Are The Tasmanian JackJumpers Ready To March?

A Turning Point in Tasmania JackJumpers Season

The much maligned Tasmania JackJumpers 2024 Roster has copped plenty of flack over the first half of the 2024/25 NBL season. Last year's champions have gone from top to bottom and all places in between this season and this year’s roster has copped plenty of flack along the way, but have the tides turned?

Plenty of questions have been fired at the JackJumpers organisation. Do the JackJumpers have their list right? Should they have changed their roster more in the off season to remain ahead of the pack? Did they sign too many of last years roster too soon without going to market to see what is available? And of course, are the import spots right for this list?

The imports have copped plenty of flack this season with Craig Sword in particular in the fans sights. Do the Jackies lack a genuine import power forward to match the top teams or is this team simply enduring that famous 'Championship Hangover'? Scott Roth takes full responsibility for building this roster and has publicly stated that several times already this year, will his renowned stubbornness be the JackJumpers Achilles heal or can they get something out of this season?

Firstly let’s look at the numbers. The Jackies sit 9th on the table with the second worst percentage in the league, let’s not sugar coat it, they have really struggled getting points on the board this season. On the upside they have been sound defensively and they have had one of the tougher draws having played 13 games already with four double headers, something that most teams have struggled with this season.

They have already played two more games than both Brisbane and New Zealand this season so far. It is important to highlight that from Tasmania’s first 13 games they have only played at MyState Bank Arena 4 times and they are undefeated at this venue this season.

Can this roster return Tasmania to the top of the table and will they look to make a change in the back end of the season?

Short answer for mine, NO and here’s why. Firstly let’s look at the imports, Jordan Crawford is -2 on his NBL24 average but still at 14.4 PPG, and the man we affectionately call Chicken (Craig Sword) is scoring just 6.25 PPG which is not enough for an import in this league in my opinion. Remarkably with all the challenges Milton Doyle appears to have had this year his average is identical to last year at 15.7 PPG, so where is it all going wrong? Has the league improved but the Jackies regressed and is the season done? I don’t think so and hears why.

This team is built on defence and effort, “the grit and the grind’ is a line frequently pushed by the team from the island state. On the eve of season 24/25 the Jackies lost perhaps their most critical pieces with the ‘glue’ man Jack McVeigh pursuing his NBA dream and then Sean McDonald suffered a serious ankle injury shortly after, these two events have seriously impeded this teams structure and whilst many have criticized the Jack Jumpers lack of depth in the front court I believe it is the back court where the problem lies.

The days of the designated ball carrier or true point guard may be a thing of the past in many peoples minds, but controlling the tempo of the game and running the offensive sets is a critical component of a structured and disciplined team such as JackJumpers. Jordan Crawford plays this role, but I don’t feel it is natural to him, to me he is a natural 2 guard. Similar with Doyle who has also found himself running point in the opening half of the season. The effect of this is that Milton has needed to be the facilitator rather than the recipient of the offensive set and when scoring becomes tough, he has felt the need to force the offence instead of letting it flow.

Craig Sword was brought in as a disrupter and a defender to compliment the likes of Magnay, Crawford, Doyle and McVeigh but is all of a sudden being asked to score heavily, something he has been unable to do in his 10-year pro career to date. I think it would be fair to say that Sword has struggled so far to find where he fits into this team. We can all see why the JackJumpers recruited Chicken his defensive effort is elite, he can hit the side three ball with consistency and his slash and drive is reminiscent of the great “Jumpin” Joe Hurst from the late 80’s but the fact remains that 6.25 PPG doesn't cut it.

Enter Shaun McDonald, now lets be clear Seany Mac is in no way the messiah here, he won't fix all of the deficiencies that this team has, but Sean has an excellent basketball IQ, he learned tempo control from one of the best to do it in Josh Magette and is a true facilitator of the basketball. When Seany Mac is on the floor he will find the open JC or Sword on the wing, Milton is freed up to get into good spaces rather than having to force the offence and all of a sudden, the scoring can again flow.

What does the second half of the season hold for the Jack Jumpers?

They have already chalked up 8 losses this season but incredibly last week's game against Brisbane was the first time this roster was at full strength this year. At full strength this looked like a different team, suddenly Doyle was scoring at will, Sword knew his role and the offence flowed. We can't forget this team has only played at MyState Bank Arena 4 from 13 games and will play there 8 more times this regular season.

Sportsbet have the Jack Jumpers at $19 to go back-to-back, that looks juicy when we consider the back end of the season. 16 games to go with five double headers, but 8 of those will be at MyState. 14 wins appears to be the magic number of wins to put your team in the play in zone for the NBL and I think the Jackies can win 8-10 more games this season which will place them around 16 wins and contending to defend their title once more.

Don’t count out the Champions just yet this group will surprise a few teams and if they can gain some momentum the back half of the Jack Jumpers season could still march home in 2025