Game Preview - July 29: BlackJacks Fight for Playoff Position at Home Against Shooting Stars
The Ottawa BlackJacks of the Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL) take on the Scarborough Shooting Stars tonight at The Arena at TD Place at 7:30 p.m.
The Shooting Stars and BlackJacks are currently placed second and third in the Eastern Conference standings, with records of 9-10 and 8-10 respectively. Both teams are 2-3 in their last five games.
Tonight’s game is a big one for playoff seeding, as the winner of the matchup will gain hold of the number two seed in the East. In the CEBL playoffs, the number two team receives a bye into the second round, while the number three seed must win a play-in game against the number four seed in order to reach the second round.
For that reason, owning the second seed is incredibly important for both of these teams–especially for Ottawa, who will have played four games in nine days after tonight and need to play five more games in just ten days to finish up their season.
With such a jam-packed schedule, the BlackJacks would benefit even more from a bye game and extra time to rest.
“A bye game means you don’t play until just before the final four, so any time you can get rest after this stretch of games, it’s really important,” said BlackJacks Head Coach David DeAveiro.
That second seed wouldn’t just be helpful to Ottawa in terms of rest, either–it would also be a reward for all of their hard work throughout the season.
“If we’re playing well enough to get that second seed,” noted DeAveiro, “I think we’re going to go into the playoffs with a good mindset and headspace where we’ve earned this bye and this rest.”
That boost in morale is much-needed for the team right now, after ending their last game in a one-point loss to the Saskatchewan Rattlers, who hold the second-worst record in the entire league.
The BlackJacks fought back and forth against the Rattlers right up until the end of target time, but a foul call on Ottawa during the final possession gave Saskatchewan two game-winning free throws.
The key to that game for the Rattlers was rebounding. Saskatchewan won that battle 52-40 in total rebounds and a whopping nineteen to nine in offensive rebounding.
Crashing the glass has been a struggle for Ottawa all season, ranking ninth in the ten team CEBL with just 38.4 per-game. Saskatchewan is just ahead of them with third lowest mark at 39.0, but still outclassed Ottawa handily.
Jaden Bediako, who has averaged 6.9 points and 8.2 rebounds per-game for the Rattlers this season tied the CEBL regular season record for most rebounds in a game, with 20. He also scored 23 points in the matchup.
That game especially revealed the BlackJacks’ one glaring weakness and DeAveiro believes it’s something only pride can fix:
“[Rebounding] is a toughness category. This is not skill–this is toughness. This is, you want the ball. These are one-on-one battles we’re not winning.”
Ottawa is a stellar defensive team by the numbers, holding their opponents to just 85.6 points per-game so far this year. None of that defense matters, though, if they can’t secure a rebound and end the defensive possession.
“Until we address [rebounding], we’re going to have situations where we’re playing really good defense and then we give up an offensive rebound, so now we’re playing defense again.”
Another consequence of poor rebounding is the lack of transition play it leads to.
This hurt the BlackJacks especially, as fast break play is their go-to method on offense. They outscored Saskatchewan on the fast break, twenty-six to six.
With most of their roster being capable three-point shooters and passers, it creates for a lightning-quick offense that punishes defenses with easy layups, dunks, and open threes. Players like guards Keevan Veinot and Javonte Smart, and forwards Deng Adel and Isaih Moore have created some of the team’s most memorable moments from transition play this season.
That fast-paced fun can only happen when Ottawa secures a defensive rebound, though.
“There’s no balance on the defensive glass,” said DeAveiro when asked about how to manage transition play and defensive rebounds together, “everybody has to rebound for us to get a chance to run…if you want to lead the break, go rebound.”
So the key against the Shooting Stars tonight will be for Ottawa to focus on getting defensive rebounds, securing their stops, and using those rebounds to push in transition for easy baskets. Scarborough is number three in the CEBL in offensive rebounds per game (12.2), so their presence on the glass will be a difficult test to see if the BlackJacks really can improve in that aspect.
To make things even harder, since the last time they took on Ottawa, Scarborough has signed some new players who may very well further improve their rebounding numbers.
One of those new signees, Michael Foster Jr., played for the NBA G League’s Ignite team in 2021-22 alongside notable NBA names like Scoot Henderson and Dyson Daniels. In his first game with Scarborough, he scored 12 points and racked up eight rebounds and two blocks in 25 minutes.
Foster Jr.’s impact on the inside will provide a new test for the BlackJacks, who haven’t yet faced off against the first-time CEBL player. Ottawa’s big men, Isaih Moore and Christian Rohlehr, will have to get physical on the interior to slow down the 6'9", 250 pound Foster Jr.
Another new player for the Shooting Stars in this game is Anthony Walker, who played nine games with the Montreal Alliance earlier this season before signing with Scarborough in early July. Walker is a solid scorer, averaging 11.2 points per-game with his new team thus far.
But Foster Jr. and Walker aren’t the only recent roster changes to the Shooting Stars. They’ve made a ton of moves in the recent weeks, going as far as to holding six import players on the roster. Alongside the Americans Foster Jr. and Walker, Scarborough still has guards Cat Barber and Terquavion Smith signed and recent NBA Summer League returnee Donovan Williams.
Smith and Williams especially are talented scorers, ranking at numbers two and three in the league in points per-game respectively (24.7 and 24.3). Ottawa’s defense will need to lock down the pair of players tonight in order to find success.
With league rules stating that each team can only dress four import players per game, though, it means that the Shooting Stars still need to interchange who on their roster takes the court game-by-game. Each night, their roster looks different.
“It’s been hard to prepare, because you don’t know who’s playing,” said DeAveiro, “we just really need to focus on ourselves.”
Much like Scarborough does, Ottawa has their own question mark headed into tonight’s game.
Forward Zane Waterman has missed the team’s last three games after receiving an injury to the head. The timeline for his recovery isn’t known, but his impact on the court at TD Place tonight would be massive.
“We miss him terribly–he’s our ‘tough guy’,” said DeAveiro when asked about Waterman, “he’s our enforcer, he’s our physical beast underneath the glass…we’re looking forward to getting him back. It’ll be a nice little kickstart for us.”
Waterman has been the leader of Ottawa’s bench this season, which has been one of the best in the CEBL. When he doesn’t start, he’s averaging 15.2 points and 5.8 rebounds per-game. Those scoring and rebounding numbers will do wonders for the BlackJacks.
While it’s still unknown whether Waterman will be available to play tonight, the goal for the BlackJacks stays the same–crash the defensive glass, secure possessions, push the pace, and score the ball. It may be a tough task with all of the Shooting Stars’ new talent, but if they want a bye into the second round of the CEBL playoffs, it will be a game the BlackJacks need to win.
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