Preview: New Zealand vs Tasmania - Round 17, NBL24

Thursday, January 25, 2024

The Breakers are closing in on a Play-In spot, but can they defeat a JackJumpers side battling to keep pace?

Friday, January 26 at 5:30pm AEDT | Eventfinda Stadium

Watch: Live on ESPN via Kayo | Sky Sport in NZ - International viewership details
Box scores: Download the free NBL App

Breakers part-owner Shawn Marion has praised Mantas Rubstavicius’ ability to play with “poise” and said the Lithuanian “doesn’t play like a rookie”.

Prior to last week’s win against South East Melbourne, Mody Maor said he felt New Zealand needed to win six of their last eight games to make the Finals. With that win, the magic number looks to be five victories from here on.

Damon Lowery has praised Tasmania’s ability to earn a big win over Melbourne in Round 16, and believes Jordon Crawford has found his “groove” once again.

Lowery also praised the signing of former Breaker and King Tom Vodanovich. Vodanovich has so far made two appearances for the club since returning to the NBL from the Philippines.

New Zealand
106-75 win over South East Melbourne
76-105 loss to Sydney
81-82 loss to Melbourne

Tasmania
107-86 win over Melbourne
107-108 loss to Illawarra
77-80 loss to Brisbane

Mantas Rubstavicius
When a former NBA talent of Shawn Marion’s calibre is praising you, you must be doing something right.

As a co-owner of the Breakers, Marion was in attendance for New Zealand’s massive Round 16 win over South East Melbourne, and the former NBA champion discussed the club’s strong relationship with the Next Stars program and Rubstavicius’ chances of joining the likes of fellow former Breakers RJ Hampton, Ousmane Dieng and Rayan Rupert in the NBA.

Spoiler alert, Marion likes what he sees from the young Lithuanian.

Rubstavicius’ role within Mody Maor’s system has continued to grow as he’s put his early-season injury problems behind him, and he’s rapidly turning into the side’s number one scoring option, behind former Golden State Warrior Anthony Lamb and ex-German league MVP Parker Jackson-Cartwright.

The Breakers need to bank wins if they’re going to make the Finals, and they’re 5-0 when Rubstavicius scores at least 15 points in a game.

The equation is simple then, get Rubstavicius looks to put the ball through the net.

“He looks very good and he’s playing very poised, he has a nice pace to him and he shoots the ball very well. I saw him do some stuff off the dribble that made me go ‘OK, OK, I’m liking that’. He’s definitely got some room for improvement, but he didn’t look like a rookie out there.” – Shawn Marion on Mantas Rubstavicius.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">RJ Hampton ?<br>Ousmane Dieng ?<br>Rayan Rupert ?<br>Mantas Rubstavicius ?<br><br>Breakers co-owner and former NBA star Shawn Marion is a huge supporter of the Next Stars program ??<br><br>Read more: <a href="https://t.co/8ET70HRGrJ">https://t.co/8ET70HRGrJ</a> <a href="https://t.co/7e2jIm51b1">pic.twitter.com/7e2jIm51b1</a></p>— NBL Next Stars (@NBLNextStars) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBLNextStars/status/1749959471852593400?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 24, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Jordon Crawford
The JackJumpers have been in the midst of something of a form slump in recent weeks, however the narrow nature of their losses meant it seemed less of a concern than some of the defeats suffered by the likes of Sydney and South East Melbourne. That stopped last week.

Tasmania bullied Melbourne United into submission at MyState Bank Arena and sent a timely reminder across the NBL that the team from the Apple Isle is not going to go away quietly.

Crawford had experienced a tough run of form that coincided with Tasmania’s. He bounced back with 24 points in the JackJumpers thriller against Illawarra, and then backed that up again with 25 points on 50 per cent shooting (4-6 from three) against United.

The diminutive point guard looked to have been hunting his shot when he just wasn’t scoring in recent weeks. He scored 12 points on 4-17 against the Phoenix, six points on 2-13 against the Breakers, and nine points on 3-9 against Cairns, but he looks like he’s back to his electric best, following a pair of strong performances.

“They were struggling because their backcourt was struggling, and I thought Jordon Crawford couldn’t quite find the balance between being ‘that dude’ and also being a member of the Jackies way. I thought he really found that balance against United.” – Damon Lowery on NBL Now

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Jordon Crawford has shimmied his way to a 20-piece halfway through the third quarter ?<br><br>Catch the action live on ESPN via Kayo ? <a href="https://t.co/GiTcccHqMi">pic.twitter.com/GiTcccHqMi</a></p>— NBL (@NBL) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBL/status/1748281148101238888?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 19, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Anthony Lamb vs Jack McVeigh
It was a general consensus that the power forward position was by far the strongest spot of any in NBL23, and while the likes of Xavier Cooks, Jarrell Brantley and Robert Franks have since left the NBL, the likes of Anthony Lamb and Jack McVeigh are ensuring that conversation continues.

One of the biggest debates that has been raised around the change to make the All-NBL teams positionless is how it would impact the bigs in what is, largely, a guard dominated league. Despite the change though, both Lamb and McVeigh are both well and truly in the conversation.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Anthony lamb birthday legacy game <a href="https://t.co/wurH8w7kKz">pic.twitter.com/wurH8w7kKz</a></p>— BNZ Breakers (@NZBreakers) <a href="https://twitter.com/NZBreakers/status/1748636878742712451?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 20, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Lamb has found his feet in the NBL and continues to take his game to new heights, and his performances are being appreciated by fans too – he earned the second-most votes for the Round 16 Chemist Warehouse Fans MVP, behind only Bryce Cotton.

McVeigh’s role within Tasmania’s system is more understated than his counterpart’s, but he’s an equally important piece who helps the JackJumpers play their best when he’s at his best.

There’s always something that bit more fun when a top import battles a top local in a specific position, and that’s the exact scenario that awaits us in this clash.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Jack McVeigh is HUSTLING ?<br><br>Catch the action live on ESPN via Kayo ? <a href="https://t.co/ets9mawmeu">pic.twitter.com/ets9mawmeu</a></p>— NBL (@NBL) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBL/status/1745023094756888916?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 10, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

New Zealand has won four of its last five home games against Tasmania. The Breakers’ only defeat in that span came in their last home game against the JackJumpers, who won by 17 points in Round 10 at Spark Arena.

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Milton Doyle.