Preview: Tasmania vs Melbourne - Championship Series, Game 4

Thursday, March 28 at 7:30pm AEDT | MyState Bank Arena

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

Game 1
Melbourne emerged as 23-point winners from the Championship Series opener, in a game where Tasmania looked competitive in the first quarter but buckled under United’s defensive pressure as the game wore on.

Jo Lual-Acuil Jr was named Foot Locker Player of the Game for his dominant performance inside, while Chris Goulding hit six threes en route to a game-high 22 points.

Luke Travers has been near-universally praised for his defensive performance on Jack McVeigh, and ended the game with four blocks.

Will Magnay played just 13 minutes due to picking up four fouls over his short time on court, while Anthony Drmic top scored for Tasmania with 18 points.

Jordon Crawford’s poor run of shooting form continued, and he finished the game with seven points on 3-13 shooting.

Game 2
Tasmania travelled back to MyState Bank Arena to defend the island in Game 2 of the Championship Series, and a surging comeback from a 15-point deficit saw the JackJumpers emerge from Friday’s clash with a hard-fought and emotional five-point win.

Jordon Crawford shot the lights out in the first quarter with 13 points in the opening term alone, but quietened late and remained sat on the bench in favour of Sean Macdonald down the stretch.

Only Milton Doyle and Jack McVeigh ended the game having played more minutes than Macdonald for Tasmania, and the development player added 13 points and a staunch rearguard action in the win.

Melbourne found itself in foul trouble in the second half, and all three of Jo Lual-Acuil Jr, Shea Ili and Ian Clark fouled out of the game, while Matthew Dellavedova and Chris Goulding ended the clash with three fouls apiece.

Ili was the game’s top scorer with 20 points, while Goulding ended the clash with 19.

Game 3
Melbourne United continued their run of leading for most of the game but stumbling at the final hurdle in Game 3, as a near-half court Jack McVeigh game-winner flipped the series into Tasmania’s hands.

Untied has, at this point, been in the leading position for 77 per cent of the series, but fell to comeback defeats in games two and three.

Majok Deng hailed himself as ‘the forgotten one’ following his stellar fourth quarter performance in the victory. He scored 15 points in the final term alone as Marcus Lee exited the game with an apparent knee injury.

Matthew Dellavedova top scored for United with 21 points and eight assists, while McVeigh’s last gasp triple saw him lead the JackJumpers with 18 points.

Marcus Lee was ruled out of the remainder of the Championship Series due to injury in the aftermath of the game.

Sean Macdonald
Jack McVeigh’s incredible game-winner and Majok Deng’s magical fourth quarter have dominated the NBL landscape in the aftermath of Game 3, so much so that Sean Macdonald has dramatically fallen under the radar for his own match-defining contribution.

Scott Roth’s ‘Next Star’ played more minutes than any other JackJumper in the victory. He superseded stars like Milton Doyle and Jack McVeigh in time on court, and has established himself as the defensive linchpin of Tasmania’s defensive guard rotation.

And, to top it all off, he ended the game with 13 points and six rebounds, two of which were on the offensive end.

Again, Macdonald is still a development player this season, yet he’s firmly embedded himself in Tasmania’s best five, and Scott Roth looks to be trusting him more than more experienced veterans like Jordon Crawford or Clint Steindl to play a game-turning role.

After he struggled to find his place in the contest in Game 1, Macdonald has become a crucial presence on both ends of the floor and could hold the keys to quietening the likes of Chris Goulding, Ian Clark and Matthew Dellavedova.

"The way I watch him play not on the biggest stage we have, he plays like a 10-year vet and he’s been there and done this over and over. That word, composure – and I mention calmness which is so important when these games are so close, heated, and every possession matters – he keeps that calmness in the crunch time over and over, and that’s why he’s in Scott Roth’s circle of trust in the fourth quarter." - Peter Hooley on NBL Now.

Jo Lual-Acuil Jr
When Melbourne United established their dominance in Game 1, Jo Lual-Acuil Jr was seemingly at the forefront of everything positive they pulled together on their way to a 23-point win. He was name Foot Locker Player of the Game, and Tasmania seemingly had no answer for the South Sudanese superstar.

That hasn’t been the case in the past two games though.

Lual-Acuil Jr has struggled to impose his presence on the offensive end, and has been almost targeted by Tasmania on occasion, and has often been the victim of being brought to the bench when Dean Vickerman has been looking to wrestle back momentum.

With Marcus Lee confirmed to be missing for the remainder of the Championship Series – regardless of if it goes to a fifth game – Tasmania will be forced to run with a small ball lineup for at least part of the game.

If Lual-Acuil Jr can make his physical dominance against the likes of Fabijan Krslovic, Jack McVeigh and Majok Deng count then he could have a return to his form from Game 1, but if he allows himself to be pulled out of position by Tasmania’s shooters, he could become a near anonymous factor in this one.

“We saw when they won Game 1, it was JLA – he got them going. In games two and three he just hasn’t been a factor. They’ve got to get him motivated that he’s going to play on both ends of the floor, but primarily he’s got to get some buckers because that’s what really drives he defensive performance.” – Derek Rucker on NBL Now.

Majok Deng vs Kyle Bowen
Tasmania’s shift into a small-ball lineup may have been partially necessitated by the apparent knee injury suffered by Marcus Lee, but it proved to be a masterstroke given the ridiculous impact ‘forgotten man’ Majok Deng had on proceedings.

Deng initially entered the game at the four spot, but the decision to play him alongside Jack McVeigh and stretch the floor caused all sorts of problems for Melbourne United’s center duo of Ariel Hukporti and Jo Lual-Acuil Jr, who struggled to rein in the impact of that Deng and McVeigh duo.

Kyle Bowen was injected into the game in an attempt to slow the Tasmania pair down, and the rookie forward has been continually trusted by Dean Vickerman to play a variety of roles for Melbourne this season.

He’s played over 14 minutes in each Championship Series clash for United, despite not reaching that mark since the Round 20 defeat to Cairns, prior to Game 1.

Dean Vickerman has flagged he sees some positive wins against a Tasmania small-ball lineup with one of Lual-Acuil Jr or Hukporti in his lineup, but whether it’s as a four or a five, Bowen will likely have a crucial role to play on one or both of Tasmania’s primary floor-stretching bigs.

With the solid job Luke Travers has been doing defending the interior when matched up on Jack McVeigh, it looks likely that it will be Deng who Bowen matches up with.

That then makes the big question a matter of when, rather than if Scott Roth injects Deng into proceedings, and if Vickerman sends Bowen to the sharpshooter as his riposte.

Majok Deng and Kyle Bowen.

Tasmania
Marcus Lee – knee (season)

Melbourne
Nil