Game Preview - July 21: BlackJacks Look to Sweep Season Series with Honey Badgers
The Ottawa BlackJacks of the Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL) take on the Brampton Honey Badgers this evening, at 7:30 p.m. at The Arena at TD Place.
The season series between these two teams has been one-sided so far, with the BlackJacks leading 3-0 and looking to sweep the series tonight. Ottawa dominated in those three games, winning by a margin of 13 or more in each.
The Honey Badgers enter this game with what is tied for their worst losing streak of the season at six games. The team also started the season 0-6, and currently sit at last place in the Eastern Conference with a record of 4-14.
The BlackJacks have also skidded as of late, going 1-2 in their last three matchups after previously riding a five-game winning streak. They currently sit with a record of 7-8, good for third in the Eastern Conference.
Both of Ottawa’s recent losses have been one-possession games which they had a chance to win. Their most recent loss came to the red-hot Edmonton Stingers, who have won seven of their last eight games to skyrocket to a record of 11-7.
Close losses like that often demoralize players more than a losing in a blowout, as the win feels just out of reach. Those recent games have therefore caused the BlackJacks to lose some mojo and Head Coach David DeAveiro wants to make sure that rough patches like this don’t get them down.
“We did a lot of positive things in three games, but everyone seems to focus on, ‘close loss, close loss’...obviously we have to get better at the end of those close losses, but I’m not going to neglect all of the good things we did in the game up to that point.”
By focusing on what they do well, Ottawa can build confidence in their identity. Tonight’s matchup against Brampton will be a great test for that, as they’re currently tied with the Saskatchewan Rattlers for the worst record in the CEBL. They also have the worst offense in the league, scoring just 80.6 points per-game.
So although no matchup is a guaranteed win, the odds are in favour of the BlackJacks tonight. Playing, what is on paper, a much easier matchup than the blistering hot Stingers will allow Ottawa to focus on what they need to do in order to get back on track with some consistent winning.
The BlackJacks have succeeded the most on defense this season, ranking number one in the league in points allowed per game with just 85.3. Their individual defense has allowed them to hold back some of the league’s top players, including Jalen Harris of the Winnipeg Sea Bears, Tavian Dunn-Martin of the Montreal Alliance and Quinndary Weatherspoon of the Honey Badgers to far less than their season averages.
The consistency of Ottawa’s defense has been off in their recent games, though, allowing for some strong individual performances from their opponents.
In Ottawa’s loss to the Rattlers earlier this month, Saskatchewan’s Jordan Bowden was able to explode for a professional career high of 40 points. Against Edmonton, the BlackJacks were able to hold 2025 CEBL MVP candidate Sean East II to just two points in the first half. In the second half, though, East II erupted for 21, accounting for nearly half of the Stingers’ 52 points in that time frame.
So while the BlackJacks hold their hats on defense, their consistency on that end of the floor still needs improvement.
“To me, it’s simple,” said DeAveiro, “I can show [the players] video of one half where we dominate because we’re defending, and I can show them another half where we don’t defend and we’re not dominant. So, at some point, the guys have to take that on themselves.”
While successful defense is made up of a complex combination of basketball tactics, at its core, it comes down to effort. When players decide to give it their all and commit to the defensive end, it usually yields some sort of result.
And Ottawa has shown that they’re capable of bringing that effort at certain points in a game. In the first half against Edmonton, they were able to hold the Stingers to just 35 points–it was in the second half where the BlackJacks took their foot off of the pedal defensively and allowed the Stingers to get back in the game.
“I’ve challenged my guys,” said DeAveiro when asked about the team’s defense, “We can’t go through this ‘half a game, half a game’ thing.”
But as Ottawa looks to change that and bring defensive intensity in all four quarters tonight, they’ll have to simultaneously battle against the injury bug.
Forward Zane Waterman, who DeAveiro has described as the “anchor” of the team’s defense, went down early in the third quarter against Edmonton after receiving a blow to the head.
According to DeAveiro, the ever-resilient Waterman is unlikely to suit up tonight due to the injury: “If you ask him, he’d probably want to play, but he’s still got eight stitches in his head.”
Losing Waterman will be a tough blow to the BlackJacks offense as well–he’s one of the most efficient shooters in the league, averaging 3.0 three pointers per-game on a blistering hot 50% shooting from downtown.
“[Waterman] is the anchor of our defense, and you can see what he does offensively–one of the elite three-point shooters [in the CEBL], so replacing him is not easy,” said DeAveiro.
Luckily for the BlackJacks, forward Deng Adel will be likely to return to action tonight after sitting out vs. the Stingers due to illness. Although a healthy roster with Waterman in it is always better, Adel provides his own value as a leader. His presence on the court will be crucial for Ottawa’s offense and defense tonight.
Adel boasts elite playmaking abilities, averaging a team-high 6.5 assists per-game. Having another ball handler will do wonders for Javonte Smart, the CEBL’s top scorer at 28.7 points per-game.
Against the Stingers, without Adel as a secondary offensive weapon, Smart was forced to pass the ball on possessions that he would usually look to score, throwing Ottawa’s offense off balance.
While Smart did rack up a CEBL career high of 10 assists on the night, he also scored a CEBL career low of just 19 points. Adel’s presence keeps opponents honest, and will allow Smart to get back to his regular offensive production.
Defensively, it’s likely that Adel will start off guarding the Honey Badgers' David Muenkat, whose recent high-scoring games have made him Brampton’s second-leading scorer at 13.9 points per-game.
Adel’s 6'7" height and 6'9.5" wingspan has been incredibly effective at slowing down mobile forwards across the CEBL this season, and that will likely continue to be true against Muenkat tonight.
The Honey Badgers’ top scorer, Quinndary Weatherspoon, will likely be guarded again by the BlackJacks primary defensive stopper in Shakur Daniel. Weatherspoon, who averages 17.7 points per-game, was held to just 14 the last time he played the BlackJacks. Prior to that, he was held to just three.
But defense isn’t an individual game–the entire BlackJacks roster will need to engage for all four quarters of tonight’s matchup to guarantee success. If the team can fix their defensive inconsistencies, and bring 100% effort for a full game, then the season series against Brampton is simply waiting to be swept.
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