R3 Preview: Perth Wildcats vs Tasmania JackJumpers

Sunday, December 19, 2021

Clint Steindl and the JackJumpers front up to Perth for their first time in the Jungle, where Bryce Cotton and crew are in ominous form.

When: 5.30pm (AEDT), Sunday 19 December 2021

Where: RAC Arena, Perth

Broadcast: ESPN; Kayo; Sky Sport NZ

Who won last time?
Perth 98 (Cotton 18, Travers 16, Majok 13) d Tasmania 68 (Adams 17, McDaniel 16, McIntosh 10) - NBL Blitz 2021, Ulverstone Sports & Leisure Centre

The Wildcats destroyed Tassie at the Blitz with a high-octane display, Bryce Cotton nailing five triples as Perth went 15/28 from the arc. It was a similar story last time the 'Cats faced an Apple Isle team in 1996, Todd Lichti's 22 points leading six players in double figures as the Perth thrashed the Devils 105-77.

What happened last start?

Perth once again resembled the Wildcats the NBL has known for a long time, owning the paint, cleaning the glass, forcing turnovers and executing expertly to get Bryce Cotton an array of looks no matter what the defence threw at him. The result? A trademark 47-34 second half shutdown of the Bullets at RAC Arena to improve to 3-1 on the season.

The JackJumpers have embraced a hard-nosed game, but they quickly learned that in Cairns it’s the Taipans who own that style. Coming off a game 48 hours earlier, separated by 2900 kilometres of travel, the Tasmanians’ lack of depth was exposed as their stars failed to fire. While their effort couldn’t be questioned, fouls and turnovers were an issue.

Who’s in form?

Jesse Wagstaff – The 'Cats captain went back to his Paddle Pop Lion days with a 19-point, six-rebound, three-assist, two-steal performance against Brisbane, his highest score since February 2018 when he took Adelaide for 25. Wagstaff went 6/9 inside and 2/5 outside on Friday, and Perth are 31-8 over the past five seasons with Jesse draining multiple triples.

Josh Magette – While his legs betrayed him on the second leg of a double, as shown by a 2/10 night from long range, Magette continued to be an everywhere man for Tassie, finishing with 19 points, six rebounds, five assists and two steals. On the season he is averaging 16.7ppg and 7.0apg, but the JackJumpers need him hitting jumpers and getting in the lane.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">First points on the board courtesy of Magette, white kit looking fresh ? <a href="https://t.co/Y7T0PPe8Lz">pic.twitter.com/Y7T0PPe8Lz</a></p>— Tasmania JackJumpers ? (@JackJumpers) <a href="https://twitter.com/JackJumpers/status/1469595848736526342?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 11, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Who needs to be?

Will Magnay – When two-way Magnay started his JackJumper career with a double-double and 3 blocks in an overtime win, Tassie fans were looking forward to bigger and better things as their athletic centre continued to gain match fitness following injury. But in the next two games, big Will has managed just seven points, five boards and one swat in total. With his former team on the menu Sunday, it’s time for the former Pelican to impose himself.

Michael Frazier – It was a tentative first step for the Wildcats’ newest import on Friday – five points on six shot attempts in 19 minutes – but Perth looked better with him on the floor. He was patient, shared the ball and played solid defence. Yet while Frazier eased his way into the side, the injury to Todd Blanchfield means he will need to more resemble the player who drained 17 points and five triples in his last NBA Summer League game.

Who’s statting up?

- In their first three games this season, Perth grabbed just 59 per cent of available defensive boards. On Friday, they raised that number to 69 per cent

- In the first three games the Wildcats were -30 on points in the paint and took 47 per cent of their shots outside the arc. On Friday, they were +14 in the paint and took only 34 per cent of their attempts from deep

- The JackJumpers are giving opponents 24.3 free throws per game. The rest of the league concede an average of 16.1

- Tasmania are forcing a league-best 17.7 turnovers, but after coughing up just 24 miscues and 22 points from turnovers across their opening two games, they gifted Cairns 19 turnovers last week

Who’s matching up?

Bryce Cotton v Josh Adams – There’s no doubt Adams has impressed with his commitment to defending and providing hustle, but like Andrew Gaze back in the day, you’re never quite ready to defend Bryce Cotton as Perth’s focal point until you’ve actually experienced it.

