R20 Preview: NZ Breakers vs Tasmania JackJumpers

Friday, April 15, 2022

The JackJumpers are on the march, and they're hunting Wildcats. Can New Zealand end their playoff push with a boilover at MyState Bank Arena?

When: 7.30pm (AEDT), Friday 15 April, 2022

Where: MyState Bank Arena, Hobart

Broadcast: ESPN; Kayo; Sky Sport NZ

Who won last time?
Tasmania 66 (McIntosh 21) d New Zealand 62 (Randle 18, Dieng 17, Loe 12) – Round 14, Silverdome, Launceston

The JackJumpers prevailed in Round 14 in the ‘Silverdome Slog’, outlasting a hard-nosed Breakers side that rode the silky skills of French phenom Ousmane Dieng. With Launceston situated inland, neither team could throw a beach ball into the ocean, but ultimately it was the bully ball of MiKyle McIntosh and a big trey from Jack McVeigh that delivered the W.

What happened last start?

Tasmania had to work hard against Cairns last week as well, giving up 49 first-half points as Scott Machado masterminded the Snakes’ offence. But Jarred Bairstow and Jarrad Weeks sparked the JJs after half-time, Machado went down with injury and Tassie’s trademark defence kicked in, salvaging an important win that now has them within one game of Perth.

New Zealand certainly lost no admirers in Bendigo on Tuesday, pushing the Kings all the way to the end. After a season where their offence has often won admiration but their defence has leaked like a sieve, it was their much-maligned switching D that kept them in the game, holding Sydney to 76 points, the lowest opposition total since their last win over the 36ers.

Who’s in form?

Yanni Wetzell – Their offensive struggles had nothing to do with Wetzell, who scored 22 points on 8/10 shooting and 6/8 from the foul line. He was missing last time against Tassie and NZ managed just 62 points at 31 per cent, including only 28 points in the paint. His past six games have delivered 21.0ppg at 64 per cent and 9.7 boards. Can the JJs stop his supply?

MiKyle McIntosh – The big Canadian will be one of many JJ bigs who gets a crack at Wetzell, but his most important job might be targeting the Kiwi star at the other end. His past 37 minutes have produced 28 points at 60 per cent, 3/6 from outside, eight rebounds, five assists and nine free-throw attempts. He’s the man who makes things happen when the O breaks down.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Our Man McIntosh with the spin lay in the first ?<a href="https://twitter.com/ESPNAusNZ?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@espnausnz</a> / <a href="https://twitter.com/kayosports?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@kayosports</a> / <a href="https://twitter.com/Foxtel?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@foxtel</a> <a href="https://t.co/UUZ5cFCD9r">pic.twitter.com/UUZ5cFCD9r</a></p>— Tasmania JackJumpers ? (@JackJumpers) <a href="https://twitter.com/JackJumpers/status/1512369359083413507?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 8, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Who needs to be?

Jack McVeigh – The maturation of McTrey continued last week against Cairns, having an uncharacteristic 2/9 night from outside, he simply took his talents inside, going 5/7 on two-pointers en route to team highs of 16 points and seven boards. Jack was a lightning rod at the 36ers, but in Tassie he is a man the JackJumpers rely on to make plays and win them games.

Finn Delany – Last year’s All-NBL Second Team star hasn’t got it going in NBL22, but he was superb against Sydney last round with 18 points on 4/10 from deep, five rebounds, five assists and two steals. He’s the perfect match-up for McVeigh – who has been held to 9.0ppg in three meetings – and offensively he can attack Jack’s defence and create open looks for shooters.

Who’s statting up?

- In wins, McVeigh averages 12.7 points and 5.1 rebounds, while shooting 47 per cent from the floor. In losses those numbers are 9.6ppg, 3.5rpg and 41 per cent

- Tasmania leads the league in bench scoring with 28.7ppg. Their three leaders in plus/minus are role players in Matt Kenyon (+45), Fabijan Krslovic (+21) and MiKyle McIntosh (+20). Their three leading scorers have an average plus/minus of -26

- New Zealand held Sydney to 76 points last round – the Kings lowest score in nine weeks – after conceding 91.8ppg in regulation in the seven games since their last win, with no opponent held below 88

- When the Breakers hold opponents to 83 or below in regulation they are 5-5 this season, compared to 0-16 when the give up more.

Who’s matching up?

Peyton Siva v Josh Magette – Two of the most underrated table-setters go head-to-head, with Peyton fifth in the NBL in on-off differential – behind only Bryce Cotton, Mitch Creek, Xavier Cooks and Ian Clark – while Magette is second in the league in dimes, dishing 6.1apg in wins to just 2.1 turnovers. He’s had 23 assists to five turnovers in three meetings with NZ.

