Lightning look to regroup, get healthy

Around the Perimeter: Hobbled London squad sit middle of the pack; Good first impression for Godfrey. Lightning film session opens eyes; James Towns III hasn’t lit world on fire — yet; But Paul Parks has …

(Photo: Jade Sumpton).

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WHAT HAPPENED.

KW 144 – London (7-5) 133 | Thursday, Jan. 16 in London

London (8-5) 160 – Tri State Admirals 115 | Saturday, Jan. 18 in London

KW 110 – London (8-6) 97 | Sunday, Jan. 19 in KW

WHAT WE LEARNED.

This team is beat up, and they will need every minute of their 10 days off to heal up.

“No excuses – but it’s hard playing three games in four days. Guys are going to get banged up. We’re also at that part of the season where they start adding up,” Lightning head coach Jerry Williams said.

Here are the injury headlines from just last weekend: Corey Boyd was dealing with a twisted ankle and could barely walk on it at times. Dexter Williams Jr. was experiencing muscle spasms and could barely apply pressure to his leg. And then there is Joel Kindred.

Ever since getting his nose broken against Newfoundland on Jan. 3, it has been a struggle for Kindred to even breathe at times thanks to a protective – as well as heavy and uncomfortable – mask he has been playing in.

“He can barely breathe with it, so it’s taking some of his energy away,” Williams said. “When I see Joel not getting back, it’s not that he doesn’t want to, it’s that he’s breathing so hard through that mask it’s taking a lot of energy from him. He’ll grab time on the bench just to pull the mask up so he can breathe.”

Despite that challenge, Kindred still scored 25 points in back-to-back games against KW and Tri State in London. He missed the Titans game in KW because he’s also dealing with a toe injury.

Playing three games in four days ain’t for the weak. In fact, Williams only discovered 30 minutes before Sunday’s game that Kindred and Williams would be out.

Ten days off is a blessing, in a way, but it is also creates challenges for teams, especially older ones like the Lightning.

Williams explained, “You get to practice, and you beat them up and beat them up over and over again. We have an older team – everyone laughs that everybody’s my age on the roster – so I can’t just kill them and practice every single day. Their bodies are not going to maintain. Guys are breaking down as is, right now.”

Fortunately, that is the last stretch quite like that for the remainder of the year. The Lightning only play back-to-back games three more times this season, with their toughest stretch coming with three games in five days (including two road trips), March 4 (vs. the Five in London), March 7 (vs. the Express in Windsor), and March 9 (vs. the Pharaohs in Pontiac).

(Photo: Jade Sumpton).

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London (.538) sits in fourth place in the standings, behind Sudbury (.833), Windsor (.727), and KW (.571). Reminder, only conference standings (meaning BSL vs. BSL opponents) will determine the playoff standings. Newfoundland (.643) has a better overall winning percentage than London (.571), but they have played three more games against TBL opponents. The Rogues (.500) are in fifth place in conference play.

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Despite one huge subtraction (Chris Jones) and two big adds (James Towns III and Calvin Godfrey) last week, fans can expect to see more roster changes before the team takes on Pontiac on Jan. 29.

“Changes are coming,” Williams said. “Some fans are going to be happy about some of them; some fans are going to be upset about some of them. But they have to be made. We can’t keep going the way we’re going. We have to figure this thing out.”

WHAT WAS AWESOME.

First quarter. Thursday, Jan. 16. That team – that team right there and then – doesn’t lose another game all season.

Although London would go on to set a league record for points in a quarter later in the weekend (more on that in a moment), the 36 points they scored to open the game against KW was near perfection. Just look at the offensive numbers:

First quarter | 65.0% FG | 85.7% 3-point | 66.7% free throw

Success was similar on the defensive end where London held KW to:

First quarter | 41.4% FG | 37.5% 3-point | 75% free throw

Paul Parks was 3-for-3 from 3; Kindred was 4-5 from the field (and 2-2 from 3); Billy White nabbed five points along with dishing our four assists. Sure, the team was only 4-6 from the free throw line – some things never change.

“That was the absolute best basketball we’ve played all year,” Williams said. “We moved the ball around; the ball didn’t stick; everybody was touching it; and the guy who was open at the end put the shot up and made it. That’s professional basketball. We made shots.”

(Photo: Jade Sumpton).

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The Lightning welcomed the season’s first TBL opponent (Tri State Admirals) to London by shattering two BSL records: Most points in a single game (160) and most points in a single quester (46 points in the third). Seven Lightning players scored in double figures, including two double doubles from Paul Parks (31 points and 10 assists) and James Towns III (19 points and 12 assists).

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OK, so this isn’t exactly news, but Paul Parks is a beast from 3. Over three games last weekend, he went 17-32 (53.1%) from beyond the arc, including a couple of made shots from the Covent Garden Market ice rink.

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Tonzell Handy continues to be an interesting option off the bench. He had a 20 point-7 rebound-2 assist performance Thursday in London.

“I have coached Handy for years. I know what he’s going to bring to the table,” Williams said. “I don’t have to worry about Handy when he’s on the court. He’s going to go as hard as he can. He’s going to give you 110%.