Teams who have had success have run the MVP off the arc and then contested at the cup, and Adams has the athleticism and intensity to chase Cotton over screens and worry him from behind. The question is does he have the savvy to avoid putting Bryce to the foul line?

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">? OH MY GOODNESS ?<br><br>The MVP, ladies and gentleman. <a href="https://t.co/uRGBFgJKOu">pic.twitter.com/uRGBFgJKOu</a></p>— Perth Wildcats (@PerthWildcats) <a href="https://twitter.com/PerthWildcats/status/1469944546599440386?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 12, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Who’s talking the talk?

It hasn’t taken new Perth play-caller Scott Morrison long to figure out the Hungry Jack’s NBL is a fierce, physical, antsy battle every night on the floor.

“I'm fairly new to this deal but it seems like every game is going to be like that,” he said.

“Every game is so important, everyone’s familiar with each other, a lot of these guys have been battling for years, and everyone’s very competitive, they wouldn’t be here if they weren’t.”

Listening to him talk about the importance of ball pressure, rebounding and sharing the basketball, it’s like listening to Rob Beveridge or Trevor Gleeson with a different accent.

Morrison has brought a focus on the same fundamentals that have made Perth a force since 2010, and his players are revelling in that familiar feel.

“I don’t really see my role as changing too much,” Jesse Wagstaff said.

“It’s to come off the bench, provide energy, shoot when I'm open, crash the glass, play good defence, that hasn’t changed in 13 years and I don’t expect it to.”

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">N?T IN JESSE WAGSTAFF'S HOUSE!<br><br>19 points and 6 rebounds for the skip. <a href="https://t.co/ZAeUbQZ2so">pic.twitter.com/ZAeUbQZ2so</a></p>— Perth Wildcats (@PerthWildcats) <a href="https://twitter.com/PerthWildcats/status/1471820467870699524?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 17, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

It’s a style that allows stars like Bryce Cotton to shine, and for them to make their supporting cast better too.

“BC’s an incredible talent, and I think what’s overlooked with BC is not only can he score the ball but he contributes in so many other ways,” Wagstaff said.

“He’s a solid defender, he’s intelligent, he’s not going to going chuck up a shot just because he wants his, he’ll make the extra pass.”

It also makes things predictable for role players, with Luke Travers overcoming an off shooting night to lead Friday’s game in rebounds and assists.

“He came off the bench today for the first time this season and I thought he handled it very well, he took some challenges we put towards him after last game to be tougher defensively and he was,” Morrison said of his second-year phenom.

“He’s been our best rebounder by the numbers all season, I think he has great potential as a playmaker, and we’re trying to get him a little more involved in our actions by coming off the bench and allowing him to use his strengths to find people, rather than just standing in the corner and being a rebounder and a cutter.”

Travers is becoming a Mr Versatile at the defensive end too, and may get the job on JackJumpers super-sub Clint Steindl in his return to Perth.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Just Clint Steindl things <a href="https://t.co/3aqpYI4yqQ">pic.twitter.com/3aqpYI4yqQ</a></p>— Tasmania JackJumpers ? (@JackJumpers) <a href="https://twitter.com/JackJumpers/status/1469601394441089027?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 11, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Steindl has knocked down 7/19 from deep so far this season, while the rest of his squad have managed just 14/75 across three games at 19 percent.

It's led to some ugly offensive stretches that coach Scott Roth described as being like “going to the dentist’s office and not getting any novocaine”.

“We are living in the realm that I want to live in, which is the high-60s, low-70s holding people defensively, our offence is just not there and that’s my fault at the end of the day, we spent an enormous amount of time working on defence,” he said.

“It has to improve, we created 21 turnovers and we get zero fastbreak points. We settled for a lot of jumpshots, which led to us not getting to the foul line.”

A former Wildcats assistant, Roth knows that visiting teams must knock in triples to win in Perth, but settling too often from deep allows the 'Cats to rebound, run and lock opponents into a half-court grind.

“Obviously if they go in it looks brilliant, and if they're not going in you have to create something else,” he said.

“We’re a small team in general, so we don’t have a lot of post-up threats, so for us it has to be attacks off the dribble.”