First-place Lightning look to snap mini-skid

Two straight losses, a week apart, have Lightning looking for answers; Millinghaus continues to score — off the bench; Free-throw shooting holding Lightning back; This week: TBL’s Pharaohs, then a showdown in Sudbury …

The Lightning fell short in their second showdown with Windsor, 116-114, on Sunday, Feb. 4, 2024. (Photo: Matt Hiscox Photography).

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STARTING FIVE

1. Streak snapped, energy zapped. First, the good. The Lightning extended their winning streak to eight games with a lopsided 134-98 win over the Tri-State Admirals last Saturday (Jan. 27). Seven of the nine London players dressed scored in double figures, with Shadell Millinghaus (25) and Jachai Taylor (24) leading the way.

Now, the bad. The following afternoon, that streak came to an end – and in ugly fashion. The Lightning lost – convincingly – to last-place Montreal, 110-96. Right from the hop, it was clear London lacked energy. They shot a dismal 35.9% from the field in the first half and trailed by 20 points, 55-35, at the break.

Head coach Doug Plumb didn’t even make it that far. In the second quarter, he was ejected from the game after two technical fouls in a short span. London’s bench boss wasn’t happy with the officiating – but he was more concerned with his own team’s performance.

“Our effort level was terrible. That’s not the sign of a champion,” Plumb said. “I thought I did a good job of managing minutes Saturday [in preparation for a quick turnaround]. I said that to the guys. ‘You have no excuse to be tired. You guys do two-a-days every day in practice.’”

A good record can hide underlying issues, and Plumb made it clear in the wake of last Sunday’s loss that changes will be needed from his squad. “That’s not the first time this has happened … a lackadaisical effort … there are trends happening here, so it’s a problem. We lack leadership right now, to be honest. I’m looking for toughness.

“We’re not winning off grit, we’re winning off talent, and that never wins in the long run. But I think losses like this will humble us. Maybe it’s a blessing in disguise.”

2. Windsor Showdown: Part 2. If the Montreal loss was a blessing, perhaps London’s loss to the Windsor Express this past Sunday (Feb. 4) will serve as a serious wakeup call. The Express are certainly no slouches. But even though the Lightning came out much better than they did against the Tundra a week prior, they were unable to outwork or outplay Windsor in crunch time. The result was a 116-114 loss at Bud Gardens.

London had taken the first battle between these two teams (115-107 on Jan. 24), who are even bigger rivals this year after an offseason that saw three former Windsor players join London – and Chris Jones, a former Bolt, head to the Express. It was Jones who got the last laugh Sunday, though, scoring a team-high 33 points, including making seven of his eight three-point attempts.

“Chris Jones torched us. We had no answer for him,” said Plumb of his former player. “That hurts, for sure, when a guy plays a game like that. But I also think we needed more production from our bench. In the past, we’ve won because we’ve had depth. There hasn’t been depth lately.”

London led by seven, following a Mike Nuga layup, with 5:43 left in the contest. But it was mostly Windsor from that point on. After the Express took the lead, Jeremiah Mordi brought the Lightning to within one with 1:21 left, but poor London shot selection after that, combined with Windsor making their free throws down the stretch resulted in a Lightning loss, their second straight.

Shadell Millinghaus scored a season-high 34 points in a losing effort, adding nine rebounds and five assists. Billy White had 18/8 with a pair of blocks. Notably, Plumb shortened his bench in the contest, with White (43), Mordi (41),  Jermaine Haley Jr. (39) and Millinghaus (36) all playing heavy minutes. The trio of Amir Yusuf (10), Nick Garth (9) and Rashad Smith (1) combined for just 20 total minutes.

Chris Jones, a former Lightning player, amassed 33 points in a Windsor win over London at Bud Gardens. (Photo: Matt Hiscox Photography).

3. Nothing in life comes for free. If you’re the London Lightning, that includes ‘free’ throws, which they’ve struggled to make this season. In fact, the team ranks second-to-last in that category (68.9%), ahead of only the Montreal Tundra (66.1%) heading into a new week of BSL action.

