JackJumpers takeaways from the Blitz

With the 2023 NBL Blitz now done and dusted, we have a small window to look at the good and bad for each team before the season being on Thursday 28 September. With players switching teams, new players coming to the league, there is always a bit of mystery around the Blitz, and what each team can take out of it.

For the Tasmania JackJumpers, it was a largely successful week going 3-0, with wins over South East Melbourne, New Zealand and Adelaide. Despite a number of roster changes in the off-season, that saw key playmaker Josh Magette and key defensive players leave the team, Tasmania appeared to be one of the more settled teams at the Blitz. I was fortunate enough to attend the week on the Gold Coast, where I keenly watched the revamped JackJumpers squad hit the court for the first time. Some of the key takeaways from the event for them were….

New imports fitting the system

Probably the biggest question for the JackJumpers was how new imports Jordon Crawford and Marcus Lee were going to fit into Scott Roth’s defensive focused game style. Having seen him play with Melbourne United last season, the 6’10 Lee played exactly as we expected (in the best sense), averaging 10 points and four rebounds per game at 76% from the field. Lee role was largely a rim protector, offering a last line of defence to guards who were beaten off the ball. Whilst also holding his own with other bigs in rebound contests and a constant lob threat at the offensive end, he’ll be handful at both ends for opposing teams in NBL24.

Lee also seems to have built an early connection with guards Milton Doyle and Crawford, with several of alley-oop dunks across the week. But similar to his play last season, his eagerness to contest the ball at times led him to picking up early fouls. Which caused him to foul out against the Phoenix and Breakers. Having most recently played in Italy, adjusting back to the NBL officiating should hopefully see him be able to stay in the game a bit longer and avoid the early fouls. This will be crucial at the start of the season while the JJ’s await on Will Magnay’s return from a foot injury.

Meanwhile, Jordon Crawford was a bit more of an unknown coming into to the Blitz. A strong scoring option in all leagues he has played in around the world, he showed some glimpses of what he was capable of with a standout game against the Breakers (18 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists). But he struggled to find any real consistency with his shot, shooting at 30% field goal across the three games, scoring 6 and 7 points in the other two matches. But Crawford’s speed and ability to get past defenders was impressive and will be his best asset throughout NBL24. Being able to draw secondary defenders on his way to the rim, then shifting the ball out to an open player really suits the JackJumpers offence which thrives on ball movement.

Crawford will likely have big scoring games and some low ones, similar to what the JackJumpers had in their debut season with Josh Adams. But with a much bigger spread of scoring options across the squad than their debut season, Tasmania won’t be relying on big numbers from Crawford each night to win games.

Bigger role for Macdonald

With more depth in the bench this season, Roth gave his roster plenty of time on court across the week and might of given a few hints into his rotations for NBL24. But despite the influx of new players, he was fairly consistent in giving Sean MacDonald plenty of court time.

The third year development player averaged 24 minutes on court and appears to have established himself as the Roth’s first guard option off the bench. MacDonald was a solid contributor with 7.3 points and 3.5 assists per game at the Blitz, his extended time in the back court with Doyle and Crawford will likely see his role grow as the season progresses.

With big improvements across his two seasons, and a strong off-season with the Darwin Salties in the NBL1, the JJ’s are expecting another big year from MacDonald.

Players MIA at the Blitz

At the other end of the scale though, things didn’t look promising for Clint Steindl. Having already missed the opening two pre-season games against Melbourne United with an ankle tweak, the Blitz was an opportunity for the JackJumpers captain to get some minutes on court ahead of the regular season.

After a DNP in the opening match Steindl logged 11 minutes against the the Breakers for three points, before he was elevated to the starting lineup against the Sixers. But just over three minutes into the match he left the court to head to the change rooms where he appeared to be hampered by a leg injury. However, he reappeared back on court in the second quarter to knock down a trademark step-back three, but was subsequently subbed off shortly after and did not return. Finishing with just under six minutes on court for three points and two rebounds.

Whether this was a flare up of the previous ankle injury is unclear, and his return to the bench may have just been a precaution. But another injury would be a big blow for the JackJumpers captain, who missed the opening 10 games of last season with a knee injury.

Additionally, the Walter Brown, or lack of, was one of the more surprises out the Blitz. The second year development player, who re-singed for three years in the offseason, had his sole appearance in the opening game with just six minutes. Its hard to think of a player who’s had a bigger off season than Brown, he won a championship in the NZNBL with the Canturbury Rams, and winning the league’s youth player of the year averaging 9.4 points and nine rebounds. This performance played a big part in being selected to represent New Zealand at the FIBA World Cup.

So his lack of court time was puzzling, he didn’t appear hampered by injury at the Blitz, appearing to be warming up fine with the team at the final two games.

Milton Doyle is back

It was the biggest talking point of the JackJumpers off season, but it was great to see Doyle back in the green and yellow at the Blitz. The All-NBL first will get a big more help this season at the offensive end with the likes of Crawford, Anthony Drmic and Majok Deng to help bolster the scoring load.

Doyle started the Blitz in somewhat quietly against the Phoenix, where he picked up some early fouls and eventually fouling out in just 15 minutes of game time. He then had a somewhat off shooting night, going 2-9 against the Breakers, but was more than willing to find his new team mates, leading the team with game-high seven assists.

But he saved his best game for last. Back in the familiar role of putting the team on his back, Doyle delivered a stand-out performance to lead his team from from 17 points down to defeat the Adelaide 36ers. He had 19 points, seven assists and three steals (all team highs) and seemed to flourish in his role bringing his team back from the brink.

Digging deep when challenged

After two wins to open the Blitz, the JackJumpers found themselves tested against an understrength Adelaide 36ers side. Tasmania was struggling on offence, scoring just 33 points in the first half and down double digits at the main break. It was a tough situation the current group hadn’t face across pre-season, but Scott Roth left it to his players to sort it out.

“It was an interesting one, I kind of let them go and made them work it out. When you’re down by 20 and they’ve got all the momentum, you need the guys on the floor to work through that. I’m not going to call a time out and tell them what to do”, Scott Roth said.

“To their credit they did work through that adversity and got back to our systems and back on our own terms” Roth said.

After the game Fabian Krslovic added “That first half we really struggled to find a way to problem solve and get upbeat and pushing to get out of that mud”.

“Credit to our group who started that third quarter, they really set the tone I think. Those first few minutes they really said ‘hey this is not good enough’, they brought the energy and pulled that game back,” Krslovic said.

The JackJumpers NBL24 season beings 9.30pm (AEST) Friday 29 September against the Wildcats at Perth Arena.