Challenges continue as JackJumpers return home

Tasmania JackJumpers coach Scott Roth is happy to get back home on Wednesday night having won three of four on the road but knows the challenges only continue straight after playing host to the Sydney Kings.

The JackJumpers opened up NBL26 hosting Melbourne United in a nail-biting loss before having now played the past four matches on the road for wins against the Perth Wildcats, Illawarra Hawks and Brisbane Bullets, and a tight loss to the Adelaide 36ers.

They are now back at MyState Bank Arena on Wednesday night as part of the Ignite Cup playing host to a Kings team fresh off a big win of their own on Saturday in Adelaide against the 36ers.

Having already played four of their first five games of the season away from home, after hosting the Kings the JackJumpers are then straight back on the road to face the New Zealand Breakers on Friday and then the Kings again in Sydney the following Sunday.

Following Thursday night's nine-point loss in Adelaide, Roth reflected on the start with a heavy road schedule but knows it's not time to start thinking it's behind them yet.

"For us I think we have seven of our first nine on the road and it's about trying to thrive in this stretch and keeping our head above water so that we don’t get smacked around too much," Roth said.

"Then maybe when the schedule comes back around to us we'll be in better shape, but injuries and all those things start to add up and the team that can stay healthiest and get a bit of luck will be the ones that are going to be playing at the end of the year."

A significant reason why the JackJumpers were playing catch up against the 36ers back on Thursday was the fact that they sent Bryce Cotton to the foul line 13 times in the first half alone, and the Sixers as a team 27 times.

That was back to just six in the second half and as a result Tasmania gave themselves a chance to make it a fourth straight win, but that foul discipline is something that is a constant work in progress for Roth with his team.

"I thought that obviously the foul discipline that we did not have in the first half kinda set the tone moving forward," Roth said.

"They had 27 foul shots to half-time and we finally made some adjustments and they only got six in the second half, but that put us on the back foot and bleeding points that way is not very helpful.

"I'm really proud of the effort of not dropping their heads and giving in with our fourth game on the road, and to have the chance still to win in the fourth quarter. We walk out of this stretch with a 3-1 record and we're just onto the next one."

Roth always talks about how for the JackJumpers to be a successful team their defence has to travel and that has happened for the most part over the past four matches to give them a chance to win each of them.

A big reason for that has been the front court pairing of Will Magnay and Josh Bannan, and again against the 36ers back on Thursday Roth felt like his team's overall defence did give them a chance to get another win.

"We have some good experience and we have some guys who can scare, and when Magnay and Bannan are back there anchoring your defence, you're always going to give yourselves a chance," he said.

"We've prided ourselves about our defence travelling with us and that gives you the opportunity to win on the road. We scored enough points to win a game, we just were undisciplined in a few little areas defensively and the foul count was crazy."

The JackJumpers are currently without import wing David Johnson and experienced big man Majok Deng with calf and hamstring injuries respectively, but already Johnson's short-term replacement TJ Starks has made an immediate impact.

He has scored 26 points over his first two games and Roth only expects him to improve as he finds his groove with the team more, but the absence of Deng is a tougher one to cover for.

"With TJ the challenge right now is that he's only been with us officially probably a day and-a-half having met us on the road, then getting to Hobart and getting settled, and having practice, and then we flew here for this game," Roth said.

"He just needs more reps of being with the guys and understanding how we play, and some defensive philosophies and terminologies so that's an integration process for another week or two.

"The good news is we have multiple ball handlers out there but the guy we miss is Majok Deng who is just very impactful for us in a lot of different ways, and he'll be back up and running hopefully in the next couple of weeks."