Game 2 of the semi-finals series between the New Zealand Breakers and the Tasmania JackJumpers tips off on Thursday night. Will it be the Breakers booking their ticket to the finals or the JackJumpers forcing a deciding Game 3?
Jake Smit brings you his full preview and best bet for the game below.
Also, be sure to check out our NBL Tips page regularly to find our best bets for every finals game in NBL23!
Tasmania JackJumpers vs New Zealand Breakers Preview & Betting Tips
Thursday Feb 16, 7:30pm AEDT, MyState Bank Arena
The New Zealand Breakers will head to The Nest for Game 2 of this best-of-three semi-finals series with the Tasmania JackJumpers.
The Breakers were too good on their home deck in their first meeting on Sunday afternoon, beating them 88-68 in a strong wire-to-wire performance.
Will McDowell-White dictated the offence as he liked on the way to a healthy 13/6/7 and Player of the Game performance, and he was one of four players who tallied double-figure points on the night for the victors.
Dererk Pardon was also important with his near double-double on the night (15 & 9), while Izayah Le’Afa’s seven points and hound dogging on defence was nothing to sneeze at.
Meanwhile, Milton Doyle and Rashard Kelly were the only JackJumpers tallying double-figure points, totalling 22 between them on a forgetable 5-19 shooting from the floor.
The absence of floor general, Josh Magette couldn’t have been any more noticeable on Sunday afternoon. Magette leads the team in assists but is unable to take part due to an eye injury. He watched on as his team dished 11 assists as a whole - well down on their season average of 16.1 per game.
In fact, not only did the JackJumpers struggle to move the ball and find the open man, they finished the game with a field goal percentage below 34%, compared to the Breakers 54%.
Moreover, the Breakers are a team that thrive when the opposition has an empty possession, ranking second in points off opposition turnovers in the league.
The JackJumpers’ struggles to move the ball without Magette against this Breakers team isn’t going to magically disappear overnight, and while they’ll obviously make some adjustments, I can’t see it being enough to avoid another Breakers win and a series sweep.
New Zealand Breakers
$1.85 (2 Units)