“He’s going to have so many more of those same games because that’s just the player he is. He’s a country boy from Mississippi and that’s all they know. You grow up playing in the sand and they don’t know anything else but to be tough. I’m so proud of the kid. The sky is the limit for him if he can stay healthy.”

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Centre Calvin Godfrey couldn’t have arrived at a better time, with fellow big man Corey Boyd dealing with injuries. Early performances by Godfrey were encouraging, with 29 points and 18 rebounds in two games (38 minutes).

(Photo: Jade Sumpton).

WHAT NEEDS WORK.

Second and third quarter. Thursday, Jan. 16. That team – that team right there and then – loses a lot of games.

Just look at the offensive numbers … only, this time, for the next two quarters:

Second quarter | 40.9% FG | 40.0% 3-point | 33.3% free throw

Third quarter | 44.0% FG | 30.0% 3-point | 51.1% free throw

Game | 50.0% FG | 51.4% 3-point | 67.6% free throw

Something similar happened on the defensive end, as the team surrendered the following:

Second quarter | 68.4% FG | 42.9% 3-point | 50.0% free throw

Third quarter | 45.5% FG | 57.1% 3-point | 83.3% free throw

Game | 53.1% FG | 38.2% 3-point | 62.5% free throw

“We took a big lead against them, and then we started playing ‘me ball’ and that doesn’t work,” Williams said. “You have got to keep doing the same thing that you did to get you the lead. That is a professional basketball team you are playing against, and they will counter your run.”

London’s biggest weakness was the transition game, where KW scored 20-plus points just based on hustle. It’s been a season-long issue for the Bolts, and a lack of effort in the transition game (especially the transition back to the defensive end) ended up costing the team.

London gave up 17 offensive rebounds – and KW capitalized on it.

London turned the ball over 20 times – and KW capitalized on it.

London missed 12 free throws – and KW capitalized on it.

“You can’t win a game like that,” Williams continued. “I don’t care how hot you are in the first quarter, you cannot sustain a game with those facts.”

(Photo: Jade Sumpton).

Part of the Lightning film session focused on that quarter.

“I showed the guys that quarter. I let them know: This is what makes us good. This is why we are who we are. Then I got to the next quarter, and I explained that this is why we lose games. We played three quarters like this.”

It was a heated session that nobody enjoyed, but everyone benefitted from, Williams said.

(Sidebar: Imagine a weekly staff meeting at your workplace where the boss runs through a recording of everyone’s performance from the last few days and breaks it down. You thought annual reviews were tough. ‘Jane, you’re really letting us down on the TPS reports. And Jim, remember, it’s one donut per person.’)

“Players don’t like being called out. Players especially don’t like to see on film when they mess up. It is not easy. I was a player; I get that,” Williams continued. “But you need to show these guys what they’re doing wrong. It’s human nature not to like it. Players – nobody, in fact – likes to be told they’re doing it wrong. My film sessions are not nice; they’re not nice at all. But they are honest. Film doesn’t lie.

“I think we grew closer together because of the last film session we had. So, we’ll see where it goes from there.”

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London has dropped to 4-3 at Canada Life Place with Thursday’s loss to KW, and as much as I want to blame Ticketmaster (why not?), there’s something else going on that the team has yet to figure out. But among the intangibles of a season, home court advantage is a biggie.

London is chasing three teams in the standings who have been extremely successful at home: Sudbury (5-1), Windsor (4-1), and KW (5-2). Even Jamestown is finding success at home (4-1) – and they have only four total wins on the season. Newfoundland (8-4) has a slight edge on London, which finds itself only ahead of Pontiac (2-3) and Glass City (0-4) in terms of home record.

“Any time you drop a game at home, it’s a disappointment because you’re supposed to protect the court no matter what,” Williams said. “When you’re going on the road, especially in this league, it’s going to be very difficult to win, which was proven when we went on the road Sunday against KW.”

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OK, so it wasn’t the scoring outpouring you had hoped for from James Towns III. Not yet, anyway.

In three games over the weekend, Towns posted 12, 19, and 8 points. 39 total points. (As mentioned above, he did have a double-double against the Tri State Admirals.) For a guy averaging 26.9 points per game when he hit town, that was a bit of a disappointment. In fact, the performance knocked Towns (23.9 PPG) out of the league scoring lead, falling to second behind Ja’Myrin Jackson of Sudbury (25.8 PPG).

Nevertheless, this is to be expected of a guy still finding his place on a new team.

What you hopefully didn’t miss from Towns, however, was a lockdown defensive performance against KW on Sunday. KW Titan Jordan Burns went from scoring 26 points on Thursday in London, to scoring 0 on Sunday in KW with Towns sticking to him.

“Towns didn’t have a great offensive game, but he had a perfect defensive game. Perfect,” Williams said. “He made it almost impossible for Burns to get off.”

STORIES YOU MISSED.

Lightning move forward, welcome new scoring

Veteran Jones suspended indefinitely by league

Rejuvenated Ottey free to be himself

WHAT’S NEXT.

Pontiac | Wednesday, Jan. 29 | 7 p.m.

Rhode Island Kraken | Saturday, Feb. 1 | 7 p.m.

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