Preview: Brisbane v Tasmania (Round 9)

When: 4pm (AEDT), Sunday 4 December 2022

Where: Nissan Arena, Brisbane

Broadcast: 10 Peach; 10 Play; ESPN; Kayo; Foxtel; Sky NZ

Who won last time?

Brisbane 74 (Baynes 16, Sobey 14, Johnson 13) d Tasmania 72 (McVeigh 17, Doyle 12, Macdonald 11, Magette 11) – Round 6 at MyState Bank Arena, Hobart

Once again the Bullets raced out of the blocks against Tassie,  charging 18 ahead late in the opening half thanks to the presence of Aron Baynes and Tyrell Harrison. The JackJumpers responded though, literally turning the game into a wrestling match as they manhandled the Bullets on and off the ball. With their opponents handcuffed the JJs charged home, but Jack McVeigh’s missed two to force overtime typified their wayward shooting night.


What happened last game?

Brisbane did need an extra period on Thursday, giving up a 10-point last quarter lead before hanging on in regulation, then turning the defensive screws in the additional five minutes to win by 11. Tassie didn’t try to handcuff United last round after falling foul of the adjusted officiating interpretations against New Zealand, instead running up a cricket score and running over the top of their newest bunnies with a 17-6 run in the final six minutes.


What’s working?

Andrej Lemanis – Did the former Bullets coach step back in last week? No, of course he didn’t, but the new offensive mindset introduced by Sam Mackinnon had the Breakers and Boomers mastermind written all over it. The five-out spacing, the constant rollers, divers and back-cutters into space, and the ball popping almost too unselfishly as the Bullets shot 60 per inside and scored 54 points in the paint despite being without their two centres.

Overtime – When Brisbane and Tasmania first met 366 days ago it went to overtime. When they met in Round 2 this year it took another five minutes. Had McVeigh made his pull-up in Round 6 it would have been OT again, and in Round 17 last season at Nissan Arena had Clint Steindl missed one late shot from the foul line, well, we don’t need to tell you what would have happened. These teams play out thrilling games, here’s hoping for another.
 

What needs stopping?

Foulers or Matadors – When the whistle changes, defences need to change. It took until Round 13 last season for the overt physicality to get cleaned up, but it’s happened sooner in NBL23. Coming out of the FIBA break the JJs didn’t see it coming, whistled 27 times as New Zealand marched to the stripe 36 times. Scott Roth’s reaction? Tassie committed just 10 fouls against Melbourne, gifting only seven free throws, but United went 28/44 from two-point range at 63 per cent. Can Roth find a balance somewhere between foulers and matadors?

Interruptions – The Bullets can’t catch a break. Baynes, Tyler Johnson and Nathan Sobey finally get their legs back and Harrison gets back on the floor, then Devondrick Walker hurts his back, then Baynes and Harrison go down. Then James Duncan is let go. Then DJ Mitchell is out. Then he’s back in again. Then the in-form Tanner Krebs injures his ankle. Can they continue the flow they found against Perth without his versatility, given Mackinnon appears to want an aggressive style with more shooting, pressure and playmaking at the four?


Who’s matching up?

Harry Froling v Will Magnay – Baynes is a game-time decision, but the oft-maligned Froling stood strong against Perth with 13 rebounds and a game-high +16, reflecting the importance of his passing to Mackinnon’s offence, and the smarts with which he defended ball-screens and the paint. Magnay was a defensive monster first game back but ineffective against United next up, and will be hoping his legs are firing after a seven-day break.

DJ Mitchell v Jack McVeigh – Mitchell was a late inclusion against Perth but produced a ripper, adding 10 points at 57 per cent, three-o-boards and three assists in the Bullets’ newly freed-up offence to be +11. He struggled offensively last time against Tassie, but crucially had a game high seven d-boards. McVeigh has scored in double-figures the past six games, averaging 15.9ppg at 41 per cent from deep, and perhaps Mitchell’s ability to track McTrey through pick-and-pops and run him off the arc is his most important job Sunday.

