Roth, Doyle praise unsung hero

Tasmania’s contingent of bigs was always going to have to step up and cover the absence of Marcus Lee if the JackJumpers were to win Game 2 of their series against Perth, and it was former Taipan Majok Deng who made the difference in the eight-point win.

Deng only made his return from an ankle injury suffered in Round 12 in the Playoff Series opener against the Wildcats late last week, but he scored a season-high 18 points on 6/7 shooting, to give the JackJumpers a much-needed offensive punch and force a third game.

He also pulled in five boards, dished two assists and hit all four of his free throws in the win.

Head coach Scott Roth praised Deng’s hard work during his rehabilitation, to get back to the point he can be a game-changing contributor for the team.

“Our strategy for three years is next man up, it is what it is. Majok Deng had 10 weeks of not playing and seeing him grinding away and going through rehab and not really getting minutes and waiting these last 10-12 days of wanting to get on the floor, it’s the nature of this group,” Roth said.

“I thought Majok Deng was a huge factor tonight, I’m super proud of him, because I saw the rehab and all the work he did to try to be ready if his number was called and tonight he did a number of jobs for us.

“I was confident he would get back, but the problem is these games are hugely important. To find your rhythm, your timing, and all those things that a player relies upon during the course of the season, being comfortable with the sets again and playing with each other, our coaches did a fantastic job of working with him in a lot of separate things.

“Credit to him for dropping his head, taking care of himself and rehabbing. For us it’s a next man up mentality and it’s been the MO of this team for the last three years.”

Foot Locker Player of the Game Milton Doyle also paid tribute to his teammate.

“I’ve been messing with him the whole time he’s been injured, so I’m happy to see him get on the court and do what he does. He probably leads the league in points per minute and to see him go out there and be on point on the offensive end and defensive end, it really helped us get the win.”

While Bryce Cotton wasn’t contained to the level he was in Game 1, Tasmania’s ability to slow the MVP’s offence down in the second half was a crucial factor to them walking away with the comeback win.

Cotton scored a game-high 26 points, but Roth praised his side’s ability to limit the MVP’s teammates on the offensive end, as Kristian Doolittle (20) was the only other Wildcat to score in double-figures.

“They have multiple guys who can really score the basketball. Bryce is surrounded by really good players and when it gets to crunch time he seeks moments to win games or make plays,” he said.

“I thought our second half defence in general was a little bit better across the board and we were a little bit more disciplined. It’s a team effort against him, he’s (Cotton) not going to get stopped – he’s going to shoot x amount of shots regardless of who’s guarding him – I got to coach him for a year and see it in person.

“He’s going to do what he’s going to do. It’s the other guys that can chip in and hurt you and you have to be sound across the board.”

Game 3 of the Playoff Series between Tasmania and Perth will tip off at 9:30pm AEDT on Wednesday, live on ESPN via Kayo.