ROUND 7 of the 2024/25 National Basketball League (NBL) season continues tonight when the Tasmania JackJumpers host the SEM Phoenix at MyState Bank Arena on Friday night.

Both sides are sitting in the bottom portion of the ladder after slow starts to the season, and a win in this matchup will be huge in the context of how the standings are taking shape as the midpoint of the season approaches.

Tasmania JackJumpers vs. South East Melbourne Phoenix

Friday, November 1 @7:30pm
MyState Bank Arena

The teams

The reigning champions have not had the greatest start to their title defence, struggling to get their offence rolling and ranking last in the NBL in points per game. The late offseason loss of Jack McVeigh to the NBA is proving costly as the JackJumpers struggle to find consistent avenues to scoring. Lineup changes have had mixed results, and their wins have come on the back of stingy defence.

The Phoenix started the season 0-5 before dismissing head coach Mike Kelly in a big move for the team. In the games that followed, South East Melbourne has recorded two wins and one tight loss and looks a transformed team. New coach Josh King will take over the team for the remainder of the season, so it will be intriguing to see how the highly-regarded tactician has his team playing in Round 7.

Last week

The JackJumpers recorded an important win over the Brisbane Bullets at Nissan Arena in their sole match of Round 7. Once again, it was Tasmania’s defence that proved a winning factor in the match and in the context of its season, it was a huge result that keeps the reigning champs in the hunt for a finals spot in the coming weeks.

The Phoenix won their second game of the season with a thumping win over the Breakers at Spark Arena on Thursday night. It was an impressive performance from the 10th-placed team, who look placed to move up the ladder in the coming weeks. Although they fell to the Hawks on Saturday night, it was a valiant performance against the ladder-leaders and still showed plenty of signs of encouragement.

Key Matchup

The battle of the big men in Tasmania’s Will Magnay and South East Melbourne’s Jordan Hunter will prove vital in how the match plays out. Magnay is one of the premier two-way big men in the competition, and is known for his powerful rim protection. On the other hand, Hunter has been in strong form of late, and has demonstrated his ability to fight through physical defence to impact the scoreboard, so whoever gets the upper hand will give their team a huge boost.