GF2 Preview: Tasmania JackJumpers vs Sydney Kings

When: 2.30pm (AEST), Sunday 8 May, 2022

Where: MyState Bank Arena, Hobart

Broadcast: ESPN; Kayo Freebies; 10 Peach; 10 Play; Sky Sports NZ;
NBL Sprint on 10HD at 3.30pm


Who won last time?

Sydney 95 (Adams 18, Clark 17, Cooks 14, Vasiljevic 14) d Tasmania 78 (McIntosh 14, McVeigh 14, Adams 13, Steindl 13) – Grand Final Game 1, Qudos Bank Arena, Sydney

A lacklustre third term from Tasmania unleashed the Kings, who outscored their visitors 31-14 in 10 minutes surrounding half-time to secure a Game 1 victory. Import guards Jaylen Adams and Ian Clark combined for 19 points in that burst, but Sydney’s celebrations were tempered by a late hamstring injury to Adams, which has ruled him out of at least Game 2.

Things were tight in the opening half as the JackJumpers owned the possession game and the effort areas while executing beautifully in the half-court at both ends. It was only their impotence inside the arc that kept Sydney in the game, their athletic defenders doing a good job of contesting and keeping Josh Adams and Jack McVeigh from impacting inside.


Who’s in form?

Xavier Cooks – The X-man took just six shot attempts in Game 1 but dominated the contest with 14 points at 83 per cent, 11 rebounds, 7 assists and 6 fouls drawn. The JackJumpers must solve the puzzle of pressuring Sydney’s guards without allowing Cooks to become a damaging playmaker, having dished out 16 dimes in the teams’ past two meetings.

Jack McVeigh – The length of Cooks, Jarell Martin and Makur Maker were a big part in McVeigh’s 1/5 night from inside, but he went 4/5 from the perimeter in the opening 24 minutes to have the JackJumpers within five. Remarkably, he took just two shots after that point – and went 14 minutes without a look – something that can’t be repeated on Sunday.


<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Putting the Jack in JackJumpers to kick off game 1! Watch LIVE &amp; FREE on <a href="https://twitter.com/ESPNAusNZ?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ESPNAusNZ</a> via <a href="https://twitter.com/kayosports?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@kayosports</a> <a href="https://t.co/pdPmjSaQax">pic.twitter.com/pdPmjSaQax</a></p>&mdash; Tasmania JackJumpers ? (@JackJumpers) <a href="https://twitter.com/JackJumpers/status/1522513835370094592?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 6, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>


Who needs to be?

Josh Magette – ‘Gette deserves plenty of plaudits for his 10-point, 10-assist performance in the opener, his poise and decision making a key to Tassie’s outstanding first half. But his three second-half turnovers helped Sydney get the tempo on their terms, and his 1/8 outside shooting was unforgiveable given he was 2/2 inside and 3/3 from the foul line.

Ian Clark – Few teams can survive losing an MVP, but the Kings can thanks to Clark and Co. He may have avoided the headlines, but Ian is one of the league’s most talented players with his deadly marksmanship, deft inside finishes and intelligent passing. Matt Kenyon and Sam McDaniel will get after him on Sunday, now we’ll see how he performs as the main act.


Who’s statting up?

 - The Kings are +46 in Clark’s 73 minutes on the floor in the playoffs, and -7 in the other 47 minutes. In Clarke’s 25 minutes in Game 1, the Kings shot 8/14 from deep, compared to 3/9 in the other 15 minutes

  - In Sydney’s three wins over the JJs they’ve averaged 10.7 triples at 41 per cent. In Tasmania’s other 29 games they’ve given up just 6.8 treys at 26 per cent

 - Tasmania had 9 offensive rebounds and 2 turnovers in the opening half of Game 1 to be +14 in the possession game. In the second half they had 3 o-boards and 12 turnovers to be -5 in possessions

 - The JackJumpers shot 6/26 on two-pointers in first half (23%), with McVeigh and Josh Adams going 1/13 (8%). That pair usually shoot the two-ball at 56 per cent and 45 per cent respectively


Who’s matching up?

Josh Adams v Wani Swaka Lo Buluk – Swaka was outstanding in Game 1. Not in a brilliant, dynamic way, but in the dependable way he made Adams’ touches difficult, then stayed on his back over ball-screens to force him into contested pull-ups or drives into the paint against Sydney’s tall trees. As a result, JA went 2/6 at the rim and 0/4 on pull-ups, but given he shot 6/9 at the hoop in Game 3 in Melbourne, he’ll be seeking vengeance on Sunday.

MiKyle McIntosh v Makur Maker – Big Merv is Tassie’s ‘go to’ in a crisis, able to take bigger players off the bounce when the offence breaks down. McIntosh had 14 points in 21 minutes in Game 1, and has scored 31 points at 58 per cent in his past 38 minutes against Maker and Co. Sydney’s Next Star got his own back, adding 14 points and 9 rebounds in 26 minutes across those two games, but his ability to defend McIntosh will be a key on Sunday.


<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Next-Star, Next-Best-Thing <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WeTheKings?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#WeTheKings</a> <a href="https://t.co/fnjJG76v2K">pic.twitter.com/fnjJG76v2K</a></p>&mdash; Sydney Kings (@SydneyKings) <a href="https://twitter.com/SydneyKings/status/1522520664745574400?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 6, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>


Who’s talking the talk?

They say it’s better to be lucky than good, but like they were starring in a taco shell commercial, the JackJumpers have said, ‘why not be both?’

Requiring four wins from the final four games to make the post-season, Tassie faced Cairns, New Zealand and SE Melbourne all missing starters in Rounds 19 and 20 to keep their dream alive.

