R9 Preview: NZ Breakers vs Tasmania JackJumpers

Sunday, January 30, 2022

The JackJumpers were irrepressible on Friday night, and Peyton Siva and the Breakers better be ready for a physical grind coming off their COVID-enforced break.

When: 5.30pm (AEDT), Sunday 30 January 2022

Where: MyState Bank Arena, Hobart

Broadcast: ESPN; Kayo; Sky Sport NZ

Who won last time?

Tasmania 84 (Adams 21, Steindl 14, Krslovic 11) d New Zealand 75 (Martin 24, Wetzell 20, Delany 10) - Round 4, MyState Bank Arena, Hobart

The JackJumpers jumped their visitors in the NBL’s first ever ‘Island Clash’, racing to a 16-point lead in the second term behind a wicked three-point barrage, Clint Steindl the chief destroyer. New Zealand challenged in the middle quarters, pulling within four points late in the third, but an aggressive Josh Adams exploited the Kiwis inside to ice the win.

What happened last start?

Two weeks ago New Zealand sealed the deal after trailing Sydney by 10 with 5:20 to play. From there Jeremiah Martin, Peyton Siva and Finn Delany took over, combining for 15 points and four dimes on the run home, while their previously struggling defence stood tall, keeping the Kings on the perimeter, cleaning the d-glass and allowing just one point.

Tasmania treated another packed MyState Bank Arena crowd to a typically tenacious display as they outlasted Adelaide. It was perhaps a game only a Tassie fan could love – featuring 11/53 three-point shooting and more turnovers than assists – but that’s how Scott Roth wants it, and he’ll be delighted to see Josh Adams and Josh Magette finding form.

Who’s in form?

Jeremiah Martin – His past four games have delivered 19ppg on 25/44 inside and 4.8apg, Martin controlling the ball-screen as well as anyone in the NBL. With NZ trailing by 10 last time in Hobart, Jeremiah unleashed 16 points on 6/9 and 4 assists in the second half, so expect the JackJumpers to get the ball out of his hands early or make him prove his three-point credentials. Can Jeremiah connect, and can he find Wetzell on the short roll?

Josh Adams – In Tassie wins, Adams averages 10.7 free-throw attempts compared to just 2.7 in defeat. JA had a shocker against South East Melbourne after the COVID break, but in three games surrounding that has averaged 22.7ppg, with 20.3 of those from ‘ones and twos’ to offset his 3/14 long-range shooting woes. With New Zealand last in the NBL for blocks (2.3bpg), Tasmania needs their athletic two-guard on the rim early and often.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Josh Adams ? Will Magnay<br><br>What a start to the final quarter from the JackJumpers!<br><br>Watch <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NBL22?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NBL22</a> live + free on <a href="https://twitter.com/10PeachAu?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@10PeachAu</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/kayosports?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@kayosports</a> ? <a href="https://t.co/vXahQN619p">pic.twitter.com/vXahQN619p</a></p>— The NBL (@NBL) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBL/status/1474944087954317315?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 26, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Who needs to be?

Clint Steindl – For the third-straight season under Dan Shamir the Breakers allow the fewest three-point attempts, but this year they're giving up the highest percentage. That means you’ve got to make the most of the looks New Zealand give you, and while Steindl was hitting at 43 per cent prior to Round 9, he went 0/5 on Friday and can’t afford a repeat.

Finn Delany – After scoring 41 points at 45 per cent across his opening two games, Finn Diesel conked out with 9.2ppg at 32 per cent in his next six. He exploded with 21 on 5/10 from deep in Sydney, and not surprisingly the Breakers won. He also grabbed 9 boards that night, and his ability to rebound and run is important to avoid Tassie’s suffocating pressure D.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Finn Delany goes coast to coast and the Breakers are right back in this ?<br><br>Watch <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NBL22?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NBL22</a> live + free on <a href="https://twitter.com/10PeachAu?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@10PeachAu</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/kayosports?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@kayosports</a> ? <a href="https://t.co/zoNzGge65T">pic.twitter.com/zoNzGge65T</a></p>— The NBL (@NBL) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBL/status/1474932800721588225?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 26, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Who’s statting up?

- New Zealand rank third in the NBL for fewest turnovers (11.3) and have coughed up just eight in their two wins. They also had only eight miscues against the JackJumpers, who have forced 17.9 per game against other opponents

- Tasmania’s defence ranks first for turnovers forced and oppo three-point makes (7.2), second for opposition three-point percentage (29%), third in opposition scoring (78.7) and holds teams to the fewest field-goal attempts (64)

- Since Christmas, the JackJumpers have allowed just 13.3 points in fourth quarters on 19/59 shooting (32%). They’ve only managed 14 themselves at 26 per cent, but poured in 24 against Adelaide on Friday

- The Breakers outscored Sydney 30-18 in the final quarter in Round 7. Prior to that they were 1-7 and -44 in final periods, with Tasmania the only team they’d outscored in the final 10 minutes

Who’s matching up?

Will Magnay v Yanni Wetzell – Is this the NBL’s best offensive big man against the league’s number one rim protector? The Pretzel leads all centres in scoring (17.4), is second in field-goal percentage (60%) and sixth in offensive boards (3.0). While Magnay is third in blocks, he's swatted an impressive 3.7 the past three games and that would have him in poll position.

