The NBL Finals are here but first we must find out who will join the Perth Wildcats and Melbourne United in booking their spot in the race to the title.
The JackJumpers and Hawks will be battling it out for one spot while the Kings are looking to keep their three-peat dream alive against the Breakers.
Read on for the key storylines to follow ahead of the NBL Play-In games!
JACKJUMPERS – Is this the year they bring a title home?
The Tasmania JackJumpers were the fairytale story of NBL22, eliminating top-of-the-table Melbourne United on the way to a Grand Final Berth in their maiden season in the league.
But now, after becoming the only team to finish inside the top four in the past three seasons, Tasmania head coach Scott Roth said it is time to deliver a championship for the state.
“They’ve been the underdogs for quite a few years down there,” Roth told reporters at the league’s official finals launch press conference.
“They have a chip on their shoulder and for me personally, I’d love to win one, but it’s not going to make or break me. I’d really love it for the state and everything we’ve built over the last three years – the consistency, the sustainability.
“A lot of these clubs have a lot of history on their side, we’re just starting to create our history and to have our third year in a row in the top four is a remarkable achievement by the organisation.
“To win a championship for Tasmania would be a thrill of a lifetime obviously and we’re going to do everything to defend the island.”
Tasmania JackJumpers Head Coach Scott Roth. (Photo by Graham Denholm/Getty Images)Source: Getty Images
It was not all going to plan last month though, with Tasmania losing six of its last eight games as Roth conceded he wasn’t sure if the team was going to be able to turn it around.
In fact, he went as far as to say the JackJumpers could’ve gone on to drop all six games.
Instead, they won five to enter the Play-In as one of the league’s most in-form teams and threatening to make a push for another grand final.
And for ex-NBL player Lanard Copeland, as much as winning a championship is more about Tasmania than Roth, he believes a lot of the team’s success goes back to the man who has been there right from the start.
That extends to off the court too, where Roth understands the power of every word.
“He knows what he’s doing,” Lanard Copeland said on NBL Overtime.
“That was reverse psychology [when he said] we’re going to lose six in a row because he knows what he’s working with. He’s done it since he’s been there.”
Now he may have the JackJumpers on the verge of another magic run, this time with expectations of going all the way.
Cotton joins Gaze with 4th NBL MVP | 00:56
HAWKS – The doubters fuelling stunning rise of ‘slighted’ Hawks
Tasmania winning its first-ever championship would obviously still qualify as a feel-good NBL story, but when it comes to underdogs to get behind this season it is hard to go past the Illawarra Hawks.
The Hawks have been on a fairytale run of their own to the post-season, led by new coach Justin Tatum who last week re-signed with the club for an additional three years.
Tatum, the father of Boston Celtics superstar Jayson, was appointed caretaker coach of the Hawks back in November after Jacob Jackomas was sacked following the club’s 2-7 start to the season.
Illawarra looked on a downward spiral having won just three of its 28 games the season prior to finish with the franchise’s worst-ever record, only further removing it from previous success under former head coach Brian Goorjian, who had guided the Hawks to back-to-back playoffs berths.
Tatum was assistant coach at the time of Jackomas’ departure, taking over the struggling club with little external expectation it seemed of achieving much this season.
But sometimes a fresh voice and approach is all that is needed and fast-forward to Wednesday night and the Hawks play the JackJumpers after securing an unlikely Play-In berth, having won 12 of their 19 games under Tatum.
BEFORE TATUM WAS HIRED
Record: 2-7
PPG: 84.4
Opp. PPG: 95.3
AFTER TATUM WAS HIRED
Record: 12-7
PPG: 94.1
Opp. PPG: 87.1
Justin Tatum helped the Hawks turn things around. (Photo by Kelly Defina/Getty Images for NBL)Source: Getty Images
“When I took over and talked to the guys [I said] everybody starts with a clean sheet,” Tatum said at the NBL’s official finals launch press conference.
“Everything we’ve done the prior seven weeks we’ll just throw it out the window and let’s rewrite our own story.”
The Hawks have done just that, beating the second-placed Perth Wildcats three times this season while also overcoming a tough late stretch of games to punch their ticket.
“Unbelievable,” Tatum said of the way his team rallied to book a Play-In spot.
“We probably had the toughest stretch of teams to play to make it to the playoffs and we knew it was going to be a grind.
“It was a real testimony to the guys who stayed locked knowing what our focus was because we had to win so many games… we got tested towards the end which is going to help us for the run.”
It is why Tatum – and the Hawks as a whole – still don’t’ feel like they have quite got the respect they deserve, with the Illawarra head coach telling AAP this week they “still feel slighted”.
“But at the end of the day we’re OK with that because we have our self-respect,” he added.
He also has the admiration of superstar son Jayson, who was asked about his father’s success at the Hawks ahead of the recent NBA All-Star Game, revealing the pair had been talking earlier that day.
“Extremely happy for him. Happy for what he’s been able to do over there and kind of turn that organisation around,” Jayson said.
“He loves it. He loves it over there. He loves being in Australia. He says the games are extremely competitive. The atmosphere is crazy. Hopefully they can continue and go all the way. But it’s been great to see him turn that thing around and have a lot of success over there.”
Hawks cement NBL playoff spot | 01:14
BREAKERS – Will the mind games work for NBL underdogs?
Finn Delany had no problems calling it a “rivalry game” but Mody Maor doesn’t seem to want to go anywhere near that word, or any other one close by that matter.
Since last week’s official press conference ahead of the post-season, the New Zealand Breakers coach has played down talk that their Play-In game against the Kings brings added motivation.
Specifically, he was asked if it would help them banish any “demons” remaining from Game 5 in last year’s Championship Series, where the Kings went on a 14-0 run late to secure a comeback win.
“Demons kind of insinuates this is something terrible that happened to us and it’s not how I feel,” he said.
“This is part of our learning curve, this is part of our growth as a club, me as a coach, the players that where there. This is an experience we can draw upon conclusions we’ve made and put them into practice. But definitely not exorcising demons.”
Mody Maor carefully chose his words. (Photo by Kelly Defina/Getty Images for NBL)Source: Getty Images
That kind of messaging was consistent from Maor this week too, telling media that it wouldn’t matter who was on the other side of the court — dressed in purple and gold or not.
“The reality is whoever we would face now I would want to beat the living you know what out of them,” he added.
“Does the fact that we lost Game 5 of the Finals over there give us extra motivation? No, it doesn’t, because we’re chasing something that is relevant only to this year.
“The only thing that is relevant to the past is the lessons learnt. As long as we learned the right things, and hopefully they come into play and help us in this one, it’s all that matters.”
Whether you believe him or not is one thing, but the mind games continued when the Breakers coach was asked about the underdog status his team carries into the game.
“They’re right,” he flatly said, adding the Kings are “definitely favourites” and that people are “right to write us off”, which will especially prove true if Will McDowell-White (shoulder) and Finn Delany (back) are ruled out.
It is all set up for an ambush but will the Kings take the bait?
KINGS – Are the defending champions feeling the pressure?
Well, they’re the defending back-to-back champions for a reason and so you’d expect an experienced group like this one isn’t going to get drawn into mind games too easily.
After all, the Kings have their own problems to worry about, namely the outside noise surrounding the organisation as it faces the prospect of premature elimination.
Sydney entered this season with much loftier goals, chasing a three-peat after becoming the first club to achieve the feat back in 2005.
It was always going to be challenging without coach Chase Buford and key duo Xavier Cooks, DJ Vasiljevic while the team’s new-look import trio was hardly a guarantee to hit the ground running right away.
Not checkmate yet – Kings still in fold | 01:10
But an inconsistent season has left the Kings in a perilous position and there is little room for error now, although the way Sydney finished the regular season has Mahmoud Abdelfattah confident, having cruised to a 122-67 win over South East Melbourne.
“The guys are aware of the situation but we finished the season off on the right foot,” he said.
Abdelfattah ran out a different starting line-up in that game to the one that played in Sydney’s 106-95 loss to Illawarra the game prior, with Alex Toohey, Jonah Bolden and Shaun Bruce all getting the start alongside Jaylen Adams and Denzel Valentine.
The Kings coach though told media last week that wasn’t necessarily a sign of things to come ahead of the do-or-die game against the Breakers, pointing out the fact he has experimented with the starting team quite regularly this season.
“We’ll see. I’ll talk with the coaching staff,” he said.
“I’ve changed the starting line-up five of the last six games. I’ll probably change the starting line-up again. I’m not worried about keeping the same starting line-up or mixing things up.
“Whatever I feel is going to work for the collective unit, I’ll do my best to do that.”
WHAT TIME ARE THE NBL PLAY-IN GAMES?
The JackJumpers host the Hawks at 5.30pm AEDT on Wednesday in the first Play-In game at MyState Bank Arena, with the Kings in action against the Breakers right after at 7.30pm at Qudos Bank Arena.
HOW CAN I WATCH THE GAMES?
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While the rest of the NBL is already looking to next season and putting together their new rosters, the Sydney Kings and New Zealand Breakers are locked in a fascinating Championship Series with the MVP signing in the NBA and one of his rivals producing a ‘Josh Giddey-like performance.’