Nathan Sobey v Milton Doyle – The force is selfless in this one, Sobey-Wan Kenobi dishing 5.7 assists per game in his past six, with Brisbane claiming four wins. He’s also averaged 16ppg, with his 28-point outburst on Perth a scary sign for opponents. Doyle continues to be like a box of chocolates, with six games shooting below 40 per cent and six at 50 per cent or better. He burned Melbourne for 23 at 53 per cent last round, and Brisbane for 32 at 55 per cent first time, however, so expect him to get plenty of defensive attention.

https://twitter.com/JackJumpers/status/1596457342262214656


Who’s saying what?

Somehow, Brisbane beat the Wildcats on Thursday night, but it didn’t seem like that was meant to be early on.

DJ Mitchell, who was not expected to be available for the game, came running into Nissan Arena just before tip-off.

Then Tanner Krebs dislocated his finger in the first minute, sparking a cascade of injuries that threatened to leave the already-undermanned Bullets struggling to field five players.

“Harry had a blood nose, Gak got hit in the ribs, it was all happening in the first quarter,” coach Sam Mackinnon said.

Where early adversity turned into an embarrassing performance in Auckland four days earlier, the Brissy boys were made of sterner stuff this time around.

“We had time to prepare,” Mackinnon pointed out as a key difference.

“We also reviewed the New Zealand game, they are in my opinion the best team in the league at the moment, and we learned a bit from that.

“I think we saw that intent and effort from all the guys … we have heart, our guys do, they're a good group of human beings.

“We've got some adversity now with injuries and I think they fully embraced that tonight and sacrificed and did whatever they could for their teammates.”

https://twitter.com/BrisbaneBullets/status/1598241018989940738


For point guard Jason Cadee, the Breakers annihilation and his team’s long list of outs left nothing to do but look in the mirror.

“We knew it was going to be challenging, we were supposed to be missing five of the 11 we started the year with,” Cadee said.

“When you have half a group, with development players and Rasmus stepping in as a replacement player, you have nowhere else to look.

“So as a group we said the only way we get this done is playing balls to the wall the next 40 minutes and see what happens at the end of it.

“At the least we can get some respect back for the way we played the other night, and collectively we just wanted to get a win for Sammy.

“Being at home too, our fans are feeling it a little bit, but we’re just trying to stay with the grind and hang around that pack, and if we can get some troops back we can make a run.”

There is a new purpose about how they’re going to make that run at the offensive end, and there appears to be a bit more run-and-gun, too.

“We changed the starting line-up and Jase was elite, we played through certain guys, that’s the way we’re going to play,” Mackinnon explained.

https://twitter.com/BrisbaneBullets/status/1598249906657165312


“It starts with (Cadee), Jase and I go a long way back and I got a message (of support) from him after the game on Sunday.

“We win as a team, it’s not one individual, so my message was pretty clear, we’re not going to do that with one guy trying to be a hero.

“We had a game plan in place and everyone embraced it, and Jase led from the front.”

Another win on Sunday will have the Bullets within half-a-game of the top six, but Tasmania plays “balls to the wall” as well as anyone, and a fresh JackJumpers side presents a huge challenge to Brisbane’s effort-based focus.

“That’s our DNA and it’s who we’ve been since the organisation started,” point guard Josh Magette said.

“We aren’t going to jump off the page with talent or with guys who can jump up and put the ball between their legs and do 360 dunks, we know who we are and we’re going to play hard and give ourselves a chance at the end of the game.”

Just like the fans, Magette is looking forward to the backcourt match-up between he, Milton Doyle and Jarrad Weeks against Cadee, Sobey and Tyler Johnson, who are the clear focus of Mackinnon’s offence.

“It starts with their guards, Cadee, Sobey and Johnson,” Magette said.

“They run their team and as they go their team goes … They’re definitely a team that likes to play in transition so it’s a real key for us to be able to slow them down and make them play in the half court and limit their transition threes.”