ROUND 7 PREVIEW – KINGS VS WILDCATS & JACKJUMPERS

In every National Basketball League campaign, there are those key moments.

Those times when you face the kind of challenges that can either make or break your season.

Usually, you are faced with these moments after the midway point of your schedule.

But right now, the Sydney Kings find themselves in the midst of what could be an extremely important period of their title defence.

Two games into a brutal four-game road trip where they finished with a blowout win over Illawarra and a hard-fought loss to Melbourne, the purple and gold have no time to rest and recuperate before facing two even tougher opponents over a 48-hour period this week.

Perth – currently in second place on the NBL ladder – await the Kings on Wednesday in front of what will be a rabid crowd at RAC Arena with the infamous Red Army unmercifully booing anything wearing purple and gold. Then it’s league-leaders Tasmania on Friday and their fortress known as MyState Bank Arena, where JackJumper support there is nothing short of fanatical.

We’re talking well over 6,000 kilometres travel for the Kings in an incredibly short space of time coupled with the physical and mental pressure of having to deal with playing in hostile environments against teams that are always geared up to beat you, because you have that giant target on your back as defending champs.

Running that gauntlet is as tough as it gets, but as legendary Sydney Kings Head Coach Brian Goorjian knows, it’s also a tremendous opportunity to set up the rest of his team’s season – two wins against the Wildcats and JackJumpers will demonstrate his club’s uncompromising attitude and resolve to get it done in NBL27.

It’s a task made more difficult with the ongoing absence of the outstanding Matthew Dellavedova through injury, but the Kings will be ready to go come Wednesday night in front of more than 12,000 fans who saw their beloved Wildcats get a thrilling victory last Friday over Melbourne United.

Sydney’s win over Perth in Round 5 was impressive, but one Wildcat who wasn’t available for that game was Kristian Doolittle (16.5ppg, 5.8rpg, 6.8apg, 1.2spg, 51.5% FG, 48.1% 3PT FG, 75.0% FT), who is the Wildcats’ best player and a man who can be a destructive force at both ends of the floor. He’s the one guy Sydney must control.

New import point guard Brandon Knight nailed the game-winner for the Cats against United and is getting better by the week. Sydney held Elijah Pepper (20.1ppg, 2.4rpg, 2.9apg, 1.3spg, 44.2% FG, 31.1% 3PT FG, 84.6% FT) scoreless in Round 5 but he’ll be highly motivated in front of his home fans. And Dylan Windler (17.0ppg, 6.6rpg, 3.4apg, 49.4% FG, 38.5% 3PT FG, 95.2% FT) boasts extreme range, can rebound well and is hard to stop when he gets rolling.

That’s not to mention the likes of Anthony Dell’Orso, Jesse Wagstaff and Jaron Rillie, all Wildcats capable of inflicting serious damage.

Sydney must be prepared for a Perth squad playing with confidence in front of a fanbase that will expect nothing less than Wildcat domination. The Kings need to rebound strongly, control the tempo and in particular limit the mistakes – 16 turnovers against United last Sunday were way too many and they can’t afford to cough the ball up and give Perth any momentum.

The Kings’ immediate focus this week with be on the Wildcats, and that’s as it should be. But Brian Goorjian and his excellent coaching staff will also have one eye on a Tasmania unit that despite being without some key pieces – import Bryce Hamilton and forward Majok Deng most notably – have won five of their last six to top the league standings with a 6-2 record.

In their recent win over the Brisbane Bullets, Tasmania could not have been more impressive. The JackJumpers beat an improving Bullets by 21 points and placed six players in double-figure scoring, led by power forward Josh Bannan (15.5ppg, 7.2rpg, 3.7apg, 44.0% FG, 21.7% 3PT FG, 58.3% FT), a tireless worker who must be kept off the glass if the Kings are to be successful come Friday.

Sydney will also have their hands full with a point guard/centre combo that might be the very best in the National Basketball League. Taran Armstrong (21.0ppg, 3.1rpg, 5.5apg, 54.0% FG, 31.4% 3PT FG, 76.1% FT) is an Australian Olympian in the making, a tremendous floor leader with excellent size who directs the Tasmanian offence very well. And there might not be a better big man in the competition than Will Magnay (15.8ppg, 7.6rpg, 5.3apg, 1.0spg, 2.1bpg, 59.7% FG, 50.0% 3PT FG, 73.8% FT), who does it all for his ballclub – he’s a powerhouse inside and a tremendous rim protector defensively.

The Kings also need to concern themselves with the scoring ability of import David Johnson, the outside shooting of Nick Marshall and Dakota Mathias and the inside-outside game of rookie forward Ben Gold.

Tempo control will be crucial against the JackJumpers, who love to play a deliberate, methodical style under their outstanding head coach Scott Roth. Sydney must look to attack at every turn and not allow the Tasmanian squad room to breathe.

There’s no doubt both games in Round 7 will present enormous challenges. Getting one win will be difficult, let alone two, given the travel and limited recovery time.

Still, the Kings will pose their own questions to both their opponents this week.

Sydney remains the league leader in scoring (101.1 points per game) and offensive rating, and although they gave up 105 points to Melbourne last Sunday, still are number one in the league in defensive rating.

Look for team captain Xavier Cooks (13.6ppg, 6.6rpg, 3.0apg, 1.3bpg, 66.7% FG, 69.0% FT) to set the tone for the purple and gold. X recently passed off for his 500^th assist as a King and is a tremendous connector for this offence, while being tough to contain in the low block and is a dominant force defensively.

Forward Andrew Carr is proving to be a serious weapon coming off the bench and is improving by the week.

Jayden Stone has had productive games in back-to-back outings and his size, energy and jump to the moon athletic ability are all going to be huge keys for this ballclub.

