How will Lightning rebound from Sudbury sweep?

Around the Perimeter: London needs wins. Will it happen this weekend?; JR Holder, Jaylon Tate join the fold; Who is the real James Towns?; Up next: Home vs. Windsor, then another tough back-to-back …

* * *

WHAT HAPPENED.

Sudbury 123 – London (8-8, 10-8) 115| Saturday, Feb. 8 in Sudbury

Sudbury 133 – London 121 (8-9, 10-9) | Tuesday, Feb. 11 in London

London 130 (8-9, 11-9) – Rochester Kingz 101 | Saturday, Feb. 15 in London

KW | Sunday, Feb. 16 | POSTPONED UNTIL MARCH 1

WHAT WE LEARNED.

With a sub-.500 record halfway into the season, you knew this franchise wasn’t going to sit still. Last week, the Lightning released both centre Corey Boyd and guard Milan Acquaah.

The dismissal of Boyd is perhaps the most disappointing, as the big man seemed to be thriving since the addition of fellow centre Calvin Godfrey. With a twin tower approach to time sharing, Boyd had maintained his same level of production while playing 10 minutes less per game.

Boyd was one of head coach Jerry Williams’ two handpicked players on the opening roster (along with guard Tonzell Handy). The writing may have been on the wall for Boyd in recent weeks, culminating in him playing only five minutes in his final game, a 133-121 loss to Sudbury in London. (Strangely, Boyd had a double-double in the previous game with 11 points and 14 rebounds.)

Boyd ends his Lightning career averaging 14.7 points, 7.8 rebounds, and 0.8 assists per game across 19 contests.

Acquaah saw limited playing time in his five games with the Lightning. His biggest game came in a 143-103 victory over the Rhode Island Kraken when he scored 6 points on 2-3 shooting from the field. He ends his Bolts career averaging 2.2 points, 0.4 rebounds, and 0.8 assists across only 48 minutes of play. The 27-year-old filled the spot once occupied by Dexter Williams Jr.

Additionally, guard Jachai Taylor and the team parted ways this week, with Turbo seeking opportunities elsewhere.

Playing time has been a sticking point for the talented guard. Taylor’s on-court exposure has been diminishing, initially averaging 19.7 minutes per game in the nine games before the calendar turned to 2025, and then 16.6 minutes per game in the 10 games since. In the last five games, in particular, his use dipped to 11.8 minutes per game since playing a season high of 39 minutes against KW on Jan. 19.

“Taking this time realizing my worth,” he wrote on Instagram Tuesday. “Taking a step back from things. Most importantly, prioritizing my mental health. Refinding my purpose. My identity. Thank you to everyone who supports me.”

Taylor ends his Lightning season averaging 8.3 points, 2.6 rebounds, and 0.6 assists per game across 19 games.

*Corey Boyd and the Lightning have parted ways. (Photo: Jade Sumpton).*

WHAT WAS AWESOME.

With three spots open on the roster, the Lightning have added two familiar faces.

Guard Jaylon Tate made his BSL debut with the Bolts against the Rochester Kingz Saturday in London. He scored five points in 31 minutes of play. The Chicago native was part of the 2021-22 Lightning championship squad, averaging 12.7 points and 5.8 assists per game that season. Most recently, the 30-year-old Tate, the 2018 NBLC Rookie of the Year with the Niagara River Lions, played with Szedeák of the Nemzeti Bajnokság I/A in Hungary.

Guard JR Holder also made his BSL debut with the Bolts against the Rochester Kingz Saturday in London. He scored 15 points and nabbed 5 rebounds in 32 minutes of play.

The Atlanta native honed his skills at Jacksonville University, graduating in 2017. Since, Holder has embarked on an international career, playing in the United Kingdom, Israel, Libya, Mexico, Uruguay, Vietnam, United States, and Canada.

Most notably to Lightning fans, the 30-year-old had a standout season with the Sudbury Five in the NBL Canada, where he averaged 19.7 points and 4.9 rebounds per game, earning the NBLC Sixth Man of the Year award for the 2019-2020 season. Holder's most recent professional engagement was with Los Paisas de Medellin in Colombia’s Liga WPlay.

*JR Holder, one of two new Lightning signings, contributed 15 points and 5 rebounds in his first game last Saturday vs. Rochester. (Photo: Bruce Laing).*

* * *

OK, so this has been an odd month.

Yes, London is closer to the last playoff spot (.471 vs. .375) than first place (.750 vs. .471).

Yes, if the season ended today (which it doesn’t), London would be going to Jamestown for a one-game playoff – where they are 0-1 this season.

Yes, London is 2-3 this month, and those three losses are all conference games (meaning games that actually count toward the playoffs). In fact, the Lightning are only 3-5 in conference games in the New Year.

Wait, where was I? This is the good news section. Let’s try this again … OK, so this been an odd month – but there are some green shoots of hope for the team.

London is still the top-scoring team in the league, averaging 116.8 PPG in conference games and 121.0 PPG overall. They are going about that the hard way. They are second in field goal percentage and third in field goals made – but seventh in 3-pointers made and 3-point shooting percentage. They are also first in free throws attempted per game and seventh in free throw shooting percentage.

All told, this is still a team that can score.

WHAT NEEDS WORK.

Maybe someone should unplug James Towns III and then plug him back in.