Magnay has got his all-around game going again, his past two contests providing 9.5 points at 62 per cent, 7.5 rebounds and 4 blocks. Interestingly, Wetzell’s past two games have only delivered 8.5ppg at 33 per cent, after scoring 47 points the previous two. He had 20 and eight last time in Hobart, but a fully-fit Will is now defending the roll-out at a very high level.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Not in Will's Nest ?‍??<a href="https://twitter.com/MagnayWill?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@MagnayWill</a> with the big defensive stop.<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NBL22?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NBL22</a> live + free on 10 Peach <a href="https://t.co/ZWDifEQtUV">pic.twitter.com/ZWDifEQtUV</a></p>— The NBL (@NBL) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBL/status/1485111003750621189?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 23, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Who’s talking the talk?

They are two memorable coaching moments.

After Game 4 of the 2008 NBL Grand Final, Brian Goorjian almost lapped The Cage in Melbourne celebrating the Kings’ incredible come-from-behind win to force a decider.

Last Friday night, it was JackJumpers coach Scott Roth touring the facility after his team’s gritty win, pumping up the packed crowd that again made The Nest a fortress.

It was a show of genuine emotion that won’t soon be forgotten in the Apple Isle.

“These guys have just been competing relentlessly,” Roth said.

“We haven't got a couple (of close games) across the line and they just showed a lot relentlessness, grit, passion for each other, and our fans were fantastic to get us over the line.”

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Pretty much sums it up. <a href="https://t.co/373xJVUDCu">pic.twitter.com/373xJVUDCu</a></p>— Tasmania JackJumpers ? (@JackJumpers) <a href="https://twitter.com/JackJumpers/status/1487011776545755137?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 28, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

It was a game the JackJumpers never seemed likely to win, but their trademark physicality brought them home down the stretch.

When a reporter suggested grabbing 20 offensive boards and forcing 24 turnovers was not a sustainable way to win basketball games, Roth was having none of it.

“We've been flipping some teams over quite a bit in the turnover count, nightly,” he said.

“We play people and we’re aggressive, and we’re not making adjustments to them, they're making adjustments to us because we’re going one way and we’re swinging at everybody and we’re coming after everybody.

“This group is relentless... we can do this all season and we have been doing it.”

Doing it against New Zealand is not an easy task, however, the Breakers employing coach Dan Shamir’s clinical, European style which eschews creativity for predictability and control.

On Boxing Day, Tasmania jumped the Breakers early, but had to withstand a Jeremiah Martin-inspired run down the stretch as the game became a tactical battle.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Jeremiah Martin CAN NOT BE STOPPED ?<br><br>Watch <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NBL22?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NBL22</a> live + free on <a href="https://twitter.com/10PeachAu?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@10PeachAu</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/kayosports?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@kayosports</a> ? <a href="https://t.co/lyseOM9NrJ">pic.twitter.com/lyseOM9NrJ</a></p>— The NBL (@NBL) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBL/status/1474941893830066177?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 26, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

That’s an area Roth and Co have been working hard on, and the results showed on Friday.

Simplifying their late-game offence with a staple of Will Magnay, Josh Adams and Josh Magette rub screens, step-up screens and away screens into on-balls across the top of the arc, the JackJumpers moved Adelaide’s defence while keeping the ball in their best players’ hands.

“Most of the second half we got good shots, ran the offence we like to run and we got shots we want to get,” Magette said after his 16-point, 7-assist performance.

“It’s just a matter of trusting the process and not trying to do it all at once, I think we’re hopefully turning a corner and finding a way.”

Their composure was a step above anything the expansionist had shown to date, and when it didn’t create baskets, it opened up offensive rebounding lanes, the JJ’s seven final-quarter o-boards decisive.

“We've talked about offensive rebounding, we've talked about moving the ball a little bit more, we've talked about shot selection,” Roth said.

“All those things have been an accumulation of this process on that end of the floor and it’s been a growing process.”

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Magnay and Magette setting the pace early<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/5n9Mm2NH6k">pic.twitter.com/5n9Mm2NH6k</a></p>— Tasmania JackJumpers ? (@JackJumpers) <a href="https://twitter.com/JackJumpers/status/1486985153150787590?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 28, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

The process for New Zealand is coming back off another COVID-enforced layoff – this time 14 days – facing a team hardened in battle, and doing so in front of their opponents’ rowdy fans, even though this is a Breakers’ home game.

“It’s our situation, there are no home games, no (home) crowds, we have to travel for every game, but we need to come in with a winning approach for every game,” Shamir said.

“The guys are very positive, very composed, and coming in with the right mentality. At the same time, it’s tough when it’s not temporary, nothing is going away, and we always have to adjust.

“This is the second season in a row, we’re used to dealing with it, and hopefully we’re able to play some good basketball.”

They did exactly that in their last-start triumph over the Kings, Peyton Siva and Martin controlling the offence superbly.

If they can repeat that dose a win is on offer, because the JackJumpers’ defence has been susceptible to teams who can absorb their pressure.

“Sydney was a grind, but I was very happy with how we played the last six minutes,” Shamir said.

“We made a few shots and had a 30-point fourth quarter, and the main thing that happened in my eyes was the return of Peyton to really playing well. He runs the team, puts everybody in place and had a lot to contribute.”