Game Preview - July 26: BlackJacks Looking for Revenge Against Rattlers at Home
The Ottawa BlackJacks of the Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL) take on the Saskatchewan Rattlers in an afternoon matchup today at TD Place at 2 p.m.
Ottawa enters this game with a record of 8-9, sitting at second place in the Eastern Conference standing. With a win today, they will clinch their spot in this year’s playoffs. Saskatchewan holds the worst record in the league at just 4-14, good for last in the Western Conference.
Despite this large difference in team records, though, it was the Rattlers who emerged victorious the last time that these two teams faced off.
Back in early July, Ottawa and Saskatchewan played at the SaskTel Centre in Saskatoon with the Rattlers pulled off a miraculous victory. Grant Anticevich knocked down a game-winning three to cap off an 11-point comeback for Saskatchewan, setting the final score at 93-90.
That loss stung for Ottawa, but not just because Saskatchewan was (and still is) the worst team in the league–at the time of the game, the BlackJacks were riding a four-game winning streak. They had recently signed former NBA guard Javonte Smart, and the rest of their roster had come together from various overseas seasons to create a dangerous team.
When Anticevich’s shot went in, the BlackJacks didn’t just lose their winning streak, they lost it to the worst team in the CEBL. The blown 11-point lead only added to the loss.
Ottawa has had struggles closing out games all season and that example was perhaps the most glaring.
The team has taken some other rough losses in target time this year, including a 12-point blown lead to the Niagara River Lions in their home opener.
Most recently, the BlackJacks took a loss to the Montreal Alliance. In that game, they started target time down just three, but were only able to muster up four points before losing the game.
“We haven’t been able to be composed yet down the stretch of a game,” said BlackJacks Head Coach David DeAveiro after the loss to Montreal.
The biggest issue for Ottawa in those clutch moments is focusing too much on isolation.
Throughout games, they’re big on ball movement around the perimeter, creating open looks from drives to the rim–that playstyle leads to 21.4 assists per-game, good for third best in the CEBL.
Down the stretch, though, DeAveiro’s players seem to get in their heads about winning the game, knowing that they only need to score nine points to get it done. That results in the players thinking, “score first”, which means they stray away from their regular offense for isolation basketball.
In this afternoon’s matchup against Saskatchewan, it will be important for Ottawa to maintain their team-first style of basketball in order for them to get a win.
One of their most team-first players may not be available for the matchup, though.
After receiving a blow to the head in the BlackJacks’ game against the Edmonton Stingers on July 17, forward Zane Waterman has been sitting out with symptoms of a concussion.
The forward travelled with the team to Montreal for their last game, but his status for this afternoon is still unknown.
Waterman’s absence has left a big hole in the BlackJacks’ rotation. The 29-year-old is shooting a blistering 50% from three on 6.0 attempts per night–that’s the highest rate from anybody in the league taking more than five per-game. His all-around game has made a massive impact on the team’s success.
“You cannot replace that guy,” said DeAveiro, “he’s the anchor of our defense, and you can see what he does offensively. One of the elite three-point shooters [in the CEBL].”
Acting as the team’s sixth man due to league rules preventing teams from playing four non-Canadians at once, Waterman leads Ottawa’s bench, statistically one of the best in the league. Without him in the lineup, that advantage gets nullified.
Against Montreal, Ottawa’s bench was outscored, 37-12. That gap easily made the difference in a game that ended 87-79 for the Alliance, and Waterman’s presence would have helped that.
If Waterman doesn’t see the floor this afternoon, then it’s likely that we’ll see more minutes from forward Justin Jackson.
In the two full games that Waterman has been unavailable, Jackson has taken full advantage of the extra playing time he’s received. On July 21 against the Brampton Honey Badgers, he finished with 11 points and a team-high plus/minus of +26. Against the Alliance, he racked up 12 points and a CEBL career high of 15 rebounds.
“Justin has proven that he’s a quality player in this league,” said DeAveiro.
Jackson’s extra impact at forward has been key in Waterman’s absence and will be extra important on defense this afternoon against one of the Rattlers’ top scorers.
Forward Jorden Bowden scored his professional career high of 40 points against the BlackJacks during the two teams last meeting, with eight of those coming in the team’s target time comeback.
Bowden has yet to play a game for the Rattlers since that matchup on July 5–if he does suit up, though, he’ll no doubt be a player that the BlackJacks watch closely this afternoon. Jackson has been a fantastic defender all season, and will play a key role in slowing down Bowden.
As for some other players to watch on the Rattlers, guard Tevian Jones has joined the team since the BlackJacks last faced them.
Jones is a familiar face, having played 14 games with the Winnipeg Sea Bears to start the season. The last time Ottawa saw Jones, he was held to 15 points on just 31% shooting from the field. If they can constrict him to that level of inefficiency again, the BlackJacks won’t have to worry.
Another thing to note about this game is the rest time between games for each team.
While Saskatchewan hasn’t played a game since July 18, Ottawa has played two games since then.
These last few matchups have been a part of a busy end to the BlackJacks schedule–they suit up for seven more games to end their season before Aug.10.
All of these games mean that their players are in need of a lot of rest. “Rest is key right now,” said DeAveiro, “we’ll use film to teach, and we’ll go on the floor and walk through some things. When you’re in this tough stretch, film becomes really important, and rest becomes important.”
By taking extra rest, the BlackJacks can prepare themselves for each game without causing too much fatigue, but with just enough on-court action to feel warmed up and ready to go. Because the Rattlers haven’t played a game in so long, on the other hand, expect them to come out of the gates with a little bit of rust this afternoon.
Once the wheels get turning, though, things are shaping up to be an exciting matinee matchup at TD Place today. While the Rattlers will be looking to turn their season around with a win, the BlackJacks will be looking to exact revenge on a Saskatchewan team that stole a game from them the last time they met.
Interact with us on social media:
Instagram: ottawablackjacks
Facebook: OttawaBlackJacks
TikTok:
ottawablackjacks