THE REIGNING champions in the National Basketball League (NBL) will have their backs against the wall in Friday night’s clash, when the Tasmania JackJumpers face off against the Sydney Kings at the Silverdome.

The JackJumpers have not been performing as strongly as they did to close out last season and are coming off a thumping in Round 4. On the other hand, the Kings are one of the favourites for the title and produced an impressive win last weekend.

Tasmania certainly has its back against the wall, but will have home court advantage in Launceston and has delivered wins under pressure in the past, but Sydney shapes as a tough opponent.

Tasmania JackJumpers vs. Sydney Kings

Friday, October 18 @7:30pm
Silverdome

Last week

The JackJumpers had just the one clash last weekend, and it was not the ideal result, losing to the Illawarra Hawks by a whopping 33 points. Tasmania was uncompetitive for much of the contest, and suffered a reality check that saw the team drop down to a record of two wins and three losses to be placed in the bottom three on the ladder. It was the JackJumpers’ worst performance in quite some time, and will need to be improved if they are to compete against the Kings.

Sydney broke even from two games in Round 4, doing enough to remain in striking distance of the top two in the standings. After falling to the Adelaide 36ers on the road on Friday night, the Kings bounced back in style by blowing out the Cairns Taipans at Qudos Bank Arena to show why they are still considered one of the teams to beat this season. It also demonstrated that if Sydney is up and firing, there are few tougher assignments for opposition teams.

Players to watch

The JackJumpers face a tough task in slowing down the Kings, and one of the opposition’s biggest strengths is their frontcourt. This means that Tasmania centre Will Magnay has a big job ahead of him and will need to be one of the key figures in the match. If he can stay out of foul trouble and be a presence as an interior defender, it will go a long way in Tasmania getting the upper hand on the Kings, as Sydney likes to get its big men involved.

Sydney’s star signing over the offseason was former MVP Xavier Cooks, and he has been delivering in the early weeks of the season. His ability to impact the game as a scorer, passer and rebounder is a huge positive for the Kings, and he was at his best with a starring performance against the Taipans last week. Scoring inside against Magnay is always a tough task, but Cooks is as good a player as anyone in the NBL, and if he can get the upper hand in this battle, it will make the Kings hard to stop.