GF1 Preview: Sydney Kings vs Tasmania JackJumpers

Friday, May 6, 2022

Will it be Jaylen Adams or Josh Adams firing their team to victory in Game 1 in a match-up between the Kings and a JackJumper team who were supposed to be paupers.

When: 7.30pm (AEST), Friday 6 May, 2022

Where: Qudos Bank Arena, Sydney

Broadcast: ESPN; Kayo Freebies; Sky Sports NZ

Who won last time?

Sydney 103 (Adams 20, Cooks 14, Martin 13) d Tasmania 83 (Adams 18, McIntosh 17, Steindl 12) – Round 18, MyState Bank Arena, Hobart

A week after destroying Perth with a 64-39 opening half, the Kings rolled into Hobart and repeated the dose against a lethargic JackJumpers side who leaked terminally in transition. Having been held to just 70 points on their last trip to MyState Bank Arena, Sydney reached that mark in 25 minutes, missing just four shots inside the key for the entire game.

After trailing 57-29 at intermission, Tassie put some respectability back into the scoreboard with a 54-point second half, dropping 9/19 from deep in the final 20 minutes while forcing Sydney into 11 turnovers to fuel some easy transition scores, but the reality was when the game was on the line, Sydney’s starters dominated their JackJumper counterparts.

Who’s in form?

Jaylen Adams – JA’s past three games have delivered 29ppg at 56 per cent, 6.7rpg and 4.3apg, showing his 16ppg at 34 per cent in three games pre-playoffs was nothing to worry about. He struggled to impact in his first meeting with the physical JackJumpers, but in the high-speed Round 18 meeting he dominated with 20 points on only eight shots and 7 dimes.

Josh Magette – The Kings have refused to let Magette create open looks, allowing him just 8 assists in their three meetings, with the result being Tasmania shooting 37 per cent from the field and 29 per cent outside. In his past eight games, however, ‘Gette has dealt 41 dimes to 10 turnovers, his composure a key to the JJs out-executing opponents in half-court grinds.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="fr" dir="ltr">JJJJJJJ JETTTTT ???? <a href="https://t.co/jatxC5idYG">pic.twitter.com/jatxC5idYG</a></p>— Tasmania JackJumpers ? (@JackJumpers) <a href="https://twitter.com/JackJumpers/status/1521087128469643265?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 2, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Who needs to be?

Fabijan Krslovic – Jo Lual-Acuil hit 55 per cent in the semi-finals, but only took 11 shots per game, and that’s largely due to Krslovic’s herculean efforts forcing him away from preferred spots. It’s a different challenge with Jarell Martin, who has averaged 18.5ppg at 54 per cent in two wins over Tassie, and has dropped 40 per cent from deep in the season series.

Ian Clark – When Clark arrived Sydney’s record was 8-7 – including 2-5 against the final four teams – with Jaylen Adams shooting a wayward 37 per cent. Clark stepped on court for the first time, dropped 3/4 from range against Perth and the rest is history, the Kings going 11-2 with him in the line-up and Adams shooting 55 per cent with his running mate on board.

Who’s statting up?

- In his 11 wins, Clark has averaged 14.4 points at 47 per cent from the arc. In his two losses, he has dropped 8.5ppg at 23 per cent from outside. Sydney have shot 39 per cent from the arc with Clark, compared to 30 per cent without their import in the line-up

- In Sydney’s best four quarters against Tassie they’ve dominated 110-56. The JJs have won the other eight quarters 175-146. In those four dominant quarters, Sydney scored 61 of their 110 points in the first 12 seconds of their possession

- In Tasmania’s Round 10 win over the Kings, their starters scored 63 points at a 65 per cent clip inside the arc. In their two losses to Sydney, the starters averaged 40.5 points at 40 per cent inside. The Kings lead points in the paint 98-72 in the season series

- When Josh Adams scores 19 points or more the JackJumpers are 10-3, compared to 9-9 when he doesn’t. He has scored 18, 16 and 9 points against Sydney

Who’s matching up?