The opening two games of the NBL23 Championship Series are now in the books and we are no wiser as to who the better team is between the Sydney Kings and New Zealand Breakers.
Watch Game 3 of the NBL23 Championship Series between Sydney Kings v New Zealand Breakers LIVE and FREE on ESPN on Kayo Freebies. Begins Friday 7:30PM AEDT March 10. Join now and start streaming instantly >
Late game blitz sees Kings down Breakers | 02:08
Surprisingly, it was the road team winning both games as well to open the series with the Breakers winning 95-87 at Qudos Bank Arena on Friday night on the back of a spectacular performance from point guard Will McDowell-White.
In the same game, Sydney’s All-First Team members Xavier Cooks and Derrick Walton Jr were banged up and then were non-factors in Game 2. But still, with Justin Simon on top of his game, the Kings hit back at Spark Arena to win 81-74 and tie the series at 1-1.
Game 3 will be at Qudos Bank Arena on Friday night, Game 4 at Auckland’s Spark Arena on Sunday and if needed, Game 5 back in Sydney on Wednesday night.
On top of all that, Cooks has signed with the NBA’s Washington Wizards, an Adelaide 36ers Hall of Famer wouldn’t be surprised to see McDowell-White follow up and there’s a couple of college guns NBL clubs are about to be locked in a fascinating battle over.
CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES SITUATION AFTER TWO GAMES
The Sydney Kings and New Zealand Breakers appeared remarkably evenly matched coming into the Championship Series and nothing has changed two games in with two huge crowds expected in Sydney on Friday and Auckland on Sunday.
Coming into the series and the Kings were the highest scoring team who played at the fastest pace while in direct contrast, the Breakers played at the second slowest pace but had the best defensive rating throughout NBL23.
With Sydney looking to push the pace as much as possible which would stem usually from their defence that allowed them to get out and run, but New Zealand looking to slow the game down and impress their physicality at both ends, it loomed as a fascinating match up.
It was somewhat a clash in styles and would come down to who could play the game on their terms, and they had one go at it each in the first two games of the Championship Series.
Even more baffling, after their three meetings during the regular season were all won by the road team, that continuing in Games 1 and 2 with the Breakers beating the Kings at Qudos Bank Arena 95-87 on Friday night before Sydney hit back in Auckland on Sunday winning 81-74.
Above everything else, the biggest difference between the two games was the defensive intensity the Kings played at. It just wasn’t at their usual level in Game 1 and as a result, Breakers point guard Will McDowell-White was a dominant figure.
NBL star off to NBA as finals heat up | 04:39
He was allowed to run the show for New Zealand and did so in brilliant fashion in a game that his team was in control of for most of the way with Barry Brown Jr putting on the finishing touches with 13 of his 19 points coming in the fourth quarter.
Jarrell Brantley (16 points, seven rebounds) got the better of his power forward match up with a wounded Xavier Cooks (eight points, four rebounds, two blocks), and all the momentum was with New Zealand as they headed home for Game 2 on Sunday.
Add in the fact that the Kings virtually got nothing out of All-First NBL Team members Derrick Walton Jr (zero points, one turnover in five minutes) and Cooks (two points, four rebounds in nine minutes) and things were pointed even further towards the Breakers.
However, the Kings showed their quality, heart and depth in dazzling fashion with Justin Simon setting the tone. His numbers of 12 points, nine rebounds and six steals only tell part of the story of his match-winning performance.
Add in that Kouat Noi (20 points, 9/13 free-throw shooting) stepped up so significantly to cover for Cooks, Shaun Bruce ran the point for Walton, Jordan Hunter pulled down 10 rebounds and then DJ Vasiljevic and Angus Glover combined for six threes, and it was a masterful performance.
The true difference came in the defensive intensity, though, and that all began with the way that Simon pressured McDowell-White into six turnovers including him pulling off three steals in no time early in the third quarter to lead the Kings to eventual win.
That leaves things delicately poised with Game 3 on Friday night at Qudos Bank Arena and Game 4 at Spark Arena on Sunday. Huge crowds are expected too with already more than 13,000 tickets sold for Sydney and then the Breakers are attempting to set a new Auckland record with a capacity of 9740.
With the potential of 25,000 fans attending the two games this weekend, it’s all going to come down to who can get the games on their terms who will determine the NBL23 championship.
Both the Kings and Breakers had a game apiece in the first two where they controlled things so the blueprint to success is there, now it’s a matter of who can do it twice more to become the champions.
Watch Game 3 of the NBL23 Championship Series between Sydney Kings v New Zealand Breakers LIVE and FREE on ESPN on Kayo Freebies. Begins Friday 7:30PM AEDT March 10. Join now and start streaming instantly >
MVP FOCUSED ON KINGS TITLE QUEST BEFORE HEADING TO NBA
Sydney Kings captain, the league MVP and reigning Grand Final MVP Xavier Cooks has achieved his dream of signing an NBA contract, but his focus remains on the NBL championship up for grabs at least for a few more days.
There has been so much discussion over Cooks all season long about if his game could transition to the NBA with the way he has continued to grow and develop to turn himself into the NBL MVP.
His talents were never questioned and that’s why he was such a hot commodity after playing at Winthrop University before beginning his professional career in Germany and ultimately being named in the initial squad for the Australian Boomers at the 2019 FIBA World Cup.
It was only his body holding him back from reaching his potential but he ended up leading Sydney to the championship last season as captain and being named Grand Final MVP, and he’s gone to a new level in NBL23.
Standing 6’8 and with the ability to battle with the bigs to be a rim protector, terrific rebounder and outstanding finisher around the basket along with being able to defend the perimeter and then carry and distribute the ball, and create off the dribble, he’s a tremendous package.
That’s why he was named MVP after leading the Kings to the regular season championship on the back of averaging 15.3 points, 7.7 rebounds and 3.8 assists a game while shooting at 57.5 per cent from the field.
That doesn’t mean there hasn’t been challenges too. His three-point percentage of 32.1 is better than what he’s credited for but he has only attempted 28 of them. Going at 54.0 per cent from the foul line isn’t great while he’s battled a couple of ankle injuries.
Xavier Cooks in action against the Breakers.Source: Getty Images
He also was banged up after Game 1 of the Championship Series and was limited to nine minutes in Game 2, but has realised his dream of signing to an NBA team with the Washington Wizards locking him up for the rest of this season, and all of 2023/24.
That means that as soon as the Championship Series is over for the Kings whether on Sunday after Game 4 in Auckland or Wednesday if a Game 5 is needed, he will be straight over to Washington to get ready to make his NBA debut.
While excited, Cooks’ focus remains on trying to help the Kings go back-to-back right now.
“Everybody stepped up and I talk about every single person. That’s how you win basketball games especially in the playoffs,” Cooks said.
“It gives us a lot of confidence and we’re always a confident bunch anyway. But to have one of our two best players out and it was just a gutsy win. It was dirty, it was grindy and we got it done.
“Now I’m just trying to stay focused on these playoffs. We’ve got two more wins to go and we’ve come this far so there’s no point thinking about what’s next when we fought so hard to be here.”
In the big picture though, Cooks can’t hide his excitement to have now signed an NBA deal and can’t wait to join the Wizards who currently sit 10th in the eastern conference at 31-34 with 17 games remaining.
“There’s not many people that get to really achieve one of their dreams and I’ve had the dream to go to the NBA for so many years. To finally happen is pretty cool,” Cooks added.
“As I’ve got older, I realised they’re not going to bring in a 28-year-old rookie and luckily enough they’re bringing in a 27-year-old rookie so it’s all good.
“It will give me my opportunity to try and earn my place over there. They’re a very talented team as well and I don’t think their record represents how talented they are. They’re missing a couple of little pieces but we’ll be alright.”
MVP fighting to line up for Game 3 | 01:42
BREAKERS POINT GUARD COULD FOLLOW AFTER ‘GIDDEY-LIKE PERFORMANCE’
With one member of the Championship Series signing in the NBA, an Adelaide 36ers Hall of Famer wouldn’t be surprised to see New Zealand Breakers point guard Will McDowell-White next on the list after his spectacular Game 1 performance.
After all, it was a masterful performance from McDowell-White in Game 1 on Friday night with the Breakers beating the Sydney Kings 95-87 at Qudos Bank Arena to take the lead in the Championship Series away from home.
McDowell-White dominated the contest running the Breakers expertly not only with his 19 points, nine rebounds, nine assists and two steals, but the way he controlled the tempo, set up his teammates and made everything run smoothly was a true pleasure to watch.
It was the type of performance that has had McDowell-White earmarked as an Australian talent who could very well get an NBA opportunity one day even if it’s been a rollercoaster career journey so far.
That’s included being a Kings development player and spending time growing in Germany, and playing in the G-League at the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, but nobody has ever doubted his ability.
Now McDowell-White has had the type of season with the Breakers as their point guard that many have been waiting for. He took his game to another level in Game 1 as a 6’5 point guard who can run his team’s offence, create for his teammates, find his own shot and be a solid defender.