That meant they needed to beat United in the final round and hope Perth would lose two at home. It seemed an unlikely scenario, but it got some help.

With Jarell Martin in isolation, the Kings fell to the plucky 36ers late in Round 20, locking in the minor premiership for Melbourne and setting the stage for them to head to Hobart the following week light on troops and motivation.

Meanwhile, Vic Law injured his ankle in Perth’s big win over Cairns and was ruled out of the final weekend, and all the cards fell in place for Tasmania’s fairytale season to continue.

Fast forward to Game 3 of the semi-finals and Chris Goulding is ruled out, helping the JackJumpers to reverse their comprehensive Game 1 defeat in a dream moment few but the Hoosiers could match.

Sure, they were lucky, but there were also very good. Scott Roth’s men won 10 of their final 12 games to make the playoffs, they beat a full-strength United in Game 2, and they did all that without Will Magnay.

They weren’t good enough in the second half of Friday’s grand final opener, but once again lady luck has opened the door for them via Jaylen Adams’ injury.

The JackJumpers largely made Adams a non-factor inside the arc in Game 1, the MVP with 2 two-point makes at 40 per cent, 3 assists and 4 turnovers as he struggled with their walled-up defence.

However, whenever they gave him space beyond the arc Jaylen made them pay to keep the scoreboard ticking over.

It was the opposite with Sydney’s other guards. After the Kings picked them apart in Round 18 by hitting the short roller over and again, Tasmania changed their ball-screen defence.

Their bigs showed early, but got out of the ball-screen early to close that passing lane. The result was Xavier Cooks and Martin taking just 11 field-goal attempts between them.

However, DJ Vasiljevic and Ian Clark adjusted, going 7/12 from the paint as they repeatedly blew by Tasmania’s coverage, with the Kings finding success executing ball-screens after ball movement as the game wore on.


<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Mean mug &#39;em Xave <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WeTheKings?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#WeTheKings</a> <br><br>Watch the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NBLFinals?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NBLFinals</a> live on <a href="https://twitter.com/ESPNAusNZ?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ESPNAusNZ</a> &amp; <a href="https://twitter.com/kayosports?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@kayosports</a> <a href="https://t.co/6rZFA5AVGS">pic.twitter.com/6rZFA5AVGS</a></p>&mdash; Sydney Kings (@SydneyKings) <a href="https://twitter.com/SydneyKings/status/1522535021185499136?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 6, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>


“We got a little rattled in the first half going one-on-one and those guys were just loading up on us,” Clark said.

“So being able to make the adjustment in the second half, I think we did that and we played well.”

Coach Chase Buford has locked in on the JackJumpers’ ball-screen defence as a key to success, and it will be intriguing to see what adjustment both he and Scott Roth make for Game 2.

“I just told Rell in the locker room we’re going to do a better job of getting you the ball in the pocket next game,” Buford said.

“Against these if they want to hedge and if they want to pull their big defenders out on the ball far away from the rim, we've got to find a way to get the ball to our bigs in the pocket and let them be playmakers.

“We've done that really well last time we played these guys, obviously not as well tonight.

“I think our guards did a good job of attacking on some of those, but in general we have to be willing pocket-passers and willing to let those guys play the numbers advantage behind the coverage.”

In reality though, Sydney’s success in Round 18 and Game 1 was built around playing in the open court and transition after poor JackJumper shots and turnovers.

In the Kings’ match-winning 31-14 run on Friday, they scored 16 points in the first 12 seconds of their possession, with three of Cooks’ seven assists coming on those baskets.

“I think we had eight turnovers for 16 points, which is very uncharacteristic of us,” Tasmania coach Roth said of the third quarter.

“We flipped the ball around and it just wasn’t a very good second half for us … I thought we were pretty solid across the board the first two quarters, I thought the tempo was fine and we were doing a lot of good things.

“This (Sydney) team is obviously extremely explosive and if you give them live-ball turnovers and you’re not executing very well they can get on runs and they’re hard to stop.”


<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Jet bringing some firepower ? Watch LIVE &amp; FREE on <a href="https://twitter.com/ESPNAusNZ?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ESPNAusNZ</a> via <a href="https://twitter.com/kayosports?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@kayosports</a> <a href="https://t.co/aiIC8a3nzg">pic.twitter.com/aiIC8a3nzg</a></p>&mdash; Tasmania JackJumpers ? (@JackJumpers) <a href="https://twitter.com/JackJumpers/status/1522519345431457793?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 6, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>


When asked if Tasmania could successfully manage the tempo for longer in Game 2, Roth was typically pragmatic.

“We don’t have a lot of choice, that’s how we play, so at the end of the day we have to do what we do and just do it better,” he said.

“We played with them and beat them once, we've had good halves against them and good three quarters.

“We've had some good battles back and forth, they’ve got the better of us in general but we just need to be able to string things out a little longer and more consistent throughout to have a chance to win on Sunday.”

For Sydney, if they can again limit Josh Adams, the JackJumpers will struggle to run up a winning score.

“I think Wani did a great job harassing him and making him shoot a lot of tough pull-up shots with a rear-view contest,” Buford said.

“We did a good job switching on him at times, shrinking the floor, trying to make it tough.

“He’s a key for their team, if you allow him to get points he’s such an energetic player I think they feed off his momentum and feed of his points.

“So he’s one of the guys, him, McVeigh, Magette too, we've really got to try and slow down and not let them get going to give them juice.”

That may be a case of wishful thinking on Buford’s behalf, because the rabid Anthill crowd will give the JJs all the juice they need on Sunday.

“It’s very obvious the state has rallied around these guys, deservingly so, it will be electric in that building and it should be a blast,” Roth said.