Basketball On The Internet.

POPULAR Cairns Taipans import Tahjere McCall last night let himself down, let his club down, let the league down and let his legion of fans down with his vile and violent act against JackJumpers centre Will Magnay as Tasmania sent the Snakes' 2023-24 NBL season into mothballs with their 94-86 road win. 

No-one other than McCall himself can know what went through his mind when he lined up a vulnerable and unsuspecting Magnay and hip-and-shouldered him in the ribs, forcing him in clear discomfort from the court.

But from the outside looking in, the action and its subsequent replays made it very much appear as a premeditated act by McCall. And it did not only look as if he wanted to hit Magnay but wanted to hurt Magnay.

Again, only McCall knows what truly crossed his mind but the last time we saw anything even remotely similar, it was in Perth long ago and involved then Sydney Kings import Josh Childress lining up and decking Jesse Wagstaff. 

Childress was ejected, suspended for one match and fined $3750 for another charge of unduly rough play, plus an additional $3750 for bringing the game into disrepute.

McCall received an unsportsmanlike foul.

Childress at least had cause for aggravation with Wagstaff after previous clashes but it would be only the most one-eyed Taipans fan who would claim McCall had similar grievances after watching Magnay deck his buddy and fellow import Patrick Miller during the third quarter.

Let's be clear what happened there. Magnay was running forward into offence and Miller stopped in front of him. As soon as Magnay saw him, he knew he did not have sufficient space to avoid contact and would cop a cheap offensive foul.

All Magnay did was get value for the foul by making sure Miller felt the contact he'd invited.

Typically Miller threw his head back and fell on the floor, further infuriating Magnay who rightly copped the offensive foul and nothing more.

Those pretending Miller was hurt are stretching reality to suit their narrative. Miller is built like a brick outhouse. Long-time NBL fans have not seen arms like Miller's since Mark Davis' heyday.

Yet anytime he drives to the hoop, he will throw himself on the floor and squeal "Hey" in a way even Nathan Sobey would find embarrassing.

The two incidents were not and should not be connected or related, except as a mechanism of defence for McCall's crude and violent act. As a long-time fan of his wildly entertaining style of game, he lost me on that one.

And coach Adam Forde's post-game defence of it also was sad to hear. Call it out for what it was - a moment of ill discipline by a frustrated player. Don't give us the "move along, nothing to see here" spiel.

While many were lauding the play of Miller (31 points at 56 percent) and McCall's 20-point contribution, particularly in the second half when they were "saving" the Snakes by over-handling the ball on practically every play, truth was their heroball antics proved costly.

For the amount of time the ball was stuck in his hands, Miller had one assist. McCall doubled that.

Bul Kuol, whose growth as a player has been a treat to follow - upto this season - again showed he simply does not learn and had three fouls in the FIRST quarter.

Lead referee Vaughan Mayberry surely must tire of Kuol's endlesss explanations, frustrations and relentless and remorseless pontifications when a simple adjustment by the player would suffice.

But Kuol keeps being this new Kuol and, of course, he fouled out.

Meanwhile Jordon Crawford was carving up a succession of defenders, en route to 25 points with 6-of-10 threes and five assists.

Milton Doyle was pairing together 17 points and 10 rebounds, his seven assists none-too-shabby either.

The Jackies jumped away after halftime with a 27-18 third quarter and that lead was out to 15 (91-76) deep into the last quarter after Clint Steindl (14 points on a perfect 5-of-5 from the floor, embracing 4-of-4 threes) also joined the party. 

Taran Armstrong and the Miller-McCall "dynamic duo" succeeded in making the final scoreline more respectable but Cairns' solo adventuring never was going to outgun Tasmania's teamwork and talent.

TASMANIA JACKJUMPERS 94 (Crawford 25, Doyle 17, Steindl 14, McVeigh 10; Doyle 10 rebs; Doyle 7 assts) d CAIRNS TAIPANS 86 (Miller 31, McCall 20, Armstong, Mennenga 8; Miller 7 rebs; Armstrong 6 assts) at Cairns Convention Centre. Crowd: 3,645