Game Preview - July 9: BlackJacks Looking to Bounce Back After Rough Loss, Taking on Improved Honey Badgers
The Ottawa BlackJacks of the Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL) take on the Brampton Honey Badgers of the CEBL this afternoon, at the CAA Centre in Brampton at 12:30 p.m.
The Honey Badgers enter this game with a record of 4-10 and ownership of the last place spot in the Eastern Conference, while the BlackJacks sit third in the East at 6-7. In the teams’ two meetings this season, Ottawa is 2-0.
The BlackJacks were riding a four-game winning streak, but the Saskatchewan Rattlers brought it to a bitter end on July 5. Saskatchewan mounted an eleven-point comeback in target time to take the victory, 93-90.
“Saskatchewan has proven that they can play with anybody in this league,” said BlackJacks Head Coach David DeAveiro before the game–and right he was.
That loss was a huge momentum killer for Ottawa, who had just started to turn their season around after starting 2-6–the Rattlers owning the worst record in the CEBL only worsened the sting.
Prior to the unfortunate loss, the BlackJacks’ sudden turnaround was mostly thanks to the arrival of guard Javonte Smart, who immediately stepped up as the team’s lead offensive producer.
In five games with the team, Smart has averaged 30.8 points per-game to lead the CEBL at over five points more than the second highest scorer. After tallying 23 in his BlackJacks debut, he’s put up 30 or more in every game he’s played–he even tied the franchise’s single-game scoring record of 37 on July 1 against the Winnipeg Sea Bears.
Despite yet another offensive masterclass from Smart against the Rattlers, though, Ottawa was still outscored 93-90. The issue fell on their defensive efforts, which was an uncommon result for the team.
Before that game against the Rattlers, they’d held four straight opponents to 80 or less points, a feat that’s earned them the best points allowed per-game in the CEBL over the past five contests.
Those stellar defensive numbers come from the BlackJacks ability to slow down their opponents best player. They’ve managed to suppress the talents of some incredible players in their recent games, including holding the CEBL record holder for the most points in a single game, Jalen Harris, to just 11 points on 26% from the field.
That didn’t happen against Saskatchewan, though. Guard Jordan Bowden finished with a professional career-high of 40 points, and a Rattlers franchise record of nine threes.
Ottawa’s strongest isolation defender, Shakur Daniel, had his hands full with multiple Rattlers guards during the game; he spent time guarding both Nate Pierre-Louis and Devonté Bandoo as well. With Daniel distracted between his multiple matchups, it allowed Bowden to score lots in transition and knock down nine threes, which was also a professional career high.
Another defensive loss struck the BlackJacks prior to the matchup when it was announced that forward Isaih Moore would be missing the game due to illness. Moore leads the team in blocks per game this season with 1.1, and was ranked as the CEBL’s Defensive Player of the Year in the league media’s “Midseason Awards” earlier this week.
Moore is expected to return against the Honey Badgers this afternoon, but either way, Ottawa will have to clean up their defensive tactics.
Looking at season averages, the 4-10 Honey Badgers aren’t much of a threat–they average the lowest points per-game in the CEBL at 81.6.
That isn’t to say that the Honey Badgers will go down easily, though.
After starting the season with a miserable record of 0-6, the team has fought back to go 4-4 in their last eight matchups. Although their record may not show it, the quality of their roster equates to a .500 season.
Some of the losses during those eight games were close down the stretch, too–that included just a three-point loss against the best team record wise in the CEBL, the Vancouver Bandits.
Brampton’s recent resurgence has been mostly due to the signings of a few new players: namely guard Marcus Carr and forward Bryson Williams.
Carr’s passing has impressed thus far, as he leads the team in assists per game with 6.8. On June 20 against Saskatchewan, he posted a season-high 12 assists in his first game with the team. Williams, on the other hand, is more of a scorer, averaging 7.6 points per-game in his five appearances this season.
Both Carr and Williams also bring extra professional experience to the roster. Carr is a former All-Big 12 First Team member from his time with the Texas Longhorns and Williams spent two seasons in the NBA G League with the Ontario Clippers.
The two new signees join an already experienced group of players on the Honey Badgers, including former NBA champion Quinndary Weatherspoon and four-year CEBL veteran, David Muenkat.
All of this experience and a recent improvement in performance makes the Honey Badgers more of a threat for the BlackJacks in this game.
In terms of individual defensive matchups, the most notable name to stop will be Muenkat as he’s led the team in scoring during their last five games averaging 15.6 points per-game on 55% shooting from the field. The last time these two teams faced off, he scored a team-high 21 points.
The 6-6, 220-pound forward may be a bit oversized for Daniel, so it’s likely that we’ll see BlackJacks forward Deng Adel pick up the matchup. Adel’s matchup with Muenkat will be crucial to slowing down the Honey Badgers’ offense.
Another key matchup will be Daniel on Weatherspoon. The last time these two teams faced off, Weatherspoon was held to just three points on a mere 1-of-5 shooting from the field while fouling out in the third quarter.
That defensive masterclass from Daniel led the charge in the BlackJacks winning that game, and will be something that needs to happen again this afternoon. Weatherspoon can get hot in an instant, as was made clear during the first meeting between these two teams this season, where he scored a season high of 29 points.
And so Ottawa will need to focus mostly on defense in this game with their offense, thanks to the former NBA guard Smart, running on all cylinders.
Smart’s drives to the rim open up easy opportunities for his teammates, which has led to the team holding the league’s highest field goal percentage over the past five games, with a smoldering 47.6%. With that efficient shot creation, the team was able to put up 90 points in a recent win against the Montreal Alliance, who boast the league’s second best defense.
Having a scorer as electric as Smart gives Ottawa the leeway to place their efforts onto their defense, where slowing down Brampton’s new-and-improved roster will be key. If the production of Muenkat, Weatherspoon, and the team’s new arrivals can be minimized, the BlackJacks should be back to winning games in no time.
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