R2 Preview: Cairns Taipans vs Tasmania JackJumpers

When: 8pm (AEDT), Saturday 11 December, 2021

Where: Cairns Convention Centre

Broadcast: ESPN; Kayo; Sky Sports NZ

Who won last time?
Tasmania 83 (Magette 26, McIntosh 18, Adams 15) d Cairns 68 (Noi 12, Zimmerman 11, Deng 10) - NBL Blitz 2021

This will be the first time ever Cairns have played a Tasmanian side in the regular season, however these teams met twice at the Blitz, the JackJumpers convincing winners of both by a combined 30 points. Josh Magette used their last clash to show he’s more than a pass-first point man, nailing 26 points to go with his six dimes as the hosts cruised to victory. MiKyle McIntosh and Josh Adams added another 33 points as the JJ’s imports put on a show.


What happened last week?
Following Thursdays loss to Adelaide, the JackJumpers must travel 2900 kilometres and back up in 48 hours, a tough test for a team that has never played outside Tasmania. Against the 36ers, they showed superior execution from their opening-round performance, but early fouls, their inability to strike from range and their willingness to settle for long bombs hurt them, Magette’s pair of missed long-range game-tiers a tale of Tassie’s night.

Cairns’ opening 15 minutes in Perth were outstanding, locking down the Wildcats’ offence and sharing the ball aggressively to set up a 28-20 lead. It was all downhill from there, beaten 70-39 on the run home, their carelessness with the ball unleashing Bryce Cotton and Co for easy scores. The Snakes were strong on the boards and got solid efforts from Tahjere McCall, Kouat Noi and Stephen Zimmerman, but otherwise it was a forgettable night.



<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Tahjere Mccall muscles his way through the key for a tough bucket ? <a href="https://t.co/y4TY1xSlh2">pic.twitter.com/y4TY1xSlh2</a></p>&mdash; Cairns Taipans (@CairnsTaipans) <a href="https://twitter.com/CairnsTaipans/status/1467400453885337600?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 5, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>


Who’s in form?

Clint Steindl – The former Taipan carried Tasmania’s offence on Thursday, draining 22 points at 61 per cent while draining four trifectas. As much as his pinpoint shooting, Steindl’s high-speed cutting made the Sixers’ defence react and opened up opportunities for teammates. In his past three games against Cairns, Clint has nailed 7/16 from long range at 44 per cent, a repeat of which is needed if a tired JackJumpers are to win on the road.

Stephen Zimmerman – The big Zim was a shining light in two pre-season losses to Tasmania, accumulating 27 points and 19 boards in 50 minutes, the Taipans -4 with him on the court and -26 in the remaining 30 minutes. He kept that form going in Round 1, picking up 14 points and 14 rebounds, including seven o-boards. While his touch deserted him at times, his effort was first rate, and his output against the undersized JJs will be crucial.


Who needs to be?

Scott Machado – Obviously, the former All-NBL First Team star needs to be in All-NBL First Team form for the Snakes to perform at a high level. Perhaps, however, his teammates’ inability to elevate to a high level ala Cam Oliver is creating challenges. Space Cam’s ability to finish lob passes made his point god a three-dimensional playmaker, meaning Machado must find a new dimension this season. Possibly being more aggressive early in the offence to shift the defence will open up passing lanes and scoring opportunities later in the clock?

The JackJumpers backcourt – Machado isn’t the only backcourt star suffering from some shooting blues, Tasmania imports Josh Magette and Josh Adams combined to shoot a wayward 7/24 from the field against Adelaide, and until Adams got hot late they were 1/8 from outside. The JackJumpers don’t have enough offensive firepower for their import guards to struggle on the same night, and a key may be finding a frontcourt distributor to allow more inside-out offence that creates easier looks. Is MiKyle McIntosh that man?


Who’s statting up?

  - Tasmania’s starters are an accumulative +54 after two games, while their bench is a combined -25

 - Steindl and Adams shot a combined 7/16 from the three-point line against Adelaide, while their teammates managed just 2/16

 - Kouat Noi shot 5/8 from range in Perth, while his teammates managed just 3/17

 - Cairns had 21 turnovers to 11 from the 'Cats in the opening round. They averaged 21.4 turnovers during the Blitz


Who’s matching up?

Tahjere McCall v Josh Adams – There is no tougher NBL debut than The Jungle, but McCall took it in his athletic stride, tallying 16 points, nine rebounds and three assists and playing quality defence on Vic Law. He is also got to the line six times, as many as his teammates combined. He is still working on adjusting to the officials at the other end, picking up three first-half fouls, and Perth’s 13-6 run late in the second term with McCall on the bench was a game-changer.