Xavier Cooks v Jack McVeigh – McTrey lived up to his name in the semi-finals, dropping 15.3ppg at 43 per cent from deep when few others could connect. He’s nailed just 9.5ppg on 4/14 from deep in two losses to Sydney – compared to 17 points on 3/8 in their win – and needs to draw Cooks from the hoop. The X-man has landed six-straight double-doubles, averaging 16.7ppg, 12.2rpg, 3.7 assists, 3.3 o-boards and 3 blocks in that span. He is Sydney’s key, and McVeigh and Co cannot allow him to dominate the possession game.

Wani Swaka Lo Buluk v Josh Adams – JA is Tasmania’s barometer due to his ability to get to the foul line, finish over big men, pull-up against drops defence, nail contested threes and turn defence into scores. ‘Swak’ has a big defensive job there, and offensively he must step up as the JackJumpers will challenge him to shoot. Wani hit 3/4 from deep against the Hawks in Round 21, but in 18 games surrounding that he has made just 2/32. Can he finally make some triples? And can he make smart cuts to punish the help defence?

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Adams with the strong finish ?<br><br>Available now live 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/7fOCWDzDbn">pic.twitter.com/7fOCWDzDbn</a></p>— Tasmania JackJumpers ? (@JackJumpers) <a href="https://twitter.com/JackJumpers/status/1489528705701773313?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 4, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Who’s talking the talk?

Round 18 at MyState Bank Arena was not a game Jack McVeigh would like to remember.

On the first possession he left Jaylen Adams wide open and was punished with a three-ball. Next time down he let Xavier Cooks grab an o-board and feed it to Wani Swaka Lo Buluk for a deuce.

McVeigh then had his triple attempt blocked by Cooks and didn’t get back on D as the X-man threw down an open-court jam. Next possession he and Matt Kenyon blew their on-ball coverage and Adams gets another open trifecta.

Two minutes in, Kings up 10-2 and the floodgates had opened.

It was the JackJumpers’ most forgettable performance of their debut season, their uncharacteristic lethargy combined with some slick Sydney execution leaving them 31 points down before half-time.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">.<a href="https://twitter.com/xaviercooks10?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@xaviercooks10</a> is back in the starting line-up and that defensive energy is still there <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/dogsontheball?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#dogsontheball</a> <br><br>LIVE on <a href="https://twitter.com/kayosports?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@kayosports</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/ESPNAusNZ?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ESPNAusNZ</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WeTheKings?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#WeTheKings</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NBL22?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NBL22</a> <a href="https://t.co/L5N690SUOi">pic.twitter.com/L5N690SUOi</a></p>— Sydney Kings (@SydneyKings) <a href="https://twitter.com/SydneyKings/status/1510456146020106245?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 3, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

It's been no secret that Tasmania’s aggressive ball-screen defence, and their proactive help positioning behind it, is like playing against a zone defence for the two passes following the on-ball.

As such, the high post is the attack zone – that is the short roller in ball-screen action – followed by shooters in the corner or baseline cutters behind the help defence.

Of course, the intensity and disciple with which the JackJumpers execute this makes it hard to exploit, but with that lacking in Round 18 the Kings cut them to pieces.

“The way they play ball-screens if you're able to get behind their pressure you should be playing three-on-two or four-on-three and have the numbers advantage,” coach Chase Buford said afterwards.

“I thought we did a good job getting the ball behind their coverage, hitting the roller. X hit Rell for a textbook corner three on how you want to attack some of those things, we got a backdoor to Swak on the same action.”

It had been a different story when the teams first met in Round 3, Tassie holding their more fancied rivals to 54 points up until three-quarter time, or indeed in the JJ’s Round 10 triumph when Sydney scored just 70 points at 36 per cent.

“We were struggling for answers, especially offensively,” Buford said after the teams’ sole Qudos Bank Arena match-up.

