Preview: Tasmania vs Sydney - Round 11, NBL24

Sunday, December 17 at 2pm AEDT | MyState Bank Arena

Watch: Live and free on ESPN via Kayo Freebies, 10 Peach and 10 Play | International viewership details
Box scores: Download the free NBL App

Tasmania suffered heartbreak in a one-point loss to Perth on Friday night. The JackJumpers led by eight at half time, but a four-point swing in the final quarter saw the Wildcats win on their home floor and move level with their opponents on nine wins for the season.

Liam Santamaria questioned whether DJ Hogg should continue to start for the Kings due to the fitness of Jaylin Galloway. The Kings were 4-1 in the games Galloway started alongside Alex Toohey to start the season, while Hogg was out with a shoulder injury.

Santamaria’s comments came in the aftermath of Kings part-owner Andrew Bogut suggesting there will likely be changes to Sydney’s rotation on the Rogue Bogues podcast.

Milton Doyle made his return in the JackJumpers’ defeat to Perth after attending his father’s funeral in the United States last week. Scott Roth praised the star guard’s game after he only arrived back in Tasmania on Wednesday, and then travelled with the team to Perth on Thursday.

Sydney’s defence is currently ranked the worst in the NBL, while the JackJumpers’ offence is ranked as the best as per the NBL+ offensive and defensive ratings.

Tasmania
88-89 loss to Perth
97-80 win over New Zealand
94-59 win over Adelaide

Sydney
94-104 loss to South East Melbourne
86-83 win over Cairns
105-114 loss to Perth

Jordon Crawford
Whenever any player has the chance to be the hero at the end of a game and misses, it’s curious to see how they bounce back from the disappointment in their next game, and following Jordon Crawford’s final second miss against Perth on Friday, it’ll be interesting to see the fire with which he comes out against the Kings.

Scott Roth – rightly – said there were countless other plays over the course of the game that could have proved decisive, and Crawford’s final second attempt was not the sword by which the JackJumpers lived or died.

Crawford was still impressive in the defeat and put up 29 points, and he’s properly established himself as one of the best scorers in the NBL over the past few weeks.

Those types of misses can mess with a player’s confidence, but Crawford is such a seasoned professional ... don’t be surprised if he comes out with an added fire against the Kings.

“Jordon, he’s a scorer. He brings electricity to the building and he’s fun to watch. I thought he was going to make that shot – I’m sure he did too – but it doesn’t come down to that last shot anyway, there are so many other little things in basketball that happen way before that.” – Scott Roth following the defeat to Perth.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Jordon Crawford is a wizard with the rock ?<br><br>He&#39;s up to 10 points in the first quarter. <br><br>Catch the action live on ESPN via Kayo ? <a href="https://t.co/6M7jdZRyl2">pic.twitter.com/6M7jdZRyl2</a></p>&mdash; NBL (@NBL) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBL/status/1735614178369392791?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 15, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

DJ Hogg
When Sydney signed DJ Hogg ahead of NBL24, they were bringing in a proven player who was one of the top imports in the NBL last season. A shoulder injury interrupted his pre-season though, and the former All-NBL Second Team nominee has struggled to find his niche in a high-powered Kings offence, and faltering Kings defence.

Hogg’s numbers are largely down across the board. He’s scoring over three points fewer per game than last season, he’s getting to the free throw line less and shooting a worse clip from the charity stripe. He’s coming up with fewer steals, and he’s assisting less.

A point of positivity his both his field goal percentage and three-point percentage are both slightly improved on last year.

The Kings need to find away to get Hogg into his spots and get him shots. He’s a proven commodity in the NBL, and if the Kings can unlock his potential on both ends of the floor, he’ll make them a far better team.

“I would start Jaylin Galloway. They’ll look at both Toohey and DJ Hogg – Toohey has been a but quiet the last couple of games. I’d bring him in for DJ Hogg, I’m sorry, he hasn’t been at the level.” – Liam Santamaria on NBL Overtime.

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Milton Doyle vs Jaylen Adams
Scott Roth praised Milton Doyle’s ability to perform under difficult circumstances in Tasmania’s loss to Sydney, and said he only ever intended to play the star guard for roughly 20 minutes, following the tough circumstances the guard has found himself in this past week.

Instead, Doyle played over 32 minutes before fouling out, which meant he was off the floor for the JackJumpers’ final second attempt to win the game, but the fact he still came out and performed in such extenuating circumstances is a credit to him.

He struggled with his shot and made just 4-17 attempts, but as usual found other ways to get involved with rebounds, assists and steals.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Milton Doyle is back and making an immediate impact<br><br>NBL24 Live + Free on 10 Peach, 10 Play &amp; Kayo Freebies <a href="https://t.co/nEWItw2yO1">pic.twitter.com/nEWItw2yO1</a></p>&mdash; Tasmania JackJumpers ? (@JackJumpers) <a href="https://twitter.com/JackJumpers/status/1735619682651222381?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 15, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

While the JackJumpers hopes tend to rest more on Doyle than the Kings’ do on Jaylen Adams, both guards have the ability to win a game basically by themselves in the space of a three or four minute stretch.

Adams has been imperious in the Kings’ recent stretch of games. He’s averaging over 21 points and five assists over the past three contests, but Sydney has only emerged with one victory in that period.

When it comes to instant offence, if you give either of these players and inch, they’ll take a mile. Two of the most high-powered and exciting clutch performers are due to step up to the plate in one of the NBL’s biggest on-court rivalries. So, who will step up when they’re needed the most?

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">&quot;Oh my goodness&quot; ?<br><br>Jaylen Adams took it all around the world on this finish ?<br><br>Catch the action live on ESPN via Kayo ? <a href="https://t.co/RGajRld1MX">pic.twitter.com/RGajRld1MX</a></p>&mdash; NBL (@NBL) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBL/status/1732696266868400398?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 7, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Tasmania is allowing just 76.1 points per 40 minutes while Marcus Lee is on the floor this season - the lowest mark of any qualified player in the league.

Tasmania
Nil

Sydney
Kouat Noi - knee -TBC