That is a poor percentage. By contrast, the Sudbury Five, the league leaders, are at 78.9%, a full 10 percentage points ahead of the Lightning. Notably, that has played a part in Sudbury averaging 2.7 more points per game than London so far.

Jeremiah Mordi (85.7%) and Millinghaus (83.3%) have been good, and Mike Nuga (77.8%) has been respectable. But that’s where it falls off. The two killers, at least to this point, have been Jermaine Haley Jr. and Billy White – primarily, because they get to the line so often. Haley is at just 68.4% on 5.7 attempts per game, while White is a ghastly 54.9% on 4.6 attempts per game.

White’s output is particularly head-scratching after he shot a strong 81.8% for the Windsor Express last year. However, his free throw shooting has fluctuated throughout his career. For instance, he was only 68.4% with the Express the year before last. And while he was a respectable 74.2% during the COVID-shortened 2019-20 season with the Moncton Magic, he was a woeful 57.5% the year before that.

It’s certainly something worth monitoring. With how difficult he is to guard down low, White is going to get to the line often. The question is how many will he make?

(Remarkably, White’s overall field goal percentage of 58.6% is higher than his free throw mark. In fact, his three-point percentage of 52.4% is nearly as high).

4. Spread out scoring. A quick look at the individual leaderboard in the first year of BSL action shows that the Lightning differ from most teams in the scoring department, where opposition scoring has largely been dominated by one or two players. Meanwhile, though the Lightning (8-4) are currently in first place, their top scorer, Shadell Millinghaus (19.9 ppg), is only seventh in the six-team league.

Mike Nuga (16.6 ppg), the team’s next highest scorer, is 11th in the league. Notably, those two players have come off the bench for the Lightning in 20 of their combined 21 games. That’s also not the case for the other BSL teams, whose top scorers are regular starters.

After the Lightning’s bench scoring duo, a trio of starters follow, including Billy White (15.4 ppg), Jermaine Haley Jr. (13.9 ppg) and Jeremiah Mordi (13.7 ppg). No other current London player is averaging points in the double digits. In fact, depth scoring is something coach Plumb says needs addressing, and the organization is looking to make a move to find some.

“We need scoring off the bench,” Plumb said matter-of-factly, speaking to the absences of scoring after the top five bucket-getters. “I need a guy that’s going to come in and produce on a night-to-night basis.”

Jachai Taylor, who is averaging 9.0 points in his first 12 games in a Lightning uniform, had 24 against the TBL’s Tri-State Admirals recently, but he’s struggled with consistency. His previous high had been 22 points on opening night against Sudbury back on Dec. 28.

Jachai Taylor, an athletic guard, has yet to find his footing with the Lightning this season. (Photo: Owen Price Photography).

5. Glimpses of Gordon. When he comes on the floor, teams take notice. So, too, do Lightning fans, who have been treated to several satisfying dunks from big man Andrew Gordon, who has played in eight games since he joined the organization. The only problem is he hasn’t come on the floor enough to prolong that excitement.

“He’s still not in great shape, so I can only play him for three or four minutes at a time,” said Plumb of his big centre. “We need to get him in much better shape. We’re trying, we’re working every day. I gotta really push him on the treadmill.”

The coach has certainly liked what he’s seen from Gordon so far, though, even if it has been in short spurts. And on Sunday against Windsor, he played a season-high 22 minutes. The result? Fifteen points (6-of-10 shooting, 3-of-4 from the line) with seven rebounds and a pair of steals.

“He’s an animal. He’s a really tough kid,” said Plumb. “He hurt his leg a little bit there down the stretch [Sunday], but he plays so hard all the time.”

He’s played in double digits only three times in eight outings so far, but he’s been efficient with his playing time, making an impact before heading back to the bench for air. If he’d accrued enough playing time, he’d currently be tied with teammate Amir Yusuf for the top field goal percentage (65.6%) in the league. He certainly leads all Lightning players in dunks, and fans should keep tabs on the big man for when he’s ready to play bigger minutes. He could very well be a difference maker later in the year.

UPCOMING GAMEDAYS

7 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 7 vs. Pontiac Pharaohs

7 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 10 at Sudbury Five