Game Preview: July 1 - BlackJacks Look for Four in a Row Against Sea Bears
The Ottawa BlackJacks of the Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL) take on the Winnipeg Sea Bears this afternoon, at 3 p.m. at TD Place.
The BlackJacks currently sit in fourth place in the Eastern Conference standings, with a record of 5-6. The Sea Bears are in a similar position, with a 5-7 record and the fourth place spot in the Western Conference standings.
Both Ottawa and Winnipeg find themselves just below .500 around halfway into the season, coming off of a rough start to the season and impressive runs in the last few weeks to throw themselves back into playoff contention.
The Sea Bears went just 1-5 in their first five games, then stormed to a four-game winning streak to even up their record before losing their last two matchups to bring them to 5-7 on the year. The BlackJacks started out with an equally frustrating record of 2-6, but are riding a three-game winning streak which has nearly brought their record back to .500 on the season.
After the BlackJacks most recent win, a 90-77 outing against the Montreal Alliance, Head Coach David DeAveiro spoke about the difference in energy that comes with stringing together wins:
“Morale is good, but the expectation has been set…my job is to make sure we stay at that bar, and not let us play below of how we’re capable of playing.”
That high bar has been set not only by strong performances from the BlackJacks team, but strong individual performances from new arrival Javonte Smart.
In just three games, Smart has already achieved two of the top four scoring regular season games in BlackJacks history–he scored 32 on June 22 against the Brampton Honey Badgers, and 31 on Saturday against the Alliance.
That offensive dominance has been a much-needed addition to a BlackJacks team that was looking for an offensive spark all season.
“You’ve gotta have a ‘guy’ in this league, who, especially in Target Time, can get you a bucket–and that’s what he can do,” said DeAveiro on Smart’s late-game scoring.
Smart is a natural bucket-getter who isn’t afraid of the moment, and that’s shown in his production during the CEBL’s Elam Endings. Against the Honey Badgers, he scored all nine of Ottawa’s target time points. Against the Alliance, he had four of their nine.
Ottawa struggled in late-game scenarios earlier in the season, most notably blowing an 11-point lead in Target Time to the Niagara River Lions during their first game of the year. Adding a player who thrives in those types of situations solves that glaring issue immediately.
“[Javonte] has been a big help for our team,” said BlackJacks guard Shakur Daniel, “with his scoring, he’s been helping us a lot–especially in Elam…it’s fun to watch him play.”
Smart hasn’t been the only bright spot on Ottawa during this win streak, though–Daniel has started two of the team’s last three games, and has brought some seriously impressive individual defense with him.
Daniel often takes on the task of guarding the opponent’s best players, and does a fantastic job of “cutting the head off of the snake” by minimizing their production.
In his first start, Daniel slowed down the Scarborough Shooting Stars guard Cat Barber, who has the second-most points in CEBL history, holding him to just nine points on 27% from the field.
The Honey Badgers’ top scorer, Quinndary Weatherspoon, averages 17.8 points per game on the season, but against Ottawa he was held to just three points on only five shots taken–he also fouled out in the third quarter.
The Alliance’s top scorer in Tavian Dunn-Martin averages 17.2 points per game, but only scored nine points while shooting 18% from the field against the BlackJacks.
“I’m happy with it–I love playing defense,” said Daniel when asked about his role as the team’s defensive leader, “I just love seeing my team get going. They motivate me to keep going on defense, and I’m motivating them to keep going as well.”
Not only does Daniel enjoy playing team defense, but he takes pride in slowing down the opposing team’s best player: “As a basketball player, I’m a competitor. My mentality is that I don’t like anybody scoring on me…it’s been fun. I’ve been enjoying it every single night.”
With Daniel at the helm of the team’s defense, Ottawa has turned into one of the best defensive teams in the CEBL.
In their last three games, they’ve held each of their opponents to under 80 points–nine points below the league scoring average of 88.9.
The BlackJacks now sit third in the CEBL in points allowed per game, with an average of just 86.0. That number falls to just 82.8 and the top-ranked defense when adjusted for the last five games.
“You play defense, you win three games [in a row],” said DeAveiro, “they’re seeing that those things relate to each other.”
The team defense will have to be especially elite against this Sea Bears team, who are a snake with three heads: forward Simi Shittu and guards Jalen Harris and Tevian Jones. All three of them average over 17 points per game.
In Winnipeg’s last matchup against the Shooting Stars, those three scorers combined for 67 of the team’s 93 total points–slowing them down is absolutely the key to the game for the BlackJacks.
The best way to take advantage of that offensively for Ottawa is to utilize their strong bench–while Winnipeg’s bench usually struggles to score 10 points per game, the BlackJacks are one of the deepest teams in the CEBL.
With names like Zane Waterman, Tyrrel Tate, and Keevan Veinot suiting up off of the bench for the BlackJacks, those non-starter minutes will be crucial for Ottawa to build up a lead while Winnipeg’s big three are sitting off.
“We don’t take a dropoff,” said DeAveiro, “our bench plays the same way [as the starters], they do the same things, and we’re fortunate enough to have really good players coming off of the bench.”
The last time that Ottawa and Winnipeg matched up this season, neither Harris nor Shittu had suited up for the Sea Bears. Coach DeAveiro is aware that they’re a different team now, and has adjusted his defense:
“We still have our base in terms of what we want to do defensively…we tinker here, we add some different things here. … When you add those two guys, you’re adding two guys that have been in NBA camps.”
And so despite the individual impact that Daniel brings as a defender, he can only guard one of Winnipeg’s big three–that means team defense will be of the utmost importance in this matchup.
With the likelihood being that Daniel will start the game guarding Harris, that leaves Shittu and Jones to provide a majority of the scoring for the Sea Bears.
BlackJacks forward Deng Adel has the height and wingspan to help cover Jones, and center Isaih Moore has impressed with his interior defense–so those matchups will be important ones to focus on coming into this afternoon’s game.
If the BlackJacks’ team defense can slow those three players down, it will no doubt make for Ottawa’s fourth straight win.
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