After a rough night, Adams showed his class late on Thursday, scoring 11 points in the final five minutes, including three enormous trifectas to almost pinch a W. He showed his defensive versatility matching up on Todd Withers, good preparation for the length and athleticism of McCall. Against Adelaide, Adams was absent from the offence for stretches, and the JackJumpers must run some early sets to free him from McCall’s shackles.



<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Up and Adams <a href="https://t.co/epIiVdfVJt">pic.twitter.com/epIiVdfVJt</a></p>&mdash; Tasmania JackJumpers ? (@JackJumpers) <a href="https://twitter.com/JackJumpers/status/1468887433194336256?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 9, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>


Who’s talking the talk?

Saturday’s trip to Cairns is quickly putting things into perspective for JackJumpers captain Clint Steindl, who started his career in the Far North way back in 2012.

“Starting out as a youngster, and now being on a team where I'm the oldest guy, it’s definitely come full circle,” he said.

Steindl arrived at the Taipans as a streaky shooter without a lot of substance to his game, but has spent the best part of a decade learning.

“Looking back at my time in Cairns, it’s learning from guys like Alex Loughton, Aaron Grabau, Jamar Wilson, seeing those guys and how they operate,” he said.

“I’ve picked up a few lessons along the way, especially my time in Perth under Damo and Jesse Wagstaff, everything’s kind of come full circle and it’s my time to lead a team and put everything in place I've been able to learn over the years.”

The 32-year-old showed his immense growth on Thursday, lifting his young team on his shoulders with a hard-working, classy display.

Where Steindl’s game was once a confidence-fuelled roller-coaster, he now knows what it takes to be a consistent pro.

“I guess I've built the confidence over a number of years flying off those screens and that’s my job on the floor,” he said.

“Move without the ball, space the court, and any shooter will tell you when you see a couple go in you keep hunting the next one, you keep hunting and hunting.



<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Captain Clint making waves outside the arc last night ?? <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/fearthesting?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#fearthesting</a> <a href="https://t.co/CUBPND3BpB">pic.twitter.com/CUBPND3BpB</a></p>&mdash; Tasmania JackJumpers ? (@JackJumpers) <a href="https://twitter.com/JackJumpers/status/1469247683214807043?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 10, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>


“When you get the ball your job’s to shoot it, whether you’re missing or making it’s a predictable shot, that’s what you’re there to do.

“So even if you miss a couple you’ve got to come off (the screen) flying.”

The JackJumpers have been heavily reliant on Steindl, Josh Adams and Josh Magette to keep the scoreboard ticking over, Cairns are still figuring out how their new group ticks.

“We’ve just got to find ways we can get scores, and this is on me too, we’re just a bit too blocked up in the keyway,” coach Adam Forde said.

“We’ve got to find blokes on the cut and on the move, get guys shots where they are comfortable taking them, once we unlock that piece it will help free it up and little bit more on the offensive end.”

However, point guard Scott Machado thinks it’s a case of operation successful, patient died after the Snakes shot 36 per cent in the opening round, and they’ll be happy to welcome sharpshooters Mirko Djeric and Jordan Ngatai back into the line-up on Saturday.

“I think we did a lot of good things. I think Fordey’s doing a good job putting us in the right positions,” Machado said.

“I think he’s taking it a little hard saying he needs to change it up a little bit, but I feel like some of those shots we got were open, especially me, and some of those shots have got to go in and we've just got to continue to believe in that.

“We started the game off really well, we contained them, we contained the runs in the first half … if we hit a few shots we stay in that ball game and it’s a different ball game.”


<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Jawai draws attention and Noi knocks down his fourth triple of the game! ?? <a href="https://t.co/GM0yUzq1GQ">pic.twitter.com/GM0yUzq1GQ</a></p>&mdash; Cairns Taipans (@CairnsTaipans) <a href="https://twitter.com/CairnsTaipans/status/1467391890995699714?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 5, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>


Tasmania need to be a different team early in the game after a slow start cost them on Thursday.

While significant physicality was let go in their opening game, the officials were en pointe to start Round 2 and clean things up, and four JackJumper fouls in two minutes midway through the opening term took the zing out of their defence.

“We started off slow, not a lot of energy, and that kind of built through that first half, eventually we got some things going in the second half,” coach Scott Roth said.

“At the end of the day, our margin for error is not very big, and we've got to have that intensity and energy to play all the time, that’s a lesson for us … we had a lot of mental lapses, especially at the defensive end.

“I wasn’t really pleased in the first half with our intensity, we just weren’t a desperate team.”