NBL1 Men: A look at how the conference titles were won

Breaking down how Ipswich, Knox, West Adelaide, Geraldton, and Sutherland made it through to the men's National Finals.

North — Ipswich Force defeated Gold Coast Rollers 2-games to 1

The narrative being pushed coming into this one was Ipswich’s depth of talent advantage. After an impressive but somewhat disjointed semi-final win over Logan though, where individual shot-making appeared more of the difference than collective synergy, some doubt remained. When the pressure built against a well-organised Gold Coast, would we see Ipswich default into playing too much one-on-one offence?

The Rollers were easier to get a read on, with a floor general in Jason Cadee, a system based star in Todd Blanchfield who thrives on off-ball activity, and role players who would buy into movement. Game one fed into this system against talent conversation with questionable shot selection, a lack of movement and passing on offence, as well as poor transition defence from Ipswich. A hero by the end of game three, Deng Deng was one of the main culprits, with his love of one-on-one play being a clear negative on offence to start the series.

The Force showed signs of having learned a lesson to start game two, with Jason Ralph getting his feet in the paint early for drive and kick opportunities, as well as Jaylin Galloway eliminating some of his ball-stopping. He passed much better on the way to eight assists. Kyrin Galloway was a beneficiary, getting catch-and-shoot or easy finishing chances, whilst Nathan Sobey found more driving lanes and blew by Preston Le Gassick with ease to score in the paint. Deng’s one-on-one shot attempts almost vanished, not forcing himself on the game offensively but instead being a contributor to a rebounding reversal that would be a key to the series win.

Ipswich’s offence was too much for Gold Coast once they adjusted.

Before Ipswich had completely turned the series around after game one, it looked like Blanchfield’s dunk on Deng may have been a moment that swung the series.