"Business as usual" for jumping Jackies

It’s business as usual for the JackJumpers according to Anthony Drmic, who says his side is preparing for Game 1 of their Playoff Series against Perth like they would any other game.

Tasmania earned its place in a Playoff Series against the Wildcats courtesy of last Wednesday’s Seeding Qualifier win over Illawarra, and the first clash between the two sides is set for Friday night.

The JackJumpers won just one of their three clashes against the Wildcats, however that was the most recent game between the two sides and came in the final round of the regular season.

“It was good to get a few days off first of all to catch up and hang out with the fam, for me personally it was good, I’ve got a newborn so it was fantastic, but we got back into it today to prepare for Perth now, we’ll head over there and hopefully get a win,” Drmic said.

“We train hard all year every day, so that’s the exact same. That’s something Scotty’s been preaching all year, you come to work every day and whoever we’re player, whatever time of the year it is, Playoffs, Finals, whatever it is we’re working every day regardless.

“I mean, Bryce is the MVP. He has been for a long time in this league, we’ll for sure have some schemes to get after him, but Bryce is definitely a tough cover.

“I think as a group we’re playing pretty confident in general. We got a couple of wins in a row and that can always help getting into Finals. We’re playing well, we’ve got guys playing at a high, high level – an All-NBL level – so I’m just excited to get over to Perth and give it a crack.”

Drmic also offered a fitness update on starting center Marcus Lee, who exited last week’s clash with the Hawks with a shoulder injury, just 22 seconds into the game.

He returned to the bench in a sling during the game, however Scott Roth said the injury wasn’t as bad as first feared post-game.

“He had a great day today,” Drmic said of his teammate.

“I still think it’s day-to-day for him but he had a great day and we’ll see how it goes.”

Tasmania’s Game 1 clash against the Wildcats tips off at 9:30pm AEDT, live on ESPN via Kayo, 10 Peach and 10 Play on Friday night.