Creating foul trouble key, says Jackson
AUSTRALIA basketball great Lauren Jackson has tipped Townsville Fire captain Suzy Batkovic and Melbourne Boomers star Elizabeth Cambage to try to “frustrate the hell out of each other” in their blockbuster WNBL grand final match- up tomorrow night.
Now working in the corporate sector with the Boomers, Jackson has urged Cambage to keep her cool and not be distracted by officiating.
The clash of the big- name centres is the marquee attraction of game one at Townsville Stadium, and Jackson expects both players to do whatever it takes to get an edge.
Cambage has been frustrated by getting in foul trouble on numerous occasions this year and Jackson expects Batkovic to apply the heat from the opening tip.
“If I was Suzy I know what I’d be doing; I’d be trying to get under Lizzie’s skin and trying to do everything underhanded I could possibly do to get her frustrated and in foul trouble,” Jackson said.
“The more I’d see her responding and reacting to that the more I’d play better, it would motivate me.
“For Liz she’s at that age and that dominant that she’ll go out there and say ‘ I’m here’.
“I don’t think she’ll focus on getting Suzy into foul trouble, she’ll focus on herself because she’s young, and because she can.”
The greatest player Australia has ever produced, the 196cm Jackson grew accustomed to getting “beaten up” on court and said the supremely gifted Cambage must accept it and adapt.
“She’s such a dominating force in this league and no matter where you are in the world you’re not going to get calls you want to get,” Jackson said.
“We’ve got to take note that they are humans out there, and it’s the same for Suzy. She’s so big and so strong that people are going to beat up on her.
“You’ve got to suck it up and move on. You can complain and bitch about it, but what is that going to get you?”
Although she played just game one of the semi- final 17 minutes in series against Perth, Jackson believes Cambage is beginning to crack the code.
“She’s figuring out how to play how she’s being refereed, which is fair enough, which is not a dig at anybody,” Jackson said.
“I remember what it was like for me playing anywhere. Being so big myself you are going to get hit on the arm and they get away with it because you’re good. Referees aren’t going to call it because they think you’re going to make the shot anyway.
“She’s so strong and athletic and so much physically better than everybody else, they’re not calling what they would normally on a six foot two or six foot three type.
“Which is fine and we should expect that, and to be honest I did expect that.
“She has to figure out how she’s going to deal with not getting the calls she wants to get, and also not reacting to the player that’s beating up on her. That’s been hard for her.”
While the Batkovic- Cambage battle will be crucial, Jackson said how their teammates respond on the run is key.
“It’s going to be a battle of the bigs and whichever one gets under the other one’s skin the best and frustrates the hell out of the other one ( will have an edge),” Jackson said.
“It’s also how the rest of the team responds around that. In game one in Perth everyone responded when Liz was in foul trouble and on the bench.
“It’s going to come down to those two initially and then which team responds best to what happens between those two girls.
“What I’ve come to see from Liz is she’s a fourth- quarter player, she’s won a few games for us in the fourth quarter.
“I know Liz can do it and I know she can suck it up and play, she’s motivated enough.”