Since bolting to the Lightning, the league’s former top scorer has been, well, kind of average. When he joined the Lightning Jan. 14, the Detroit native was leading the league in scoring at 26.9 points per game. Additionally, Towns was averaging 4.6 rebounds, 7.0 assists, and 1.7 steals per game.

Since coming to London, he has averaged 13.5 points, 3.3 rebounds, 5.6 assists, and .75 steals.

As you notice, it’s ‘down Towns’ across the board. So, what’s different?

Let’s look at the eight games leading up to the trade versus the eight games since. First up, here are Town’s final eight games before heading to London:

Dec 12 (at Glass City)
FG – 10-13 | 3 PT – 2-4 | Assists – 6 | Points – 25

Dec 14 (at KW)
FG – 9-21 | 3 PT – 0-1 | Assists – 12 | Points – 19

Dec. 19 (vs. London)
FG – 14-21 | 3 PT – 2-4 | Assists – 9 | Points – 42

Dec. 21 (vs. Jamestown)
FG – 7/10 | 3 PT – 1-1 | Assists – 12 | Points – 20

Dec. 27 (at London)
FG – 8-15 | 3 PT – 1-2 | Assists – 7 | Points – 22

Dec. 29 (at KW)
FG – 6-12 | 3 PT – 2-3 | Assists – 6 | Points – 17

Jan. 4 (at Sudbury)
FG – 14-30 | 3 PT – 7-14 | Assists – 3 | Points – 36

Jan. 11 (at Newfoundland)
FG – 7-16 | 3 PT – 2-7 | Assists – 5 | Points – 22

Grand totals: FG – 75-138 (54.3%) | 3 PT – 17-36 (47%) | Assists – 60 (7.5 APG) | Points – 203 (25.4 PPG) | 357 minutes

Now, let’s look at the first eight games for London:

Jan. 16 (vs. KW)
FG – 5-12 | 3 PT – 2-4 | Assists – 7 | Points – 12

Jan. 18 (vs. Tri-State)
FG – 8-14 | 3 PT – 0-1 | Assists – 12 | Points – 19

Jan. 19 (at KW)
FG – 2-10 | 3 PT – 0-1 | Assists – 2 | Points – 8

Jan. 29 (vs. Pontiac)
FG – 10-20 | 3 PT – 0-3 | Assists – 4 | Points – 21

Feb. 1 (vs. Rhode Island)
FG – 7-13 | 3 PT – 1-3 | Assists – 10 | Points – 18

Feb. 2 (at Jamestown)
FG – 3-8 | 3 PT – 0-0 | Assists – 1 | Points – 6

Feb. 8 (at Sudbury)
FG – 5-12 | 3 PT – 1-3 | Assists – 2 | Points – 15

Feb. 11 (vs. Sudbury)
FG – 4-8 | 3 PT – 1-2 | Assists – 7 | Points – 9

Grand totals: FG – 44-97 (45.3%) | 3 PT – 5-17 (29.4%) | Assists – 45 (5.6 APG) | Points – 108 (13.5 PPG) | 263 minutes

Let’s look at a couple of red flags:

Playing time | Take a guess how many minutes per game Towns averaged over his last eight games in Pontiac. Did you guess 30? 35? That’s a ton – and you would still be wrong. Towns averaged a whopping 44.6 minutes per game in Pontiac. Compare that to 32.9 in London and you start to see one explanation. But that’s not it completely.

Effectiveness when he played | Maybe it’s understandable that Towns is playing less in London. This is – on paper – a much more talented team. The problem for Towns is that he’s not nearly as effective in the minutes he is playing. Break it down to points per minute played, the difference is stark: .57 points per minute played as a Pharaoh and .41 points per minute as a Bolt.

Shooting percentage | Towns’ shooting percentage has cratered – dropping 54.3% from the field and 47% from three for Pontiac to 45.3% and 29.4% for London.

This is mean, but … | It might be a case of Towns not getting to play against London’s defense. Drop his two games against London out of the mix – where he scored 64 points combined – and Towns’ Pontiac averages look a little more familiar to Lightning fans. 20.2 points per game.

So, what happens next? Is this the case of a new player still finding his rhythm on a new team? Or did London net a big fish from a little pond who is what he is when dropped in bigger waters? I don’t honestly know.

What I do know is that Towns has found himself outside the starting lineup the last two games. This should be interesting to watch play out.

* * *

When you look at the league leaderboard on its website, James Towns III is still technically leading the league in scoring (26.9 PPG), ahead of Sudbury’s Ja'myrin Jackson (24.1 PPG). That ends soon, as the leaderboard is determined by playing in 60% of one’s team’s games. Once Pontiac plays its 19th game on Feb. 20 against Newfoundland, Towns will sink below the qualifying percentage (and out of the leaderboard).

In 20 games for both Pontiac and London, Towns is averaging 20.9 PPG – still good for fourth in the league.

STORIES YOU MISSED.

‘Turbo’ more than a nickname — it’s a lifestyle for Taylor

WHAT’S NEXT.

Windsor | Saturday, Feb. 22 | 7 p.m.

at Jamestown| Sunday, Feb. 23 | 2 p.m.

at Glass City | Thursday, Feb. 27 | 7 p.m.

KW | Saturday, March 1 | 7 p.m. (Rescheduled from Feb. 16)

at Jamestown | Sunday, March. 2 | 2 p.m.

Read More →

Feb 20, 2025