Will McDowell-White of the Breakers (L) during game two of the NBL Grand Final series between New Zealand Breakers and Sydney Kings.Source: Getty Images
While he didn’t quite have it his own way in a tough Game 2 and his focus is on trying to win the championship for the Breakers, it does open up a fascinating discussion on his future.
He will became an NBL free agent at the end of this season so will attract significant offers but there’s also a genuine chance that he gets an NBA opportunity.
That’s the view of Adelaide 36ers Hall of Famer and three-time NBL champion Scott Ninnis who likens McDowell-White’s talents to a man he saw closely in Adelaide, Josh Giddey who is in his own remarkable run of NBA form at the Oklahoma City Thunder.
“To me, that performance in Game 1 from McDowell-White was like watching Josh Giddey,” Ninnis said on latest Hoops Heaven’s Basketball Hustle podcast.
“Just the control that he had over that game and he just had all the time in the world as that big point guard who looks like he has so much time. He looked like he was playing himself into an NBA contract as well and obviously there would have been a lot of NBA people watching that game.
“I think he potentially could be the next guy who takes that step so it’s an exciting time for Australian basketball that’s for sure.”
HE HAS TO FIGURE OUT KINGS’ DEFENSIVE MAESTRO FIRST
While Will McDowell-White was the star of Game 1 for the New Zealand Breakers, it was Justin Simon equally as brilliant for the Sydney Kings in Game 2 and it was all on the back of his spectacular defence on the star of Friday night.
McDowell-White was able to control Game 1 of the Championship Series for the Breakers in Sydney on Friday night and the Kings had to do something about that for Game 2 in Auckland on Sunday, and they certainly did.
While Kings coach Chase Buford noted with amusement the social media critics telling him what he did wrong in the defensive schemes on the Breakers and McDowell-White in particular on Friday, ultimately the changes they made were more simple.
Buford challenged Simon to lift his defensive intensity first and foremost and to get up in the grill of McDowell-White for a lot of the 40 minutes and make his life hell, and that’s exactly what happened.
It might have been a surprise that Simon wasn’t even a final three nominee in the Best Defensive Player Award, but he continues to prove himself the standout defender in the league and did that again on Sunday.
On the back of likely the best individual defensive performance of the season in Game 3 of the semi finals where he locked in on Cairns superstar DJ Hogg, Simon didn’t need Buford to tell him that he had to lift after a limited influence on Game 1 of the Championship Series.
To say he responded would be one of the great understatements. What Simon did for Sydney to win Game 2 despite being virtually without Derrick Walton Jr and Xavier Cooks is much more significant than his numbers of 12 points, nine rebounds and six steals suggest.
Justin Simon.Source: Getty Images
Simon got so far in the head of McDowell-White that he not only limited him to seven points and six turnovers on 2/8 shooting, that he got the ball out of his hands and that limited the creativity on offence for the Breakers and took them out of their structure.
It was a spectacular start to the third quarter from Simon with three virtually consecutive steals that led directly to two breakaway dunks and then he was fouled on his third trip to the open basket.
It was a performance defensively only reminiscent of the way that Perth Wildcats legend Damian Martin used to terrorise opposition point guards, including a demoralising nine-steal performance against the Sydney Kings in 2014 on a hapless new import point guard Kendrick Perry.
“It does feel amazing, there’s nothing more embarrassing if you’re a point guard and you get the ball stolen just as you cross halfway because you know you’re giving away a layup,” Martin said on SEN.
“ So when you get that steal, I didn’t have the athleticism of Justin Simon so all I was worrying about as not smoking the layup, but there’s no better feeling in the world when you’re a guard knowing you’re all over the top of your opposition player.”
While knowing how Simon would be feeling when on top of his defensive game, Martin himself has said that he feels the Kings three man is the best defender in the league even if he didn’t win the Damian Martin Trophy, and his thoughts only continue to be reinforced.
“The Kings threw the first punch in that Game 2 and it was led by Justin Simon, and it was more like a Mike Tyson knockout punch,” Martin added.
“It put New Zealand Breakers on the back foot and for the next 30 minutes the Breakers did not look like the New Zealand Breakers we’ve seen all season, and Will McDowell-White when he had Justin Simon crawl into him and take away his space, and his time and vision, they just had no consistency to their offensive structure whatsoever.
“It was almost like he was so focused just on trying to get the ball past Justin Simon either off the dribble or via a pass that he wasn’t paying attention to which plays he should be calling or who is the open man at the right time. He was just worried about not turning the ball over.”
SAINT MARY’S YOUNG GUNS ON NBL RADAR
While the eyes are on the NBL Championship Series, two emerging Australian stars are shining in their senior year at Saint Mary’s and are about to become two of the hottest commodities this off-season by the majority of clubs across the league.
There might no longer be a Rookie of the Year award in the NBL with it replaced by the Next Generation Award, but there already would be two strong candidates for NBL24 in the form of Saint Mary’s pair Kyle Bowen and Alex Ducas.
The West Australian duo are currently finishing up their careers at St Mary’s with both instrumental in the Gaels reaching the final of the West Coast Tournament before losing to the stacked Gonzaga Bulldogs.
However, both continue to shine and look ready to immediately make the jump to the NBL next season having already proved themselves against men before even beginning their college life.
Bowen won an SBL (now NBL1 West) championship at the Perth Redbacks back in 2017 as a young and exciting big man on a team featuring NBL legend Shawn Redhage along with Michael Vigor, Lee Roberts, Marshall Nelson and Joel Wagner.
Then in 2019, Ducas was a genuine star in the Geraldton Buccaneers winning the last ever SBL championship just hours before heading to California to begin his college life.
Both have only continued to grow and develop physically, and improve their basketball games in the years since to now be about to finish up as seniors with St Mary’s and then begin their professional basketball lives.
Bowen has turned himself into a skilled, strong and athletic 6’8 power forward who is averaging 5.3 points and 7.2 rebounds a game this season with Saint Mary’s.
There’s no question that will have him on the radar of a host of NBL clubs to add to their front court.
Then there is Ducas who is a combo guard equally capable of playing the role as playmaker and point guard along with being a pure scorer and standout shooter.
Ducas is averaging 12.5 points and 4.2 rebounds a game while shooting 43.1 per cent from the field, 41.8 per cent from three-point range and 86.9 at the foul line so would be a welcome addition to any backcourt across the NBL.
Former Sydney Kings and Illawarra Hawks power forward, and current Warwick Senators NBL1 West captain Cody Ellis knows both young men well, has played against them and has been through a similar experience when he finished up a standout college career at Saint Louis.
He has no doubt both Ducas and Bowen will receive plenty of NBL interest for next season.
“I do think that they will be on NBL team radars for sure. They’ve both had really good college careers and are both really good players,” Ellis said on Hoops Heaven’s Basketball Hustle podcast.
“Ducas is one of those big guards that’s really found his own at St Mary’s and he was still dominant back when he played at Geraldton before college. He was such a big part of that championship team so to see his game evolve has been awesome.
“Then you have Bowen and he is just a big dog, he’s a monster. I think any team could use a guy like that and the ‘Cats could be one of them who could use a guy like that. Having local talent in the league is always good so I’m sure they both will be reached out to by multiple NBL teams.”
It has been 12 days since they qualified for the NBL Championship Series and now on Friday night (7.30pm AEDT) the Sydney Kings and New Zealand Breakers begin what looms as a fascinating best-of-five battle for the NBL23 title.
The near two-week break from the end of the semi-final series to the Championship Series was a little unfortunate albeit unavoidable thanks to the last FIBA window ahead of this year’s World Cup but now the wait is over, and it’s set to be a tremendous contest.
Watch the NBL23 Championship Series between Sydney Kings v New Zealand Breakers LIVE and FREE on ESPN on Kayo Freebies. Series begins March 3. Join now and start streaming instantly >
Kings and Breakers to decide NBL champs | 02:08
The Kings and Breakers have been the best two teams all season in the NBL, they finished the regular season in first and second place, and then booked in their spots for the Championship Series by winning their respective semi-final Game 3’s on their home floors two Sundays ago.
It is now all set up to be quite the tantalising Championship Series match up with Game 1 on Friday night at Qudos Bank Arena. Game 2 is already sold out on Sunday at Auckland’s Spark Arena.
Game 3 will be in Sydney next Friday, Game 4 in Auckland the following Sunday and if required, the deciding Game 5 will be in Sydney on Wednesday March 15.
WHO THE TEAMS ARE
The Sydney Kings are the reigning NBL champions and they backed it up by claiming the regular season championship this season to come into the Championship Series as the favourites to make it back-to-back titles.
While the Kings are the reigning champions, they had significant turnover from last season and it all started with the departure of their three imports. That included reigning MVP Jaylen Adams along with NBL and NBA champion Ian Clark, and standout big man Jarrell Martin.
Coming in and the Kings must be commended for finding a new point guard in Derrick Walton Jr who was named to the All-First Team. Justin Simon has been the standout NBL defender this season and a bundle of energy at both ends with Tim Soares holding his own in the centre position.
