ROUND 9 of the 2021/22 National Basketball League (NBL) wrapped up on Sunday evening, with the New Zealand Breakers taking on the Tasmania JackJumpers at MyState Bank Arena (despite it being a Breakers home game). The league’s bottom two sides went head-to-head in an intriguing matchup, given both sides have shown a bit over recent weeks. In the end, it was the JackJumpers who proved to be the much better side, producing a dominant first half to take a commanding lead. The Breakers were able to stop the bleeding in the second half, but could not hit the scoreboard enough themselves, as they were eventually defeated to the tune of 24 points. It was Tasmania’s second win for the round, having taken down the Adelaide 36ers on Friday night. Scott Roth‘s side will be pleased with their start to the match, as they look to build on what was a successful weekend.

In this article, we take a look at some of the key statistical categories from the match, and how they may have shaped the final result.

TEAM STATS

There were clear areas of dominance for the JackJumpers in their win, excelling in most of the key stats throughout the contest. They shot better overall from the field, making 32 of their 70 shots. Arguably the most remarkable factor was their shooting from behind the arc, where they were insanely accurate all game. Half of their long-range shots found the bottom of the net, with plenty of players chipping in. However, most of the heavy lifting came from guard Josh Magette, who hit seven of his 11 three-point attempts and is heating up over recent weeks. The scoring boost was one of the key differences between the two sides, and gave the JackJumpers an extra lift as they broke away on the scoreboard.

The victors were also the better side in the rebounding battle, as they controlled the glass with ease. Obviously the inaccurate shooting of the Breakers was a factor, but the JackJumpers were still able to pull down 16 more boards than their opponents. There were a number of contributors in this area, with five players recording five or more rebounds for the match. Matt Kenyon led all-comers with eight for the match, all of them defensive as he looked to give his side first use after an opposition miss.

The Breakers did get some success in a couple of areas despite the tough loss. The first being their shooting inside the three-point line, where they excelled over their opponents. A big part of this was the play of big man Yannick Wetzell, who made seven of his 10 field goal attempts from inside the arc as he had his way with the interior defence of the JackJumpers. Ironically, this was the other category in which the Breakers were able to succeed, recording three more blocks than the visitors.

TOP POINTS SCORERS:

For the JackJumpers, it was the ‘Triple J’ combo that got the job done in their win, with Magette, Adams and McVeigh leading the way. Magette was simply terrific as recorded a game-high 22 points, largely thanks to his impressive work from behind the arc. McVeigh recorded one of his best games of the season with 17 points on some remarkably accurate shooting, while Adams was also able to chime in on the action. Besson continued his strong debut NBL season by leading his side in scoring once again, while Wetzell also caught the eye with some strong work inside the paint as per usual.