Preview: Tasmania vs Brisbane - Round 6, NBL24

Friday, November 3, 2023

Brisbane defeated Tasmania just six days prior to this clash - can the JackJumpers defend Launceston?

Saturday, November 4 at 5:30pm AEDT | Silverdome

Watch: Live on ESPN via Kayo Sports - International viewership details
Box scores: Download the free NBL App

The JackJumpers and Bullets met as recently as the final game of Round 5, where Brisbane emerged as three-point victors behind a Nathan Sobey masterclass.

Brisbane’s Thursday night win over South East Melbourne has seen the Bullets leapfrog the JackJumpers into fifth on the ladder.

Aron Baynes was absent last time these teams played, but returned off the bench against the Phoenix for 12 points and eight boards in just under 15 minutes.

This game will be Isaac White and Sam McDaniel’s first game in Tasmania after departing the JackJumpers for the Bullets this off-season.

Tasmania
87-90 loss to Brisbane
82-90 loss to Melbourne
105-95 win over Sydney

Brisbane
108-92 win over South East Melbourne
90-87 win over Tasmania
84-79 win over Perth

Milton Doyle
It was just two weeks ago Milton Doyle seemed to be head and shoulders above every single player in the NBL, he’s come crashing back down to earth in Tasmania’s recent pair of defeats though, and the JackJumpers will be keen to get him up and running again.

The beauty of the JackJumpers’ offence is not everything has to go through Doyle, so if he’s not at his brilliant best it’s easy for one of Jordon Crawford or Jack McVeigh to step into the breach. When Milton’s on though, he’s different gravy.

He scored just seven points – but added eight assists – in last week’s loss to Brisbane, and added just 12 points and five assists in the loss to Melbourne.

With all the MVP talk now moving to the likes of Nathan Sobey and Alan Williams, this is a good chance for Doyle to offer a stark reminder of his pedigree.

“I need to set some screens for him and try and get him open. I’ve been working on these muscles, so I have to start using them, otherwise Milt is not going to be happy with me. That’s one thing we’ll try and do out there – you’ll see me seeing some screens this weekend.” – Jack McVeigh on Milton Doyle

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Milton Doyle - so good, so smooth ?<br><br>Watch live & free on ESPN via Kayo Freebies, 10 Peach & 10 Play ? <a href="https://t.co/ZYpfDMCYqs">pic.twitter.com/ZYpfDMCYqs</a></p>— NBL (@NBL) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBL/status/1715971135865512115?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 22, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Aron Baynes
It was something of a surprise to see Aron Baynes not immediately injected into the starting lineup in Thursday’s win over South East Melbourne, and it was even more surprising to see Next Star Rocco Zikarsky’s name called before the Big Banger’s – but the ability for a star player like Baynes to not only accept it, but encourage it, speaks volumes of where this Brisbane team is currently at.

Baynes played under 15 minutes in Thursday’s high-scoring victory, but doesn’t look to have missed a beat in his five games on the sidelines. He was one of seven Bullets to end the game in double-digit scoring, and only Foot Locker Player of the Game Josh Bannan pulled in more rebounds than he did.

Whether Baynes or Tyrell Harrison gets the starting job against Marcus Lee on Saturday remains to be seen, but even though the Bullets learned how to win without their former NBA champion, they look a whole lot more dangerous when he’s in the rotation.

“We were planning to match Rocco up with Gak for the majority of the night and he was first off the bench. What I love is Baynesy came up and said ‘make sure you give Rocco that one, don’t change it up’. That’s the beauty of this group right now – we don’t care who starts, we don’t care who ends, it’s are we winning our position as a collective.” – Justin Schueller following the win over South East Melbourne.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">BAYN3S ?<br><br>Catch the action live on ESPN via Kayo ? <a href="https://t.co/dqxt6OnA5w">pic.twitter.com/dqxt6OnA5w</a></p>— NBL (@NBL) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBL/status/1720003141889151277?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 2, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Jack McVeigh vs Josh Bannan
Jack McVeigh became the first JackJumper to score 1000 points for the NBL’s newest club in last weekend’s loss to the Bullets, and has stepped up in a big way during this slightly down patch for Milton Doyle – but he faces a different kind of test in Josh Bannan on Saturday.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Could Josh Bannan be right at the top of the Next Gen class? ?‍?<br><br>The Brisbane forward starred in last night's win over South East Melbourne. Just how high can this kid fly? ?<br><br>Read more: <a href="https://t.co/gHukVfRvbc">https://t.co/gHukVfRvbc</a> <a href="https://t.co/sjVj5ZmtG0">pic.twitter.com/sjVj5ZmtG0</a></p>— NBL (@NBL) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBL/status/1720242955955658934?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 3, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Bannan is fresh off his first NBL Foot Locker Player of the Game performance, and went toe to toe with former NBA forwards Mitch Creek on Thursday – and it’s easy to argue that as well as Creek played, Bannan won.

The positivity with which McVeigh approaches the game makes in an almost unflappable opponent, but so does the self-confidence and drive Bannan seems to play with.

Either way, with the passion these two emerging stars of our competition show, you can expect some fireworks from the power forward spot in this clash.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Vice Captain Jack McVeigh and Assistant Coach Jack Fleming spoke with media ahead of the Home Game at the Silverdome this Saturday. <a href="https://t.co/v21wr5XRqR">pic.twitter.com/v21wr5XRqR</a></p>— Tasmania JackJumpers ? (@JackJumpers) <a href="https://twitter.com/JackJumpers/status/1719965059273679271?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 2, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Tasmania has lost each of its last three games at the Silverdome. The JackJumpers are once again playing in front of the Launceston crowd on Saturday night, can they flip their recent form at the venue?

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Milton Doyle during last season's Round 16 clash with South East Melbourne at the Silverdome.