You then have Kings captain Xavier Cooks who has gone to another level this season to be named the league’s MVP while they are the deepest team in the competition with DJ Vasiljevic, Jordan Hunter, Jaylin Galloway, Kouat Noi, Shaun Bruce and Angus Glover all key contributors.
The Kings are coached by American Chase Buford who is attempting to win a second championship in his two seasons coaching in the NBL while the Kings are looking for a fifth title overall to go with their triumphs in 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2022.
It’s been quite the ride for the New Zealand Breakers since they were the benchmark franchise of the competition between 2011 and 2016. In that period they not only won four of the five NBL championships but were also highly successful off the court.
However, since then they have had a change in ownership and management, and that hasn’t always been smooth sailing. Throw in the last two years where they were ravaged and homeless thanks to COVID, and it was very much a start again process coming into NBL23.
That began with a new coach with assistant Mody Maor taking over from Dan Shamir and it was almost a complete overhaul of the playing roster with only Tom Abercrombie, Will McDowell-White and Rob Loe back.
The Breakers have got all their decisions right and that begins with coach Maor who ended up being runner-up in Coach of the Year voting.
Nailing their import signings has been crucial for the Breakers with Dererk Pardon making the All-Second Team as the centre, Jarrell Brantley a standout power forward and Barry Brown Jr as the leading scorer across the two teams in the Championship Series.
It’s been all about building a team defensively minded and putting culture first, which is where bringing back Kiwis Tom Vodanovich and Izayah Le’afa was important along with adding veteran Cam Gliddon and then topping it off with exciting 18-year-old French Next Star Rayan Rupert.
With Will McDowell-White running the ship and turning himself into the standout point guard he’s always promised to be, and it’s quite the impressive Breakers outfit who are now in their first Championship Series since 2016, and attempting to win a first title since 2015, and fifth overall.
HOW THEY GOT HERE
The Sydney Kings wrapped up the regular season championship a couple of weeks out from the end of the season itself and proved themselves the standout team in the competition on the back of winning last season’s championship.
The Kings finished a game clear in first place on the back of a 19-9 record which saw them winning 10 of 14 matches at Qudos Bank Arena, and winning nine of the 14 on the road including a seven-game winning streak before losing four of the last six matches of the regular season.
That earned the Kings the right to sit back to wait to find out who they would meet in the semi finals which eventually was the Cairns Taipans. Sydney prevailed in Game 1 at home 95-87 but it was a different story in Game 2 in Cairns with the Taipans winning 93-82.
Kings coach Chase Buford was ejected, centre Tim Soares ended up fined for a late shoulder charge and MVP Xavier Cooks hurt his ankle. However, Sydney bounced back in Game 3 with their depth and freshness shining in the 79-64 home win to book in their Championship Series berth.
The New Zealand Breakers hadn’t take part in an NBL finals series since 2018 but it quickly emerged they would be a force to be reckoned with in NBL23. They ended up locking away second position on the back of winning the last five matches of the regular season.
Interestingly, New Zealand won just seven of the 14 matches at home throughout the season but were superb throughout Australia winning 11 of 14 road games.
That meant the Breakers were waiting to take on the Tasmania JackJumpers in the semi finals after they defeated the Cairns Taipans to get there.
New Zealand dominated Game 1 at Spark Arena 88-68 to put the pressure back on the JackJumpers, but Tasmania was terrific at MyState Bank Arena winning 89-78 to force a Game 3.
The Breakers proved too strong in that decider on their home floor to win 92-77 with Barry Brown Jr the star putting up his highest score of the season with 32 points.
Coach ejected after dodgy flop call | 01:45
WHAT THE KEY MATCH-UPS ARE
Tim Soares v Dererk Pardon – Both import centres are new to the league this season and have had a considerable impact. Soares has been a solid performer for the Kings teaming up with Xavier Cooks up front and being a sound defender, solid rebounder and a good offensive threat with a nice outside shot. Then you have Pardon at the Breakers and he deserves to be called the best genuine centre in the NBL. He does the things of a traditional centre by rebounding at both ends, finishing around the rim, setting heavy screens and being a shot blocking presence. He offers plenty more than that too and his ability to set the tone physically will be key to this series and what impact Soares can have to quell his influence will be pivotal.
Xavier Cooks v Jarrell Brantley – This power forward match up above all others could very well determine the NBL championship. Cooks is the MVP of the league on the back of captaining Sydney to last season’s championship and being Grand Final MVP. Brantley is in his first season at the Breakers but has been superb. He can play with physicality, with athleticism and is a terrific defensive presence and a great all-round offensive threat with moves around the basket and shooting ability. They are similar physical presences too so it’s going to be a truly fascinating match up and the numbers back that up. Cooks averages 16.0 points, 8.0 rebounds and 4.0 assists on 58.9 per cent field goal shooting with Brantley putting up 16.1 points, 6.1 rebounds and 1.8 assists on 46.8 per cent shooting.
Justin Simon v Tom Abercrombie – Neither man is going to jump off the page and score a lot of points or put up huge numbers that grab the headlines, and nor will they match up on one another too much. But that doesn’t mean their role isn’t going to be pivotal on who ends up winning the series. Both can contribute offensively, but it’s at the defensive end where their true importance lies and who they get sent to for the majority of time is going to be equally curious. Simon is a previous Best Defensive Player and perhaps should have been this season. He delivered the best individual defensive performance of the season in Game 3 against Cairns on DJ Hogg and now it looks likely his coach Chase Buford will send him to try and quell the influence of New Zealand’s hot scorer Barry Brown Jr. Abercrombie is the Breakers captain and already an all-time great leading his franchise in most categories including games played and points scored. He remains a standout defender and he likely will be set to try and make life difficult for Kings point guard Derrick Walton Jr. Who is most successful in their defensive job will be critical in who ends up getting a ring.
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DJ Vasiljevic v Barry Brown Jr – Again these two might not spend too much time on one another with the Kings likely to use Justin Simon on Brown Jr and Rayan Rupert could spend significant time on Vasiljevic. But either way they are the go-to shooters and scorers for their respective team. When the Kings need a big time basket and someone to dig them out of a hole, it’s the outside shooting of Vasiljevic they look to. And he’s a proven big time performer. Then there’s Brown and this Breakers team is built for their defence but it’s him who is their true offensive weapon highlighted by 32 points in Game 3 against Tasmania. Vasiljevic has had an up and down season but is averaging 14.0 points on 41.2 per cent shooting and 36.9 from downtown, but he did have 42 points and 10 threes against the Phoenix. Brown is averaging 19.7 points on shooting 46.8 per cent overall and 35.7 from three-point range. Who can get hot throughout the series will have a big say in the final result.
Derrick Walton Jr v Will McDowell-White – Well what a battle of two high-class point guards we are going to have. Both are terrific playmakers and floor generals for their team, both are tremendous at setting up their team and finding shots for their teammates, and both can score themselves when needed. After all, Walton Jr did put up 45 points against the South East Melbourne Phoenix and McDowell-White has a season-high of 29 against Cairns. Walton has been tremendous replacing MVP Jaylen Adams as Sydney’s point guard. He was named to the All-First Team averaging 16.5 points and 6.3 assists a game on 47.3 per cent field goal shooting and 36.4 per cent from deep. McDowell-White has had the best season of his NBL career reaching the promise he’s always had averaging 10.3 points, 6.0 assists and 4.9 rebounds on shooting 40.6 per cent overall and 29.1 per cent from long-range.
Jordan Hunter/Kouat Noi/Jaylin Galloway/Angus Glover/Shaun Bruce v Rob Loe/Tom Vodanovich/Cam Gliddon/Rayan Rupert/Izayah Le’afa – A big reason why these two teams are in the Championship Series is because of their depth and the fact they don’t lose anything going into their bench, and indeed receive a punch. The Kings have Jordan Hunter to back up Tim Soares while Kouat Noi and Jaylin Galloway are versatile enough to give a chop out in either forward spots and then there’s the experience and quality of Angus Glover an Shaun Bruce in the guard spots. The Breakers bench is strong too and technically Rayan Rupert will be a starter, but Barry Brown Jr will play more minutes in that two spot. Rupert will still be important with his length and impact he can have defensively. Rob Loe will be important backing up Dererk Pardon while Tom Vodanovich and Cam Gliddon offer hardness and experience, and then Izayah Le’afa is another weapon they have as a guard who can score, run the offence and defend.
FINAL WORDS FROM THE CAPTAINS
Sydney Kings captain and reigning league MVP and last season’s Grand Final MVP Xavier Cooks might be feeling nervous coming into the Championship Series, but at the same time is confident of getting those three wins.
“Not many players get the chance to go for a championship so to have the chance to go back-to-back is pretty special, but right now it’s about this team and trying to get over the line,” Cooks said.
“I feel like we’ve had pressure on us all season long. Since the season started, we’ve had a target on our back being the reigning champs and everyone’s tried to come at us. We’ve stood our ground so far.