And the Kings will be trying to get their uber-efficient swingman Makuach Maluach more touches in the offence – he only had four shot attempts against Melbourne and that wasn’t enough for the man whose personal offensive rating is off the charts this season.

Of course, this road double will take a maximum effort from everyone on the roster.

These are two big games in the course of this season.

Look for the Kings to stand up to a man and accept the challenge.

Let’s go, Sydney.

WHO

Sydney Kings vs. Perth Wildcats

WHEN

Wednesday 28 October, 9:30pm AEST tipoff

LOCATION

RAC Arena, Perth

TV

ESPN/Disney+

THE PLAYERS

KINGS

Projected Starters: Kendric Davis, Makuach Maluach, Torrey Craig, Xavier Cooks, Harry Wessels

Bench: Andrew Carr, Tyler Robertson, Jason Spurgin, Jayden Stone, Will Johnston, Lachlan Bofinger

WILDCATS

Projected Starters: Brandon Knight, Elijah Pepper, Kristian Doolittle, Dylan Windler, Angus Brandt

Bench: Jaron Rillie, Jesse Wagstaff, Anthony Dell'Orso, Alex Higgins-Titsha, Cameron Huefner, Tana Hopa, Marley Sam

THE COACHES

KINGS

Brian Goorjian (9^th season with Kings, record with Kings 215-89, NBL career record 602-278, 7 NBL championships)

WILDCATS

John Rillie (5^th season with Wildcats, NBL career record 81-57)

NBL27 REGULAR SEASON

Kings lead 1-0

NBL27 STANDINGS

Kings 5-3, third

Wildcats 5-2, second

KEY MATCHUP

Torrey Craig vs Kristian Doolittle

Doolittle is in excellent form, coming off a near triple-double in his team’s last start win over Melbourne, and he’s the engine that makes everything go for the Wildcats. A genuine two-way superstar, the NBL26 All-NBL First Teamer impacts the game at both ends of the floor. He can shoot the ball from distance, rebound and defend, and he’s an excellent facilitator. Then you’ve got Craig, who has been sensational for the Kings so far this season. Like Doolittle, TC plays both ends of the court at an elite level and can hurt you in a variety of ways. His long arms and athleticism, coupled with a beautiful shooting stroke make him a nightmare to defend, and at the other end he can lock you up whenever he feels like it.

THE QUESTIONS

Can the Kings shut down Perth’s Elijah Pepper once again?

Will Kendric Davis bust out of his three-point shooting funk?

HISTORY

All-time Head-to-Head

120 games played; Wildcats lead 69-51

In Perth

55 games played; Wildcats lead 39-16

At RAC Arena

27 games played; Wildcats lead 20-7

DID YOU KNOW?

The Kings are riding a six-game winning streak over the Wildcats – their second longest run over Perth in franchise history, trailing the seven consecutive victories through the 2002/2003 and 2003/2004 seasons that included Sydney’s historic first NBL championship. It’s been tough for the purple at gold at RAC Arena however – it took Sydney 12 games and six years to win their first one at the venue, but they’ve won two of the past three in Perth, the last two by a double figure margin.

WHO

Sydney Kings vs. Tasmania JackJumpers

WHEN

Friday 30 October, 7:30pm AEST tipoff

LOCATION

MyState Bank Arena, Hobart

TV

ESPN/Disney+

THE PLAYERS

KINGS

Projected Starters: Kendric Davis, Makuach Maluach, Torrey Craig, Xavier Cooks, Harry Wessels

Bench: Andrew Carr, Tyler Robertson, Jason Spurgin, Jayden Stone, Will Johnston, Lachlan Bofinger

JACKJUMPERS

Projected Starters: Taran Armstrong, Dakota Mathias, Nick Marshall, Josh Bannan, Will Magnay

Bench: David Johnson, Ben Gold, Kody Stattman, Biwali Bayles, Nick Stoddart, Ryley Haywood, Jed Richardson

THE COACHES

KINGS

Brian Goorjian (9^th season with Kings, record with Kings 215-89, NBL career record 602-278, 7 NBL championships)

JACKJUMPERS

Scott Roth (6^th season with JackJumpers, NBL career record 92-82, one NBL championship)

NBL26 REGULAR SEASON

JackJumpers won 3-1

NBL27 STANDINGS

Kings 5-3, third

JackJumpers 6-2, first

KEY MATCHUP

Kendric Davis vs Taran Armstrong

Still a young man even though he has experience in both the NBL and Euroleague, Armstrong is part of the impressive group of Australian newcomers in the competition this season. Boasting terrific size and great floor leadership, Armstrong plays with enormous confidence and is already making his mark as one of the best point guards in the league. For KD, there’s no doubt he would have wanted to perform at a higher level in a couple of games this season, including his quiet afternoon in Melbourne, but the one thing about him we absolutely know is that he has tremendous heart, a competitive spirit, and he rarely – if ever – has a run of poor games. His three-point shooting has been down but that will improve, and he’s still facilitating at an elite level. Kendric understands the importance of these two games,and you can expect him to bounce back in a major way.

THE QUESTIONS

Can the Kings slow down Tasmania’s powerful centre Will Magnay?

Will Jayden Stone continue his rapid improvement?

HISTORY

All-time Head-to-Head

19 games played; Kings lead 12-7

In Tasmania

9 games played; Kings lead 5-4

At MyState Bank Arena

8 games played; series tied 4-4

DID YOU KNOW?

Going into MyState Bank Arena is a formidable challenge for any team, even for the defending champions. The Kings have lost three of their last four games at Tasmania’s home stadium, including two losses by double figures in NBL26 – one of those defeats by 23 points in Round 10, Sydney’s biggest loss of last season by margin.

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