“We couldn’t find a way to get the ball to the roller and play behind their coverages. I thought it was there we just couldn’t find a way to get it to them.”

Yet while finding some success against Tasmania in the half-court is important, the real key for Sydney is generating opportunities in the open floor, where they hold a significant advantage in athleticism.

“The fourth quarter we did a really good job of guarding their actions and rebounding the ball, and it allowed us to play some in transition and get some easier looks,” Buford said after his team’s match-winning 29-8 final term in Round 3.

They didn’t wait that long in Round 18, embarrassing the JackJumpers in the opening half and shooting 23/27 in the paint on the back of their repeated transition attacks.

“It was being able to get back in d-trans, they just ran us out of our own gym,” captain Clint Steindl said.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">BIG GUARDS <br><br>LIVE on <a href="https://twitter.com/kayosports?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@kayosports</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/ESPNAusNZ?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ESPNAusNZ</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WeTheKings?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#WeTheKings</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NBL22?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NBL22</a> <a href="https://t.co/O5Ggiax5rs">pic.twitter.com/O5Ggiax5rs</a></p>— Sydney Kings (@SydneyKings) <a href="https://twitter.com/SydneyKings/status/1510472427964297219?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 3, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

“You look at points in the paint and a lot of that started as them getting fast-break lay-ups, even when we’d score they'd just push it straight away.

“They were feeling comfortable and it was just a follow-on effect from there, they started shooting three-balls and they were going in.”

When Sydney can play free, Jaylen Adams plays free. When they're forced to walk it up, the MVP can be harassed, as Matt Kenyon and Co did so successfully in Round 10.

“He got going early and I wasn’t too happy with my defence to be honest,” Kenyon said after his team gave up 24 points in the opening term.

“That’s my job to stop the best guard on the team, and Jaylen Adams is a really good player, he’s a tough guard.

“I had to change a few things, get up into him, make him feel uncomfortable and all the guys supported me.”

After quarter-time, Adams shot 3/13 and didn’t drop a single dime as he ran into JackJumpers bodies wherever he went.

Will this game be officiated like the Tasmania-Melbourne series that Brisbane veteran Jason Cadee described as like WWE wrestling? Or will it be closer to the second half of the season where the rulebook was enforced and offence ruled?

That will be a big factor, because the JackJumpers love a grind and want Adams and Co mired in physical mud, while the Kings want to play at a speed that doesn’t allow Tassie to set up their vaunted defence.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Sam McDaniel creating instant offence<br><br>Watch us live now on <a href="https://twitter.com/ESPNAusNZ?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@espnausnz</a> / <a href="https://twitter.com/KAYOSportsuk?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@kayosportsuk</a> / <a href="https://twitter.com/Foxtel?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@foxtel</a> <a href="https://t.co/6gJ4upaE3W">pic.twitter.com/6gJ4upaE3W</a></p>— Tasmania JackJumpers ? (@JackJumpers) <a href="https://twitter.com/JackJumpers/status/1517796303526576128?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 23, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

“We’ll have to match every bit of their energy levels to have a chance, they're going to play super hard,” coach Buford said.

“We like to pride ourselves as being a hard-playing bunch as well and I think we've shown that throughout the year.

“But I also think we can’t come in and try to get locked up in the physicality and the rugby style that maybe we saw with them and Melbourne, that’s the tempo of the game, that’s the pace and style they want to play at.

“We’re a more free-flowing offence and we need to play with pace so they can’t crawl up into us and make it a rugby match.”

Coach Scott Roth has faith in his team’s method, knowing if they can limit the offensive mistakes that let Sydney off the chain they can keep the game on their terms.

“We just have to be very solid defensively, and the big thing is we have to be ourselves,” he said.

“We’re not going to change or invent something in the next four of five days, and if we win or lose it’s can we tweak some things here or there and solve some things and be ourselves.

“We got this far by doing what we've been doing and I'm not changing.”