“Personally I am just as nervous compared with last year, but I feel more prepared. I know what it takes to get over the line and I know how much effort it takes to get over the line. Hopefully I can try and convey that for the new guys coming in, but I am kinda nervous.
“I am very nervous and I throw up before most games and I’m a nervous wreck, but that’s what basketball is about and it all comes down to this. It’s three more wins and you win a championship.”
Xavier Cooks of the Kings and Tom Abercrombie of the Breakers pose with the NBL Championship trophy.Source: Getty Images
Breakers captain and four-time NBL champion and 2011 Grand Final MVP Tom Abercrombie never thought he’d be back in this position to compete for another championship, but is excited for the opportunity ahead.
“It feels like it’s been an eternity waiting these last couple of weeks but we’re pumped to get Game 1 underway and get this series started,” Abercrombie said.
“Obviously Game 1 is really important and you want to come out and set the tone for the series, and play the right way. We’re under no illusions about the challenge in front of us against the best team all season long, and the defending champs. We’ll have to bring our absolute best to beat them.
“The time for reflection will come but you do think back a little bit on what we’ve been through the last couple of years and all the adversity.
“It’s wonderful to be back in this position and to be playing with a team and a group of people who are about the right things, and gone about things the right way. It’s awesome that we’ve been rewarded for our hard work with a chance to go for another championship.
“Everyone has a little bit of a chip on their shoulder with something to prove and that’s made us a very tough, and resilient group.”
Tahjere McCall has made a mercurial return from injury to lead the Taipans to a buzzer-to-buzzer 93-82 win against the Kings in a dramatic and spiteful semi final.
Cairns coach Adam Forde copped an early tech, Kings coach Chase Buford was tossed late, and players came together on multiple occasions late in the contest as emotions spilt over.
And to make matters worse for the Kings, they will be sweating on the fitness of NBL MVP Xavier Cooks, who left the court with an ankle injury halfway through the third quarter.
Billed as the community vs the corporates and described by NBL owner Larry Kestelman as a David and Goliath battle, in a game played with the feeling and intensity a post-season game deserves.
And McCall, the Taipans’ on-court leader and man this roster was built around, made a stunning return after missing a week due to a partially dislocated shoulder, to provide the lift Cairns needed to set-up a series decider.
McCall had 20 points, seven assists, four rebounds and three steals, and was enormous on the defensive end as Cairns coach Adam Forde relied on just seven players to get the job done.
All-NBL Second Team member DJ Hogg had 25 points and eight rebounds in a typically strong performance for Cairns, while Sam Waardenburg grabbed a 15-point, 10-rebound double-double.
While Derrick Walton Jr (22 points) and Justin Simon (19pts) did all they could to seal a series sweep, Cooks’ health will dominate discussion between now and Sunday’s deciding game.
Cooks landed awkwardly contesting a rebound, landing on DJ Hogg’s foot and rolling his left ankle.
It puts Cooks in some doubt for Sunday, while an off-the-ball incident has Kings teammate Tim Soares in hot water.
Kings’ Xavier Cooks is benched with an ankle injury. Centre. Photo: Brendan RadkeSource: News Corp Australia
BUFORD BOUNCED
Chase Buford is never one to hide his thoughts, but the Kings coach earned himself an early departure from the bench after one of the all-time blow-ups.
Buford blew a gasket after a head clash between Cairns’ DJ Hogg and Sydney’s Kouat Noi, dropping a few words we can’t print at the officials before being given his marching orders.
Earlier, players exchanged heated words after Cooks was injured, with Kings duo Shaun Bruce and Angus Glover and Tiapans duo Ben Ayre and Tahjere McCall in the thick of things.
Then, with only two minutes left, Tim Soares copped his fifth foul after off-the-ball contact with Cairns’ Sam Waardenburg in which he appeared to make contact with the head.
Soares may have a case to answer for before Sunday’s deciding game in Sydney, but Friday’s antics coupled with Wednesday’s chirpiness, and makes for a mouth-watering match-up.
Kings head coach Chase Buford leaves the court after a technical violation. Photo: Brendan RadkeSource: News Corp Australia
MCCALL’S BACK, BABY
The roar when Tahjere McCall’s name was announced pre-game was huge.
His efforts might have been even bigger, if it were possible.
McCall was in a race against the clock to prove his fitness after suffering a partially dislocated shoulder in the loss to Tasmania last Thursday.
The initial estimate was a one-week absence, and while he missed two key games there was seemingly no way he’d miss the win-or-go-home clash with the Kings.
McCall was clearly not 100 per cent, but his presence on both ends of the floor was massive.
“Defence will be the key to all our wins; if we don’t play defence we won’t have a chance,” McCall said at halftime.
As for his injured shoulder, any adverse effects?
“Yeah there’s always at this time of the year, I’ll be good,” he said.
COOKS CONCERN
It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that stopping Xavier Cooks can greatly improve one’s chances of beating the Kings, but doing it is so much harder.
Cooks was the man in Wednesday’s series-opener, putting up 27 points and 14 rebounds to lead the Kings’ comeback win.
Cairns seemed to have the answer on Friday, restricting Cooks to three first-half points and forcing three turnovers out of the NBL MVP.
He appeared to have landed awkwardly on DJ Hogg and rolled his left ankle midway through the third quarter, and went straight to the bench and to the changeroom for treatment.
He reappeared on the bench in the final two minutes of the third term, but played no further part in the game, with Sydney staff opting to put him on the ice and hope he’s ready on Sunday.
“I have no idea … we’ll see [how it is],” Buford said post-game.
“It’s probably not good for us.”
SCOTT’S OFF
Shannon Scott’s health was under the microscope after he appeared to injure his hamstring in the dying stages of Wednesday’s loss in Sydney.
His place in the starting line-up was taken by Jonah Antonio, with Ben Ayre the first point guard coach Forde turned to from the bench.
Scott, who was recruited as a steady, calming influence at the point, didn’t see any action in the first quarter, but he was seen in deep discussion with assistant coach Kerry Williams at that first break talking tactics.
But Forde opted for a short rotation and used just seven players, with Scott, Mirko Djeric, Majok Deng and Josh Davey not seeing any action.
MAKE SOME NOISE
There’s no love lost for former Taipan-turned-King Kouat Noi in the tropics.
Every time Noi was near the ball, especially in the first term, the near sellout Cairns crowd made sure they knew he was no longer on the good side.
Noi has been vocal in his leaving Cairns for Sydney with a view to win a championship, and he repeated the promise during an interview with News this week.
“I’m not leaving that place without a win,” he promised.
He temporarily silenced the Orange Army with a thunderous dunk from an inbound pass, letting the crowd know what he thought.
Restricted to four points through the first three quarters, he generated some offence to open the last as the Kings tried to fight back, finishing with 12 points.
He received a go-home boo after fulltime after he left the playing area with his head down, hidden under a towel.
What an NBL23 season we‘ve just had. The finals are still to come over the next month but the regular season came down to the very last second to determine which six teams would take part in the post-season action.
Aron Baynes returning to basketball through the Brisbane Bullets and the Adelaide 36ers shocking the NBA‘s Phoenix Suns saw the NBL in the headlines before the season even started, and put those teams in the spotlight.
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Wildcats nick NBL finals spot late | 00:30
While their seasons never went to plan, the race for the top six positions proved fascinating with the Perth Wildcats needing to beat the Sydney Kings by 11 points in the last game of the regular season, and winning by 12 to finish sixth and knock out Melbourne United.
It was a fitting way to end an NBL season that delivered so much from the inaugural Christmas Day game, to record crowds around the country and outstanding play from everyone from Xavier Cooks to Mitch Creek to Bryce Cotton to Keanu Pinder to Milton Doyle to Antonius Cleveland and countless others.
Before the finals begin this Thursday night with play-in games featuring the Cairns Taipans at home to the Tasmania JackJumpers, and the South East Melbourne Phoenix hosting the Perth Wildcats, let‘s look at how each team performed in NBL23.
SYDNEY KINGS (19-9, First)
The defending champions had to replace all three imports for their title defence, but they‘ve done a terrific job and have been the standout team all season to claim the regular season championship and now are sitting back to find out their semi-final opponents.
What worked: Replacing championship winning import trio Jarrell Martin, Ian Clark and Jaylen Adams wasn‘t an easy task, but they did it well. Tim Soares has proven a more than handy centre, Justin Simon has been tremendous in that three spot at both ends and then Derrick Walton Jr has been more than adequate as point guard replacing MVP Adams. Xavier Cooks has gone to another level to be a strong chance to be league MVP but more than anything it’s how deep the Kings go. Jaylin Galloway, Shaun Bruce, Angus Glover, Jordan Hunter and Kouat Noi come off the bench and they lose nothing. They play at the fast pace in the league, the second best offensive rating, third best defensive rating and rightfully are the regular season champions and title favourites.
What didn‘t: Their free-throw percentage of 72 per cent is only third worst in the league, but it remains the potential to be their undoing in clutch moments when they get their second most times out of any team. If that’s your biggest concern, though, you are in pretty good shape. There has been patches of the season where turnovers have been an issue and so have fourth quarters, but at 19-9, that’s nit-picking.
