Jadcup Auckland Tuatara (3-3, 9th) v Indian Panthers (0-6, 12th)
The Tuatara have become a different dinosaur since the arrival of Rob Loe and Davo Hickey but they still sit in 9th place and need wins to keep pace of the finals chase. The Panthers have moved on from one import but they welcome a much bigger one and with they bulk of their Indian national squad set to arrive we are finally going to see the team they have envisioned all season long.
When: Thursday 10th April, Rapid League 6:30 pm, Sal's NBL 7:30pm
Where: Eventfinda Stadium, Wairau Valley Auckland
Watch: Live in New Zealand on Sky Sport 4 | USA: ESPN3 | International: FIBA YouTube
Box score here
Last Time Out:
Auckland traveled to Dunedin for the second leg of their Southern Swing confident that their new look lineup would comfortably pull a victory, but Don Carey Jr (29pts, 6rb, 6ast, 2stl) and Jose Perez (24pts, 8rbs, 3ast) had different ideas as they battled back from a 16-point 3rd quarter deficit to snatch a 5 point lead following a 16-5 run. But the brilliance of Davo Hickey (31pts, 11rbs, 10ast) and his second straight triple double combined with the efforts of Rob Loe (27pts, 7rbs, 5ast) and Buay Tuach (16pts, 5rbs, 2ast) to wrest control from the home team down the stretch. But despite their efforts the Nuggets had the ball down 2 with 19 seconds left, but the final efforts wouldn't be able to take the game from Auckland as they won 97-94.
The Panthers moved to their new home in Franklin and battled through a 1st quarter that saw the visiting Sharks take a lead but never take control of the game, allowing the Panthers to storm back behind strong play from Aaron Blessen (24pts, 3rbs), Jaylen Gerrand (22pts, 2rbs, 2ast) and Tushal Singh (17pts) to take a 2 point halftime lead. But the Sharks would respond after the break with a 12-2 run to take control of the game as Keylan Boon (24pts, 12rbs) and Josiah Allick (21pts, 12rbs) and Caleb Asberry (18pts, 13asts) drove the Sharks to an eventual 96-79 victory.
What to Look for
Davo Hickey (30ppg, 11rpg, 10.5apg) has dropped consecutive triple doubles and his averages upon debut speak for themselves. His elite athleticism and full bore playing style have lifted what the Tuatara can do in transition and blends well with the talent on the roster. They'll harass passing with the length of Charles Pride (10ppg, 7rb), Buay Tuach (18.3ppg, 6rpg, 3apg, 2stl) and Tom Vodanovich (12.3ppg, 3.7rpg) to create those opportunities. But when the full court game slows down look for Rob Loe (19ppg, 5.7rpg, 4apg) to become a hub of the offense in the high post or out of the pick and pop.
Despite playing 6 games the Panthers are still a team in flux not yet having it's full roster in hand. Princepal Singh, Gurbaz Sandhu and Arvinder Singh have arrived but are awaiting letters of clearance (FIBA rules) that are unlikely to arrive in time. This exasperates the departure of Alex Robinson, who left mid-game last week before the split was announced and will put more pressure on the resurgent Jaylen Gerrand (21.2ppg, 2.2rpg, 1.2apg) who has proven to be a quality scoring option. The good news on the player availability front is that man-moutain Shenghze Li is available, and his girth can provide issues for the Tuatara front line. Leon Henry (5ppg, 9.5rpg) has been a quality presence on the glass but will need to find his range from three to force the defense to rotate to him. Defensively transition will be a key, as if they can't slow down the Tuatara machine this one could be put out of reach early.
Small Sample Size Stats:
Auckland currently have the 10th highest scoring offense (82.83ppg) but have averaged 98.5ppg since the arrival of Davo Hickey, and are 4th in points allowed (86.50ppg), They have the 6th best field goal percentage defense (45%) and 3rd best 3-point field goal percentage defense (28%). They sit 10th in assists (16.83astpg) with the 3rd most turnovers (90 @ 15 topg) giving them the 10th best assist to turnover ratio (1.12pg) and are equal tenth for steals (6.67stlpg). They are 3rd in defensive rebound rate (76%) but have the worst offensive rebound rate (22%) in the league but have the third highest three point rate.
The Panthers are last in scoring offense (79.50ppg), scoring defense (106.17ppg), scoring margin (-26.67ppg), field goal percentage defense (49%fg), 3-point field goal percentage defense (42%3pfg), 3-point field goal percentage (27%), rebounding margin (-9.83rbpg), assists per game (12.83apg) and defensive rebound percentage (66%). They are second to last in made three's (7.83pg), turnover margin (-3.17pg), field goal percentage (39%fg) and free throw percentage (66%).
Matchup to Watch: Rob Loe v Shengze Li - Loe has been the standard bearer for big men in the NBL in recent years as his all around game takes advantage of smaller players on the block and slower players from the perimeter but he'll be up against a mountain of a man in Li who has received clearance and will put his bruising low post style up against the all around game of Loe.
all advanced stats courtesy of spatialjam.com
