Game Preview - July 17: BlackJacks Face Stingers in a Battle of Red-Hot Teams
The Ottawa BlackJacks of the Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL) take on the Edmonton Stingers tonight at 7:30 p.m. at The Arena at TD Place.
This matchup is set to be one of the most exciting games of the 2025 season for fans, as the BlackJacks and the Stingers are the two hottest teams in the league. Edmonton has gone 6-0 in their last six games, while Ottawa has gone 5-1, with their only loss being a three-point nailbiter against the Saskatchewan Rattlers.
Despite the similarities in the momentum between these two teams though, there are different things propelling them to the level of play they’re at right now.
The BlackJacks, on one hand, have been on fire because of their new signee, Javonte Smart.
Since signing on June 20, the former Miami Heat, Milwaukee Buck, and Philadelphia 76er has played six games with Ottawa, and in that time proven that he can create his own shot with ease in the CEBL. He leads the league in points per game, at 30.3, as well as field goals made per-game, with 11.7.
“[Javonte] is a legitimate scorer,” said BlackJacks Head Coach David DeAveiro.
Smart’s talent has transformed Ottawa’s offense and allowed them to focus on their biggest strength, shooting.
When Smart uses his quickness to attack the rim, it draws in help defenders from his opponents. That gravity leaves his teammates open on the three-point line, giving the BlackJacks quality looks in nearly every possession.
And the ones taking those open looks for Ottawa are some of the league’s top shooting talent: forward Zane Waterman is shooting a blistering 50% from three on over six attempts per game, forward Justin Jackson is shooting near the 40% mark from distance and guard Tyrrel Tate is around 40% as well. Even the team’s starting centre, Isaih Moore, is shooting 37.5% from distance.
All of that talent on the perimeter has allowed Smart’s shot creation to produce a ton of open threes for the BlackJacks. The team leads the league in three-point percentage this season at 37.8%. In their last five games, that average has grown even higher to 40.8%.
The Stingers, on the other hand, haven’t gone on their hot streak because of a new signee. In fact, the opposite.
In terms of their roster, Edmonton hasn’t changed much since the last time they took on Ottawa in early June. They released guard Devonté Bandoo, who now plays with the Rattlers, signed former Vancouver Bandit Mike Nuga and also brought in forward Chris Smith.
Other than those minor changes, this Stingers team is essentially the same–they didn’t sign anybody new to help the team snag more wins.
Instead, their strong team chemistry and coaching has resulted in their current six-game winning streak, which has included two impressive wins against the 11-5 Calgary Surge.
Stingers Head Coach, Jordan Baker, was a major piece in both of the team’s CEBL Championships in 2020 and 2021 as a player, before retiring and joining the coaching staff for the 2023 season.
Baker is coaching the Stingers to success this year by playing fast and not giving up any extra possessions. They lead the league in defensive rebounds per-game this season (29.8). From there, they can push in transition, and tend to score tons of easy baskets before the defense has set up.
“[Edmonton] are a well-coached team that’s on a run right now,” said DeAveiro, “They play together, they pay attention to details. They’re just playing really good basketball right now.
The head of the snake for the Stingers is guard Sean East II, who leads the CEBL in total points, while averaging 23.8 points per-game and 5.0 assists per-game.
East II has made his way into MVP conversations this season, and slowing him down is absolutely DeAveiro’s number one priority.
“He’s really talented,” said DeAveiro, “He’s a smart basketball player who’s got skill and some quickness, so he’s a tough matchup for sure.”
According to DeAveiro, the BlackJacks will attempt to counter East II by having defensive maestro Shakur Daniel guard him. Daniel has proven countless times over this season that he’s capable of slowing down an opponent’s best player.
The best example of that ability is easily his performance against the Brampton Honey Badgers on June 10. Daniel’s individual defense was able to hold the Honey Badgers’ Quinndary Weatherspoon to just three points on one-of-five shooting from the field.
Weatherspoon averaged nearly 18 points a game at the time and Daniel will need to create a similar drastic drop off from East II to cut off Edmonton’s main source of scoring.
Despite East II’s ridiculous statistics this season, the rest of the Stingers roster can stand on their own two feet as well. Forward Scottie Lindsey has already erupted for 28 points or more on three separate occasions this season, forward Keon Ambrose-Hylton has the length inside to put pressure on the rim, the aforementioned Smith averages 9.0 points per-game and forward Nick Hornsby is a solid ball handler who fills up the stat sheet every night. All of those players have the capacity to push the pace in transition.
With so many different offensive threats, the task of stopping the rest of the Stingers’ squad will rest on the shoulders of the BlackJacks’ team defense. Ottawa boasts the best defense in the CEBL thanks to Daniel’s presence and DeAveiro’s coaching, and they’ll need to take advantage of that in this one.
Ottawa’s one defensive weakness is rebounding the ball–they average the second-lowest rebounds per game in the league, at 38.4 per-game. By not boxing out and grabbing defensive rebounds, the BlackJacks have given their opponents too many second-chance opportunities.
Luckily for them, though, Edmonton is only good at defensive rebounding–in fact, in one of the strangest statistical differences in the league, the Stingers grab the most defensive rebounds per game in the league, but average the second-lowest offensive rebounds per-game (10.4).
While this tactic is likely a purposeful method by Baker to force his team back on defense, it also means that the BlackJacks won’t have to worry as much about their rebounding weakness. If the Stingers aren’t chasing offensive rebounds, it makes grabbing defensive rebounds much easier for the BlackJacks.
On the offensive end, the key to the BlackJacks taking home a win tonight will be scoring in the paint.
Another reason for the Stingers being poor offensive rebounders is their lack of size – at 6'9", Ambrose-Hylton is their tallest player.
That lack of size inside not only affects Edmonton’s ability to grab offensive rebounds, but also their ability to defend inside. The team averages the lowest number of blocks per-game in the CEBL at just 2.4.
Ottawa should be able to take advantage of that offensively by attacking the paint. Smart’s drives to the rim usually create open shots on the perimeter, but with Edmonton’s lack of interior defense, those open shots may be lobs around the rim to Moore instead.
“[Moore] will have success doing what [Moore] does,” said DeAveiro, “I’m sure a focal point for Edmonton is how to contain him.”
So look out not as much for three-point opportunities in tonight’s game, but more attacks inside from Smart, Moore, and the rest of the BlackJacks.
This game is sure to be a battle on both ends, with neither team wanting to lose the momentum they’re riding.
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