Xavier Cooks of the Kings shoots a free throw during the round 18 NBL match between Perth Wildcats and Sydney Kings at RAC Arena.Source: Getty Images
The outlook: The immediate focus is freshening up and getting ready to host Game 1 of the semi finals on Wednesday February 15, and to make a run at back-to-back championships. They should be at full health too with Xavier Cooks and Derrick Walton Jr having plenty of time before that first semi-final game. They are going to be mighty tough to stop and it might only be themselves that can be their undoing if their free-throw and turnover woes rear their heads when it matters most. But if they play anywhere near their best, they are clearly the best team in the competition.
Potential award winners: Xavier Cooks is the favourite to win the MVP award while Chase Buford is right in the hunt for Coach of the Year. It was a shock to many that Justin Simon wasn’t nominated to be Best Defensive Player while point guard Derrick Walton Jr should be named in one of the All-NBL teams.
Final Grade: A. Whether it‘s an A+ or not will be determined over the next month and if they win the championship or not, because that’s the bar this team has set. But they haven’t put a foot wrong to claim top spot as defending champs despite swapping over three imports.
NEW ZEALAND BREAKERS (18-10, Second)
After a horror two years thanks to COVID, the New Zealand Breakers didn’t have it easy again this season but what they have done is come together as a cohesive unit, built everything on defence and developed a tremendous spirit and culture, and now have earned an automatic semi-final berth.
What worked: Building back the chemistry and culture that was such a key part to the Breakers winning four NBL championships in five years between 2011-15. Coach Mody Maor deserves enormous credit in achieving that and by bringing in players that fit the character and mindset he wanted to be team first, defensively oriented players. They have had plenty thrown at them, but with the leadership of their coach and the players fully buying in, they‘ve overcome it all. They got the imports right to start with. Dererk Pardon is the ideal modern day big, Jarrell Brantley is a brilliant all-round four man and then Barry Brown Jr gives that potent scoring punch. Add in Will McDowell-White and Izayah Le’afa to the backcourt, the youth of Rayan Rupert and experience of Tom Abercrombie, and then strong roles played by Rob Loe, Cam Gliddon and Tom Vodanovich, and everyone’s played their role to a tee. They are the best defensively rated team in the league and that’s what they’ve based everything on, being physical and intense defensively, and then efficient offensively.
NZ Breakers lock in second spot in NBL | 00:57
What didn’t: Being healthy. It took until their 19th game of the season to have a full roster available. Tom Abercrombie suffered a freak eye injury in pre-season and from there, Barry Brown Jr, Will McDowell-White, Rayan Rupert and Rob Loe have all been sidelined for multiple games. They also had to deal with some horror travel schedule, a three-week COVID enforced break and even the recent Auckland floods, but nothing has denied them because of the spirit and culture in the group they’ve built.
The outlook: Finishing second was every bit as important in terms of what an achievement it was for where they‘ve come from, but also because it gave them almost two weeks to freshen up and get healthy for their semi-final series against either the Cairns Taipans or Tasmania JackJumpers. They will know who they play after Thursday night’s game in Cairns and then can get ready for that Game 1 on Sunday February 12 at Spark Arena. Barry Brown Jr will have time to get over his hand injury and they should be at full strength for just the seventh game all season long.
Potential award winners: Barry Brown Jr appears just about a lock to be named Best Sixth Man by putting up 19.5 points a game. Dererk Pardon is a good chance to take out the Damian Martin Trophy as Best Defensive Player while Mody Maor is a shot at Coach of the Year. Point guard Will McDowell-White is in the mix for Most Improved Player and Brown, Pardon and forward Jarrell Brantley are all good chances to find places in the All-NBL teams.
Final Grade: A+. Coming off two years of hell, nothing has come easy for them this season either. They‘ve had some horror travel schedules, rarely been at full strength, dealt with a three-week COVID break and still have finished second to be straight into the semi finals.
CAIRNS TAIPANS (18-10, Third)
Coach Adam Forde wanted to put his stamp on the group in his second season in charge and get a team to suit the style he wanted to play. He did that and got full buy in from the group, and the end result is they finished third, only narrowly missed second and will be giving this championship a real shake.
What worked: Dealing with adversity. Tahjere McCall missed five games early in the season. Keanu Pinder missed nine of the last 11 games and Sam Waardenburg missed three games too but even without key players they played tremendously with others stepping up. That‘s especially been the case without Pinder where they’ve won eight of nine games without him. What has worked started in the off-season. Coach Adam Forde knew how he wanted to play but needed to recruit players to suit that style. The Taipans backed him in to do that and he’s found the perfect pieces. DJ Hogg and Shannon Scott have been the cool and composed imports who deliver no matter the situation while Pinder’s gone to another and formed a potent front court with Waardenburg. Bul Kuol has had a terrific second season at both ends, McCall has been a tremendous leader with the energy and hustle he brings, and then Ben Ayre and Majok Deng have played key roles. As a result, they play at the second highest pace, shoot the most three-pointers and do it at 32.5 per cent and have the second best defensive rating.
Melbourne lose out in epic final NBL day | 03:09
What didn‘t: Surprisingly playing at full strength didn’t work too well for them. They found their groove early in the season and then blending Tahjere McCall back in didn’t immediately click. And then after winning six straight without Keanu Pinder, they lost both games with him before he got hurt again. That’s more than likely just a curiosity though rather than an issue. In the end, losing three of four games before Friday night’s breakthrough win in Perth is what cost them second spot and an automatic place in the semi finals.
The outlook: They gave themselves a chance to finish second with a stirring win on Friday night in Perth despite the absence of Keanu Pinder and Tahjere McCall. They could have used the extra time and automatically qualifying for the semi finals, but it wasn’t to be. Now they have a short turnaround from playing in Perth on Friday, spending all Saturday travelling, having to go to the NBL awards in Melbourne on Tuesday, coming home to practice on Wednesday and then hosting the Tasmania JackJumpers on Thursday night. Winning that will see them straight into the semi finals or else they have to back up to play either South East Melbourne or Perth on Sunday. Pinder won‘t be back unless they reach the Grand Final but McCall should be right to play Tasmania this Thursday.
Potential award winners: Keanu Pinder slipped from MVP contention with his two late season injuries but he remains the raging favourite to go back-to-back in the Most Improved Player award. Sam Waardenburg was also locked in as Rookie of the Year before that was scrapped in favour of the Next Generation Award, which he is a chance to win. Both DJ Hogg and Bul Kuol had cases for Best Defensive Player nominations while Adam Forde would be a more than deserving Coach of the Year winner. Hogg and Pinder should find spots on All-NBL teams.
Final Grade: A+. What a performance it‘s been to go from second last to third and to have done it by putting together a playing group perfectly suited to how coach Adam Forde wanted to play.
TASMANIA JACKJUMPERS (16-12, Fourth)
Nobody gave them a chance in their inaugural season and they shocked everyone by reaching the Grand Final. Even fewer people gave them a chance of backing it up in NBL23, but they have again finished fourth and played with tremendous heart and spirit, are coached outstandingly by Scott Roth and you wouldn’t write them off from going all the way over the next month.
What worked: It surprised many when the JackJumpers didn’t bring back Josh Adams after his playoff heroics last season, but his replacement Milton Doyle has been nothing short of brilliant. Then there‘s the continued growth of Jack McVeigh who has become an inspirational presence. Will Magnay had a rough first season and-a-half with the JackJumpers, but his back end of this season has been encouraging too and the growth of Sean Macdonald has seen him emerge has one of the more effective Australian guards in the league even though he’ll still be a development player in NBL24. More than anything it’s the spirit they have once again played with and heart they’ve shown. Not everything’s gone to plan this season, but they have bounced back strongly on each occasion. Their defensive rating is just fourth best in the league but they conceded the second least points a game at 81.7 and their offence has more potency.
Jackjumpers thrash Hawks in Wollongong | 01:12
What didn‘t: Captain Clint Steindl’s season has never quite got going after he missed the first 10 games while injury has also limited the impact of fellow key players Matt Kenyon and Sam McDaniel. Consistency has also been a bit of a problem with the JackJumpers never winning more than three games straight or losing more than the three in-a-row they started with, but they did close out winning eight of the last 12 to finish fourth. They also struggled more at home than you would expect given the incredible atmosphere they play in front of, going 7-7 between Hobart and Launceston. They are another team who only played six games all season with a full squad available and they will be missing Josh Magette likely for the entire finals series.
The outlook: The JackJumpers locked away fourth spot in Wollongong on Saturday, but it came at a cost. It looks unlikely now that point guard Josh Magette will play again this season with a facial injury while there‘s an injury cloud over captain Clint Steindl ahead of Thursday’s play-in match up with the Cairns Taipans. Rashard Kelly will return and both teams will have their injury woes and a win in that game to go straight into the semi finals and avoid a cut-throat match up on Sunday with either the Phoenix or Wildcats will be crucial.
