Star turn Poplar makes Jet dangerous rival: Sparrow

Otago Nugget player Matthew Bardsley gets past the Nelson Giants Kruz Perrott-Hunt in action last month. PHOTO: PETER MCINTOSH

The Nuggets have strung together three consecutive wins to start the season and will start as favourites for tonight’s game against the Jets at the Edgar Centre.

The Jets (1-3) lost to Auckland by 20 in their last outing and they were humbled 117-81 by the Wellington Saints earlier in the month.

The Nuggets’ 92-81 win over the Whai in Dunedin last week was their best performance so far.

They are two teams on seemingly different paths but Sparrow has his own take on that.

‘‘Their record is irrelevant,’’ he said.

‘‘They have the most dominant player in the league in Jamal Poplar.

‘‘If you removed the record and gave an MVP today, I think he’d win it.

‘‘He absolutely attacked Auckland’s front line. He absolutely attacked good defenders at the Hawks in [Daniel] Grida and [Keanu] Rasmussen — they were too small for him.

‘‘So stopping him is first and foremost. And they have probably one of, if not the most, athletic imports on the wing in Kaden Sand. If he didn’t get into foul trouble, he’d probably be averaging close to 25 to 30.’’

Sand poured in 39 points against the Hawks in Napier earlier this month, so he is a major threat as well.

The Nuggets have put their faith in their defence, though. They also boast more depth than they have enjoyed in some time and are able to spread the scoring.

They will be missing Caleb Smiler tonight.

The guard is unavailable for personal reasons, which means Harry Bezett will take his spot on the bench.

Veteran small forward Matthew Bardsley joined the starting five last week, but Sparrow said he would wait until he had seen the Jets’ starting five before deciding on his lineup.

American forward Michael Henn top-scored with 19 points against the Whai. It was the best of his three games in the Nuggets singlet.

Isaac Miller-Jose continues to put pressure on for a starting spot. He posted 13 points and seven rebounds.

Point guard Alain Louis (16 points) made some big plays down the stretch and he dished out nine assists.

Buay Tuach was marked closely and did not get up the volume of shots has managed previously. But his 15 points, seven rebounds, four assists, four steals and one block represented a very solid night for the American guard.

Ethan Rusbatch (17 points) hit some important shots as well.

It is a team that has a long list of players to share the offensive load.

But it is at the other end where they are winning games. The Nuggets have the meanest defence in the league, conceding an average of just 75.3 points per game. That is nine points clear of their nearest rivals.

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