember Scott Roth saying ‘our season is on the brink here’, and that was a result of their defence not being at the level. I’ll be honest, it wasn’t in Game 1. They tried but I feel they were a little sluggish and a little heavy-legged.

“Yes, Chris Goulding hit tough shots. Yes, Jo Lual-Acuil Jr is a problem inside when he’s got that type of mentality, but you’ve got to provide more resistance and that will be the focus coming in tonight.

“I remarked to my son who I was sitting there watching the game with that the JackJumpers were going about playing that Game 1 like it was Game 1 of a five-game series, whereas you have to play that thing like it’s Game 5 every step of the way, and if you get to a Game 5 you have to take it up to an even further level from there – and they didn’t have that kind of intensity.

While Marcus Lee has asserted he is unimpeded by the shoulder injury he suffered in the Seeding Qualifier against Illawarra, Santamaria says the impending battle between Lee, Will Magnay and their Melbourne counterparts Jo Lual-Acuil Jr and Ariel Hukporti will be the key to who wins this game.

Magnay played just 13 minutes in Game 1, while Fabijan Krslovic was preferred to Lee down the stretch for the JackJumpers. Conversely, Lual-Acuil Jr was named Foot Locker Player of the Game for his dominant performance, while Hukporti brought his trademark stellar rim protection into the game to keep the pressure on Tasmania.

Santamaria says Tasmania’s performance against Melbourne’s center duo will be defined by Magnay.

“Both of these teams have rock solid two-headed monsters at the five spot and for Tassie it does start with Will Magnay,” he said.

“Regardless of actually who starts the game – we saw Marcus Lee start for almost the entire year and Magnay’s been starting these last few - Magnay is the one who needs to really assert his authority, protect the rim without fouling, set good picks, and roll to the rim and roll as a target up top.

“It’s a huge battleground, the battle of the bigs, in those respects but also on the glass. The JackJumpers got blasted on the glass in Game 1 and they’re going to have to turn that around.”

Game 2 of the Championship Series between Tasmania and Melbourne will tip off at 7:30pm AEDT, live on ESPN via Kayo Freebies, 10 Peach and 10 Play.