Potential award winners: Scott Roth can consider himself unlucky to not be nominated to go back-to-back in Coach of the Year awards. Development player Sean Macdonald has been nominated for the Most Improved Player award and Rashard Kelly is in the running for Best Sixth Man. Milton Doyle wouldn’t have been far off an MVP nomination and will be in one of the All-NBL teams.
Final Grade: A. They might not have the same defensive grunt as they did last year, but they are a bit more offensively dangerous and in many ways this has been a better achievement this season to be fourth than it was last year.
SOUTH EAST MELBOURNE PHOENIX (15-13, Fifth)
At full strength, this South East Melbourne Phoenix team has looked a championship calibre unit. The problem is, they have rarely had everyone available and time will tell if that happens in the finals, but they‘ve at least made it and that’s the first box ticked for this team that is not short on talent.
What worked: Mitch Creek and Alan Williams up front proved to be quite the impressive one-two punch for the Phoenix. Creek had the best and most consistent season of his 316-game career to be in the MVP hunt while Williams became a powerful presence once he figured things out, averaging 16.6 points and 9.6 rebounds. Gary Browne when healthy became the ideal point guard for this team too and had the team running smoothly when at his best. They made it a focus to be an inside focused team and that helped them be terrific rebounding the basketball, being the strongest rebounding team in the league with 38.6 boards a game and 12.3 at the offensive end. Combined with the third fewest turnovers in the league and that helped them win the possession battle most nights, and give themselves a chance. They showed good heart throughout the season too. They had personnel issues the whole way, but rebounded from an early three-game losing run and late five-game losing streak to go on winning runs on both occasion to end up deservedly in the finals.
What didn‘t: Being at full strength has been their biggest problem. They started the season missing imports Gary Browne and Trey Kell III along with Ryan Broekhoff. Then the signing of Zhou Qi never paid off, he only ended up playing nine games and never returned after heading back to China for family reasons. He had the potential to be a real difference maker with his size and like to offset the powerful presence Alan Williams provided. They did struggle shooting from the outside going at just 32.3 per cent from three to be only ahead of the Illawarra Hawks while they did struggle at times to contain their opponents, giving up 89.7 points a game and having the fourth worst defensive rating.
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The outlook: They had a horribly nervous wait over the past week to find out if they would reach the finals or not, but things worked out as well as could have been expected by ending up in fifth spot to get to host the Perth Wildcats this Thursday night. They will be fresh having had the week off so whether or not they come off well after a break or not will remain to be seen, but their bodies should be healthier at least. Ryan Broekhoff is an outside chance to return to face the Wildcats while they‘ll be at full strength aside from that if you don’t factor in the continued absence of Zhou Qi. Their outlook is good because of how well they match up with Perth. They have a significant advantage on the Wildcats up front and should they win on Thursday, they’ll like their chances against the loser of the Taipans-JackJumpers match up with both those teams battling physically right now.
Potential award winners: Mitch Creek is one of three nominees in the MVP award and he would be a deserving winner after the best and most consistent season of his career. He should be named to the All-First NBL Team too but it might be slim pickings for the Phoenix at the awards night outside of that. Alan Williams deserves consideration in an All-NBL Team though.
Final Grade: B. They had to deal with plenty throughout the season and to steady the ship late to win three of their last four games before the nervous wait and now earn a home final is a good effort.
PERTH WILDCATS (15-13, Sixth)
What a ride it was for John Rillie in his first season as a coach in the NBL. The pressure was on for the Perth Wildcats to return to the finals after the streak ended last year, and they‘ve ended up doing that albeit only secured on the very last second of the regular season. However, now that they are there they have enough firepower to do some damage.
What worked: It might not have been John Rillie‘s plan when he took over, but this Wildcats team became quite the offensive threat. They averaged 92.1 points a season to be ranked second with the highest offensive rating across the league. They shot the fourth most three-pointers a game and did it well with a second best percentage of 36.6 as a team. You can’t ignore the brilliance of Bryce Cotton this season, leading the league in minutes played and points scored. He didn’t always get enough help, but Brady Manek continued to grow as a scoring threat as the season went on and Corey Webster proved his ideal sidekick once put in the starting group. Luke Travers also showed terrific three-point shooting improvement the longer the season went.
What didn‘t: Rebounding and defence proved their two glaring weaknesses as the season went on. They finished with the least number of rebounds of any team across the league with just 33.5 per game with the worst defensive rebounding rating, and second worst at the offensive end. Then there’s the defence, they just couldn’t stop teams scoring and at times looked decidedly disinterested at the defensive end. They conceded 91.7 points a game while having the worst defensive rating across the league. The longer the season went, the shorter coach John Rillie’s rotation became and that became horrible news for veterans Mitch Norton, Todd Blanchfield and Majok Majok who all saw their playing time almost shrink to zero with the trio all having the least productive and fewest minutes on court in their NBL careers (aside from Majok’s lone season in New Zealand).
Wildcats nick NBL finals spot late | 00:30
The outlook: Returning to the finals was the first goal of this season after the playoff streak ended a year ago and they‘ve done that – albeit just. Now that they’ve made it, they will like their chances of making the most of it considering they have the best player in the competition with Bryce Cotton, and the offensive weapons of Brady Manek, Corey Webster, Tai Webster, TaShawn Thomas and the emerging Luke Travers. The Phoenix loom as a horror match up for them because of how dominant they were inside against them last time, but if their front court can stand up, they are a chance to get through on Thursday and then throw everything at the JackJumpers or Taipans to earn a crack at the Sydney Kings in the semi finals.
Potential award winners: Bryce Cotton is every chance to win a fourth MVP award after being the league‘s leading scorer with 23.5 points a game to go with 4.8 assists and 4.4 rebounds. Luke Travers is in the running for the Next Generation Award too and Brady Manek can consider himself unlucky to not have been nominated for that. Cotton is just about a lock for the All-First NBL Team too but it might be a quiet awards night for the ’Cats outside of him.
Final Grade: C. They made finals so that‘s an improvement, but only by the slimmest possible margin. They never got going defensively or rebounding wise, but pure talent has got them into the top six.
MELBOURNE UNITED (15-13, Seventh)
What a rollercoaster ride this season was. At 5-10 they looked dead and buried, but they went 10-3 the rest of the way and it was one solitary basket that cost them a spot in the finals. They overcame plenty to become a standout team in the back end of the season so can take heart from that.
What worked: The way they finished the season deserves a lot of credit because at 5-10 things could have capitulated. However, coach Dean Vickerman released the shackles on the team from there and encouraged them to play at a faster pace with more offensive freedom. Finishing 10-3 over the last 13 games suggests they are just about the best team across the league across the second half of the season, but they left themselves too much to do. The backcourt combination to close the season of Chris Goulding, Xavier Rathan-Mayes and Rayjon Tucker was exciting and just about unstoppable when the shackles were taken off. Marcus Lee‘s inclusion proved tremendous as well even if he didn’t get a lot of time with Isaac Humphries to show what a centre combination they could be. David Okwera’s emergence shows what a bright future he has and what they did over the last 13 games will leave them frustrated they missed out on finals – by two measly points.
What didn‘t: Things began to go wrong in the off-season when they lost Matthew Dellavedova and Jack White unexpectedly to the NBA. Then on the eve of the season, Next Star Ariel Hukporti ruptured his achilles and couldn’t be replaced due to not taking up a roster spot, so they would have been three of their five starters. There was plenty of faith put into Shea Ili to be the point guard without Dellavedova but on-going concussion issues limited his impact and he only played 14 games while Dave Barlow also missed the last five games through concussion. Jordan Caroline didn’t work out early in the season particularly as someone to step up to replace Hukporti, but Marcus Lee proved ideal. Had they had their team together for the full season, they will be left wondering what could have been had they managed to sneak into the top six. Ultimately blowing that eight-point lead with 45 seconds to go in Perth is what cost them above everything else.
Melbourne United star Chris Goulding.Source: Getty Images
The outlook: There will be a lot of dissection over what went wrong this season because Melbourne just isn‘t used to missing out on taking part in finals, but a lot of this can be put down to bad luck. Moving forward, they could do worse than bringing back the import trio of Rayjon Tucker, Xavier Rathan-Mayes and Marcus Lee. They showed great heart and chemistry in the run home. Lee and Isaac Humphries up front for a whole season would be dominant, and another season of Tucker, Rathan-Mayes and Chris Goulding in the back court will be tough. The health of Shea Ili will be a big factor. If he looks able to play a full season, he can be locked in as the starting point guard. Otherwise they’ll need to go hunt a new playmaker. They’ll also need to find some added help up front and to bring in a strong power forward either as a marquee local or an import. Basically their two needs are in what they lost – Jack White and Matthew Dellavedova. They should feel good about hitting back strongly though.
Potential award winners: If Rayjon Tucker had started the season playing the way he finished, then he would be right in contention for both the MVP award and a spot on the All-First NBL team. If Xavier Rathan-Mayes had also played as well in the middle patches as he did at the start and finish, then ditto. If Shea Ili played more than 14 games, he would be a legitimate Best Defensive Player option too. Unfortunately for United, their season was basically split in two and as a result they might not be up on stage too often.
