The White Rotation: How Tasmania Can Cover for Magette Loss

It’s a line that’s been used an infinite number of times in sport before. It's a line that's just as relevant to the NBL as it is to any other sporting competition around the globe.

Injury. Creates. Opportunity.

The impending absence of Josh Magette for the entire Finals series is an absolute gut punch to the Tasmania JackJumpers. Magette is their floor general, their veteran leader, the face of the club.

In the absence of the former Atlanta Hawk – and the potential absence of captain Clint Steindl in Thursday’s clash with Cairns – eyes will be locked onto a trio of guards who will look to fill the void by committee. Veteran Jarrad Weeks, Most Improved Player nominee Sean Macdonald, and injury replacement turned development player sharpshooter Isaac White.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Tasmania&#39;s Josh Magette went straight to the sidelines after this collision with Illawarra&#39;s William Hickey. <a href="https://t.co/VDJ8t7nHkG">pic.twitter.com/VDJ8t7nHkG</a></p>&mdash; NBL (@NBL) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBL/status/1621777553697677312?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 4, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

White, who only joined the JackJumpers at the start of NBL23 as an injury replacement for Steindl, has slotted himself into the organisation seamlessly. Scott Roth waxes lyrically about the need and desire to find a player who is the right culture fit as well as a capable on-court contributor when recruiting for the NBL’s newest club. White ticks both of those boxes easily.

While he admits the loss of Magette is sure to be felt within the side, there’s a confidence in his voice when he says there are players who can step up and fill that void.

“’Jet’ does a lot of stuff that won’t show up to the casual viewer or in the box score – organisationally he’s the head of the snake for us. It’s tough because he’s been organising us for 30 minutes a night for the entire year, but it’s not like we have no depth at that spot,” White told NBL Media.

“This is a different type of void to fill because we’re used to him running the show, but we’ve dealt pretty well with injury throughout the season because of that ‘next man up’ mentality.

“We’ve been getting a lot of good minutes out of ‘Weeksy’ at the one, and Sean Macdonald too. It’s unfortunate he can’t be on the road with us, but whenever we play next at home I’m sure he’ll be huge on the bench for us and giving guys pointers.

“We know he’ll be rooting for us – we’re more concerned with the fact we want him to get healthy and look after himself.”

RELATED: Magette to Undergo Surgery

In this burgeoning era of positionless basketball it’s easier – and more important than ever – to find players who are versatile and can slide into multiple positions.

Gone are the days of the pass-first point guard who can’t shoot, or the seven-foot centre who isn’t allowed to touch the ball outside the key – and the JackJumpers’ roster is no different to the rest of the game.

Sean Macdonald – while an incredibly capable shooting guard, is equally adept at running the show from the point spot, as is newly minted All-NBL First Team member Milton Doyle.

Will Magnay has stepped out to hit a handful of threes this season, while Rashard Kelly is the personification of the new age stretch big.

White believes Macdonald and Weeks will both be afforded more time at the point guard position against Cairns which will allow him to potentially earn more minutes on the wing.

“This is only off of guesswork, but ‘Weeksy’ or Sean will probably have to bump up and start at the one, and then the other one of those two will be backing the other one up,” he said.

“The question then becomes who’s backing up Milt – especially if Clint is out as well. I think there’s a chance I could be slotting in a bit earlier in the game, but I don’t know exactly when that’s going to be.

“It could be getting those runs at the end of the quarter like Sean and Clint have been.

“The way I play is pretty simple to me – and I don’t think I have to change my role within the group. I just have a bit more likelihood of seeing the floor a bit more.”

RELATED: JackJumpers "Out for Blood"

This season has been White’s third where he’s seen the NBL floor. Despite being a development player across each of those three campaigns he’s found himself as a crucial part of the rotation each time.

In his first season with Illawarra he played all 28 games of the regular season before taking part in 23 during NBL22. This regular season he’s scored 115 points – a tied career-best with his NBL21 season – in 24 games.

The biggest difference in White’s output this season compared to his two seasons in Illawarra is his effectiveness when shooting the ball. In fact, he’s shooting at a higher clip from behind the arc than he is from two-point range this season.

Out of any player to have attempted at least 25 three-pointers this season White is shooting the best. He’s hit 14 of his 26 attempts from range, meaning he’s shooting at a clip of 53.8 per cent.

New Zealand’s Rob Loe and fellow JackJumper Jarrad Weeks make up the podium, shooting 50 and 48.1 per cent respectively.

White’s standout game was undoubtedly his match-winning 18-point performance against the South East Melbourne Phoenix on New Year’s Day, where he also pulled in an impressive seven rebounds.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">WHITE. HOT! ?‍?<br><br>Watch live on 10Peach, 10Play &amp; ESPN via Foxtel and Kayo freebies <a href="https://t.co/aaHSQcQIf1">pic.twitter.com/aaHSQcQIf1</a></p>&mdash; Tasmania JackJumpers ? (@JackJumpers) <a href="https://twitter.com/JackJumpers/status/1609393618095308800?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 1, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

For a shooter like White there’s no such thing as a bad shot, and he credits the backing of his coaches – current and former – in creating a strong mentality.

“Ever since I’ve been in the NBL I haven’t had a coach tell me I’ve taken a bad shot,” he said.

“I’ve always had the green light, but it was obviously a change to fit into a new system at the start of the year and feel out my role.

“Everyone knows I can shoot it, but it’s about finding the right shots for me within the offence. As the year’s gone on it’s been more about finding when and where my shots are going to come from as opposed to just having that green light.

“It’s been about getting into my rhythm within the offence and finding the right shots to take.”

It’s not just White who is backing the young and electric pair of Sean Macdonald and himself to perform when the chips are down against the Taipans.

Milton Doyle and Jack McVeigh have both been freely given praise to the young, emerging guard duo.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">ALL-NBL FIRST TEAM ??<br><br>Congratulations to Creek, Cooks, Cotton, Walton Jr and Doyle on being selected to the All-NBL First Team for <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NBL23?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NBL23</a> ?<br> <br> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/TheGazeys?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#TheGazeys</a> live on ESPN + the NBL social channels <a href="https://t.co/PS6VTYt290">pic.twitter.com/PS6VTYt290</a></p>&mdash; NBL (@NBL) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBL/status/1622896972305956864?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 7, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

“I think those guys will step up pretty well,” Doyle said.

“Everyone else you know what they can do, but you’ve seen glimpses of those two guys and their greatness. I expect big things out of them.

“I always mess with Isaac [at training] because he’s always guarding me and I’m always guarding him. I have to get him going to be able to be at the level I need to be.”

“I’m excited to see what ‘Seany Mac’ does,” McVeigh added. “It’ll be cool to see him step up and see what he brings on the biggest stage.”

With key depth players like White and Macdonald set to play potentially key roles in Thursday’s Seeding Qualifier against Cairns, and with Taipans star centre Keanu Pinder also missing from the game, White believes whichever side keeps its head best will progress through to the Playoff series against New Zealand.

“It’ll be an interesting one because both teams are injury hit,” he said.

“I think it will come down to who is more disciplined and can stick to their structure.

“We both play very distinct styles of basketball. Cairns did a really good job in Perth and looked pretty comfortable stepping into those roles, so who can control the tempo and the style of the game is who I think will come out on top.”

The Tasmania JackJumpers take on the Cairns Taipans in the Seeding Qualifier at the Cairns Convention Centre tonight, live from 8:30pm AEDT on ESPN via Kayo Sports and Foxtel.