In Round 14 against the Breakers, Magette exploded with 22 points on 7/11 from range, while in the other two meetings he’s combined for nine points on 1/13 from deep. In Siva’s lone appearance against Tassie he went 0/13 from the field and 0/9 from outside in Launceston, while dropping nine dimes. Which PG will fire their team to victory on Friday?

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">That's how you set the table ??<br><br>Peyton Siva with the dynamite dime ?<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NBL22?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NBL22</a> live on <a href="https://twitter.com/ESPNAusNZ?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ESPNAusNZ</a> + <a href="https://twitter.com/kayosports?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@kayosports</a> ? <a href="https://t.co/SrJ4pGRFwR">pic.twitter.com/SrJ4pGRFwR</a></p>— The NBL (@NBL) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBL/status/1498586572941246464?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 1, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Who’s talking the talk?

It’s on. Just as the NBL playoff picture seemed to be taking shape, the ninth-placed 36ers roll into the Jungle and burned it down.

That loss was Perth’s fourth from their past five games, and while a team with their talent would be expected to do enough in their final three outings to secure their 36th straight post-season appearance, their form suggests the door is still open.

The team looking to barge through that door is Tasmania, who have set a new standard for expansionists.

Since 1990, there have been 12 new teams or clubs returning from a hiatus with an average winning record of 30 per cent. Not one has reached a .500 win-loss record, and none have finished inside the top six.

The JackJumpers have already locked in both those markers, but they are looking for more.

Last Friday’s come-from-behind win over Cairns made it seven wins from their past nine – and 12 of their past 16 – making them the third-hottest team behind Sydney and Illawarra, the only two teams that have beaten them since Australia Day.

It’s been a remarkable performance given the absence of Will Magnay, their only proven centre. Few expected a crew of Fabijan Krslovic, Jock Perry, Jared Bairstow and MiKyle McIntosh to fill that void so admirably.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Pez dispensing the 3 <br><br>Live now on <a href="https://twitter.com/ESPNAusNZ?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@espnausnz</a> / <a href="https://twitter.com/kayosports?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@kayosports</a> / <a href="https://twitter.com/Foxtel?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@foxtel</a> <a href="https://t.co/JSKRyX4aj5">pic.twitter.com/JSKRyX4aj5</a></p>— Tasmania JackJumpers ? (@JackJumpers) <a href="https://twitter.com/JackJumpers/status/1507616550299516928?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 26, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

“We’re trying to represent the state, being gritty and fighty and getting after people,” coach Scott Roth said.

“It’s a credit to the entire (bigs) group, it’s the work they do each week to get prepared. I push a lot of buttons with these guys during the week and force them to get uncomfortable and work outside their comfort areas.

“Obviously when Magnay went down it gave opportunities to a lot of different people and everyone stepped to the plate and has done their roles.

“We play that five-spot by committee, every night it’s different people and I'm very, very happy with the way they're working and fighting down there.

“Being undersized is not always a bad thing.”

It’s a good thing, according to Bairstow, who was a game-changer against the Taipans with his hustle and energy.

“I think that’s just our defensive mindset from one-through-five,” he said.

“We’re a team that even if we are smaller we’re going to get up-and-into you, we’re going to work you and get you out of your shape and uncomfortable.

“We may give up size, but what we give up in size we bring in the physicality and the effort and getting after the glass. We’re just going to try and outwork you and see what happens.”

New Zealand’s switching D shut down the Kings’ free-moving offence, and they may well deploy the same action against a JackJumpers team that relies on constant screen exchanges across the top of the arc.

While Roth’s men have shown they are more than capable of executing counters, Shamir will take confidence in what he saw in Bendigo.

“We just switched everything today. It makes things simpler in a lot of ways,” he said.

“There are a million nuances to switching defence, little things that happen from mismatches to flip screens and spaces it created that can give great players like Jaylen Adams shots, and mismatches on the rebounds, and we handled those well.”

The reality for New Zealand is they’ve now dropped their past eight and 12 of their past 13, but Shamir knows they’ll keep hunting that elusive win in the fourth and final 'Island Clash' of NBL22.

“In a situation like ours, not every team comes focused, executes the game plan, plays with a decent level of effort and some decent level of discipline,” he said.

Three wins from the final three games will give Tasmania a red-hot chance of pinching Perth’s spot in the top four, but Roth hasn’t bothered admiring the playoff picture all season, and he’s not about to start now.

“I've said it all along, when the 28^th game is done we’ll be where we’re supposed to be,” he said.

“As long as we keep fighting I think we’re going to have a great chance of finishing very strong.”