Game preview – Taipans v JackJumpers – 18 November

The Tasmania JackJumpers (6-5) and Cairns Taipans (4-4) will battle it out for the first time in NBL24, when the two sides meet tonight at the Cairns Convention Centre.

Both sides are coming off losses on Thursday and will be looking to finish Round 8 with a win heading into the FIBA break.

The JackJumpers will be wanting to rebound from their disappointing loss to the New Zealand Breakers in Launceston. After a promising start to the game, Tasmania gave up an early lead and their defence struggled to contain the Breakers, giving up 97 points for the game.

Meanwhile the Taipans will be excited to head back to the Cairns Convention centre after going down 88-80 to the Perth Wildcats at RAC Arena. It was the first time the Taipans had a full squad available for the season, but they lacked continuity within the team as they struggled to find ways to score, shooting just 36% from the field in the loss.

Cairns Taipans (4-4) v Tasmania JackJumpers (5-4)
Saturday, 8PM AEDT
Ciarns Convention Centre

History

In head-to-head matches the JackJumpers lead the series 4-3, with the last victory coming in the playoffs last season. In the 3 v 4 match up the JackJumpers beat the Taipans 87-79 in Cairns to advance directly to the semi’s.

The JackJumpers have a 3-1 record at the Cairns Convention Centre, winning the last three in a row.

JJ’s Defense needs to lift

Defense was a calling card of JackJumper basketball across thier first two seasons. However, significant roster changes in the saw the team gain a lot of offensive firepower at the expense of some of their defence. Arguably thier three best defensive players, Sam MacDaneil, Isacc White and Matt Kenyon are no longer with the club, which was always going to see the overall defence take a hit.

“We’re scoring at a relatively good pace and our offence is generating points, but it’s fool’s gold at the end of the day,” Coach Scott Roth said after the loss to the breakers.

“If you’re not able to defend at some sort of consistent basis, you’re just going to be kind of all over the map and that will lead to not getting into playoffs, and not finishing in the top six.

“It’s a fragile balance of trying to get those two working together and it’s a work in progress.”

They will be hoping to find that defence back out on the road. Last week in Adelaide they suffocated the sixers offence, forcing 15 turnovers, shot just 39.7% from the field and a 71 points for the game. That sort of defensive pressure will go a long way to winning in Cairns

Players to watch

Taran Armstrong – The young Tasmanian point guard had been linked with the JackJumpers in the off-season as they were seeking out more local talent on thier roster, but were gazumped by Adam Forde and the Taipans who offered Armstrong a starting role.

We are still yet to see the best of Armstrong this season thanks to early season injuries, and is still learning how to play alongside fellow guards McCall and Miller in the starting five. But expect Armstrong to put in a big game against his home state.

Will Magnay – Despite losing to the Breakers, big Will was the story coming out of the JackJumpers. He had 20 points, 13 rebounds and 4 blocks in just his second game back from a foot injury. Those numbers are unlikely to be a regular occurrence, but they certainly had the JackJumpers fans excited for what is possible. Magnay admitted post-game that he was ‘gassed’ after his 16 minutes on court so we’ll watch with interest on how much big Will has in the tank for game two of the round.

Keys to the game – why each team will win

Cairns are still playing catch up on the NBL season after starting off the season in North America playing NBA teams. They have only had three home games so far but are undefeated, with wins against South East Melbourne, Illawarra and Sydney. They have held teams to 77 points per game at home, far better than their season average of 85.7. They will be looking at the guard trio of Tahjeere McCall, Taran Armstrong and Patrick Miller will be able to clamp down Milton Doyle and Jordan Crawford, forcing force the scoring load onto others.

Tasmania has a great chance to rebound with a win in Cairns heading into the FIBA break, but that will need to come on the defensive end. Cairns lead the league in turnovers per game (16.0), Tasmania will be looking to dial up the pressure on the ball handlers, particularly rookie Taran Armstrong, and force them into mistakes.

This game will also be a big test for the Marcus Lee and Will Magnay rim-protector combination. Cairns are known to get out running and attack the rim, in doing so they rank second in the league in free throws attempted at 25.2 per game. Lee has had his struggles with fouls this season, but is playing with more freedom now that he has a handy back up ready to step in. But expect Cairns to try and get it done from the foul line, an area Tasmania hasn’t made full use off this season with just 16.9 attempts per game (last in the NBL).