Final Grade: C. Their first half of the season was rough and being 5-10 left them in a hole they couldn‘t quite get out of. But going 10-3 the rest of the way is to be commended.
ADELAIDE 36ERS (13-15, Eighth)
The great disappointments of NBL23. They put together an exciting roster, shocked the world by beating the Phoenix Suns and then in the NBL season proper, just never clicked, never got going and the result is a fifth consecutive season out of the finals.
What worked: For everything this team promised when they beat the Phoenix Suns in the pre-season and with the roster put together, it‘s really hard to say too much at all worked given a team with such aspirations finished at 13-15. Perhaps the greatest positive was the remarkable home support they received, continually setting new records at the Adelaide Entertainment Centre. Antonius Cleveland lived up to his billing too, improving on what he did last season at the Illawarra Hawks. He played with great heart and defensive intensity, and his offensive game rose so he can hold his head high. Another positive was Anthony Drmic. In his second stint at the Sixers, he could very well have had the best season of his 199-game NBL career. But really, it’s not a season where they will feel much worked or went to plan at all.
What didn‘t: Bringing together so many potential stars always has the issue of developing the right chemistry, and figuring out how to play as a cohesive unit. Let’s be honest, that never happened with this Adelaide team. A lot of that early was blamed on Craig Randall but it never really improved after he left. While winning against the Phoenix Suns was a historic event, having to miss the first two weeks of the season as a result and the sideshow that created might have also done more harm than good. More than anything, though, what hurt them was an apparent lack of interest and effort defensively. With Mitch McCarron, Sunday Dech and Antonius Cleveland, this should have been a good defensive team. They finished as the third worst defensive team in the league. Coach CJ Bruton also wasn’t fully able to put his imprint on having a team play to his identity.
Adelaide 36ers keep finals hopes alive | 00:59
The outlook: Five straight years out of the playoffs and patience is wearing thin in Adelaide. The city couldn’t be more behind the team breaking attendance records game after game, but they deserve a winning team now. Robert Franks and Antonius Cleveland are locked in to return and so are Sunday Dech, Mitch McCarron, Kyrin Galloway and Nick Marshall. The writing is on the wall that Daniel Johnson‘s time in Adelaide is up and it would be unlikely for Kai Sotto and probably Ian Clark to return. Anthony Drmic was terrific and should be welcomed back. CJ Bruton has talked about wanting his team to more play to the identity of their coach next season so he’ll be recruiting to fit what he wants, but ideally a strong and powerful big man presence and then a quality point guard would be high on the agenda because they are well covered in the two, three and four spots. Without doubt it’s a make a break season in NBL24 not only for Bruton as coach, but the whole organisation.
Potential award winners: Antonius Cleveland holds the best hopes of anyone from Adelaide to grab the limelight on Tuesday night. He is nominated for the Best Defensive Player and is every chance to make it consecutive Damian Martin Trophy wins. He should also find a place in an All-NBL Team. Kai Sotto would have to be the runaway favourite to win the Fans MVP too on the back of having all of the Philippines voting for him again.
Final Grade: D. So much was expected of them but at no point did they come together as a cohesive team. They showed flashes, but equal flashes of disunity. Make or break time now in NBL24.
BRISBANE BULLETS (8-20, Ninth)
There was such excitement around them coming into NBL23. Many had them as championship fancies, but the season never got off the ground. They had three coaches in three weeks, import changes and for a while lacked competitiveness, but they at least finished off on a more positive note.
What worked: It‘s hard to say too much worked well but things really threatened to spiral out of hand with a record 49-point loss to Sydney, but they at least played with some pride and heart the rest of the season. They won three of four games directly out of that game to their credit. Bringing in Tyler Johnson proved to work well once he figured out the league and DJ Mitchell’s emergence was a definite highlight. Greg Vanderjagt’s performance as coach is something that must be commended too and he showed that he has a future as a head coach in the league either remaining with the Bullets or elsewhere. The home crowd support was also tremendous from the Brisbane locals despite the struggles of the team topped off by a sold out 5253 in their final game on Saturday against the New Zealand Breakers.
What didn‘t: The off-court turmoil in the first half of the season just got out of hand. James Duncan was unceremoniously dumped as coach just hours before the team flew out to New Zealand, with him replaced by GM Sam Mackinnon rather than one of the assistants. Then just as the team was flying to Cairns, Mackinnon was replaced by Greg Vanderjagt, it’s just unfathomable how it was all handled. Releasing Devondrick Walker was also baffling when it took them so long to bring in Andrew White III meaning they played eight games with Tyler Johnson their lone import. And as good as it was to see Aron Baynes back playing basketball, at no point did they ever fully get the most out of what he could have provided both through him not getting enough touches in the right spots and his frustrations with the officiating.
Aron Baynes.Source: Getty Images
The outlook: This is the biggest unknown out of every team. Firstly they need to decide on their coach. Do they back in Greg Vanderjagt to continue in the role after the players appeared to respond to him, do they appoint a quality local like Pero Cameron or Anthony Petrie, or look completely out of the box. That is going to be the biggest question and will determine where they go with their player personnel. Nathan Sobey and Aron Baynes are locked in contractually, but there‘s a lot to go under the bridge before Baynes is guaranteed back. That leaves them with three import spots to fill and they need to find a genuine point guard but the other two spots largely depend on Baynes. Should he not return, they’d need an import centre but if not, they could go for a three/four man as import and potentially try to lure Tyler Johnson back. They have great potential with DJ Mitchell, Tyrell Harrison, Tanner Krebs, Gorjok Gak and Kody Stattman as the core of locals to build around while it’ll largely be up to Jason Cadee if he wants to remain at the Bullets or not.
Potential award winners: It will be a quiet night for the Bullets at the Gazey‘s. Tyler Johnson has been nominated as Best Sixth Man and he deserves serious consideration for that award, but that might be about it in terms of anyone from Brisbane being recognised. DJ Mitchell made his point on Saturday night that he deserved a look in for the Next Generation Award too after putting up 9.6 points and 4.6 rebounds while shooting tremendously in his first NBL season, but he wasn’t nominated.
Final Grade: D. This threatened to get out of hand with that record loss to Sydney on the back of the three head coaches in a matter of weeks and import changes. They finished the season better, though, to give some positivity.
ILLAWARRA HAWKS (3-25, 10th)
They might have finished with the worst record in franchise history, but that should be put in perspective of the fact they had a rookie coach, lost four imports to season-ending injuries and did a lot of good in the second half of the season building for the future.
What worked: They had every excuse in the world to think it was all too much for them, but the great positive is how hard they fought especially through the second half of the season. Sure, the wins didn’t come, but they gave themselves countless chances and made themselves hard to beat and provided hope for the future with that competitive spirit, and blooding fresh talent. Tyler Harvey was the almost complete defensive focus of opposition teams but he still put up 18.9 points a game including 10 straight late 20-point performances while Sam Froling had to do a lot of the heavy lifting, and strong so they provided impressive leadership as co-captains. Emerging guards Lachie Dent and Davo Hickey showed good signs while the return of Dan Grida from a horror injury run was encouraging and Deng Deng had his best career season with increased opportunities up front.
What didn‘t: The tone was set in the very first game of the season when Justin Robinson went down with a season-ending knee injury. He was ultimately replaced by Peyton Siva who only played 11 games before his own shoulder injury. George King didn’t pan out and left injured after nine games too and Michael Frazier II proved a tremendous replacement, but he broke his arm after playing eight matches. Losing four imports in one season to long-term injuries is unheard of. While they were competitive for the most part, they did struggle to close out games and execute late which is why they lost 14 games by 10 points or fewer. Ultimately they just didn’t have enough help for Tyler Harvey in the backcourt or Sam Froling up front with too much left to rest on their shoulders.
The outlook: It might seem strange to say after a team just went 3-25, but the outlook looks relatively bright. Tyler Harvey and Justin Robinson are locked in to be the import back court they were hoping to have this season before Robinson got hurt in the very first game. Having another quality playmaker alongside Harvey will only make him more dangerous. Sam Froling will only be better after the role he was put in this season and the minutes put into Lachie Dent and Davo Hickey should pay off. Michael Frazier II deserves the chance to come back but that likely depends on if they can find a quality local big man to be their marquee. If not that role would need to be filled by an import because Froling and Deng Deng need more help up front. Having Harvey, Robinson and Froling as the centre pieces, the potential of Frazier, a marquee big and then solid role players like Wani Swaka Lo Buluk, Deng, Dent, Hickey and Alex Mudronja should ensure their competitiveness provided they get a better run with luck.
Potential award winners: It wouldn’t shock to see Tyler Harvey sneak in for a spot on the All-Second NBL Team after the way he battled through the season and averaged 18.9 points including 10 straight 20-plus point games. Sam Froling has to be favourite for the Next Generation Award having put up 14.0 points and 8.0 rebounds so the co-captains could be recognised on Tuesday night in Melbourne.
Final Grade:C-. Sure, 3-25 looks horrible. But deeper investigation and losing four imports along the way, blooding plenty of young talent and the way they battled in the second half of the season deserves to be acknowledged.
