Playoff Game 3 Preview: Perth Wildcats v Tasmania JackJumpers

GAME PREVIEW –

Tasmania JackJumpers v Perth Wildcats

Playoff Game 3

Wednesday 13 March, 9.30pm tip-off AEDT

RAC Arena

Watch LIVE on ESPN via Kayo and Foxtel

State of Play

It’s do or die for both teams in the Playoff series after the JackJumpers powered home in Game 2 to send it to a decider.

Both teams have made the mad dash back to Perth for Game 3, and it’ll be the battle of the fittest and bravest at RAC Arena on Wednesday night.

The JackJumpers rolled the dice on accepting a one game ban for Marcus Lee, after a much talked about incident, and will now have him available for Game 3.

The Tasmania JackJumpers have progressed to the decisive game of a Playoff Series in all three seasons of their existence in the NBL.

They won their NBL22 decider against Melbourne by three points but suffered a 15-point defeat to New Zealand last season and will be determined to drown out the red army to progress to the Championship Series for the 2^nd time in 3 years.

Last time they met  

HUNGRY JACKS NBL PLAYOFFS GAME 2

TASMANIA JACKJUMPERS 102 (Doyle 26, McVeigh 22, Deng 18)

PERTH WILDCATS 94 (Cotton 26, Doolittle 20, T Webster 9, H Harris 9)

It was a furious Tasmania JackJumpers entering the game but their composure led by Milton Doyle and Jack McVeigh saw them beat the Perth Wildcats 102-94 and force the Playoffs Series to a decider.

The 'Cats were attempting to close the series out in Hobart on Monday night. They did lead by as much as 12 in the first half, but Doyle took charge in the third quarter with 15 points alone.

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.

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. Keanu Pinder played just 13 minutes before fouling out.

Head to Head

PO Game 2, 23/24 Tasmania def Perth 102-94

PO Game 1, 23/24 Perth def Tasmania 89-81

Rd 20, 23/24 Tasmania def Perth 86-72
Rd11, 23/24 Perth def Tasmania 89-88

Rd1, 23/24 Perth def Tasmania 101-95

Rd17, 22/23 Tasmania def Perth 102-94

SRT Logistics Coaches’ take

Head Coach Scott Roth 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.”

Ins & outs 

Tasmania JackJumpers: TBC

Perth Wildcats: TBC

Opponents on the Radar

Kristian Doolittle
The Wildcats don’t have just one player to watch – the entire offensive supporting cast around Bryce Cotton needs to find a way to produce like they did in Game 1, and although Kristian Doolittle was the pick of the bunch in Game 2, he could be the one to step up again in the decisive Game 3.

Doolittle was Cotton’s running mate in the early stages of Monday’s loss, and he was the only other Wildcat to finish the game with double-digit scoring. Cotton had 24 points, Doolittle had 20, and behind them it was Hyrum Harris and Tai Webster with nine points apiece.