Around the Perimeter: Bolts rounding into playoff form

A big road win in Sudbury had to boost the Bolts’ confidence as they prepare for playoffs; Plenty of Lightning players are up for potential awards; The playoff schedule is set. All this and more from columnist Jason Winders …

Newcomer Jordan Burns had a huge game Monday, pouring in 34 points (13-for-20 from the floor with seven three-pointers) in a 120-104 win in Sudbury. (Photo: Luke Durda).

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STARTING FIVE

1. They all count. Don’t tell Doug Plumb these last two games are meaningless. “Winners compete every single time they are on the floor. It doesn’t matter,” said the London Lightning head coach after the squad’s 120-104 win over the Sudbury Five Monday night. Plumb noted that a 3-3 road record against NBL Canada opponents in the last month has not sat well with the team.

“For us, this was a huge game. Win or lose, we had to play the right way. From a competitive standpoint, we have not had a game yet, or the general need, to be hyper-competitive with people. We’ve either been docile and lost and then rebounded, or we steamrolled people at the beginning of the season. To have a contentious environment like that, to have the guys have a little bit more ‘umph’ to want to beat somebody they could potentially see in the playoffs, that is huge for us. We haven’t been playing with a lot of fire. Tonight was great for us.”

The Lightning put their undefeated home record on the line in the regular season finale against the Five on Thursday night.

2. Paint them back. Lots of casual observers got excited by the 84-34 points-in-the-paint differential against Sudbury Monday night. Cameron Forte (26 points) and Amir Williams (18 points) were the biggest beneficiaries on the inside, and newcomer Jordan Burns (34 points) certainly loved the open looks on the outside. (It also helps that Burns can make the shots that come from the open looks.)

Part of that number involved Sudbury losing Zena Edosomwan, who recently left the team to sign on with the Ottawa Blackjacks. But no matter, that points-in-the-paint number signals more than flash; it shows a team getting back to what made them successful.

The Lightning started the season with 17 straight games where they were not outscored in the paint, including wild differentials like 42-6 against the Lansing Pharaohs on March 6 and 84-30 against the Windsor Express on March 13.

Over the last six games, however, the Lightning have been dominated in the paint, outscored or tied by their opponents in four straight games: 46-54 in a 118-110 loss to Sudbury Five on April 14; 26-40 in a 110-92 loss to Windsor on April 22; 38-46 in a 106-103 win over the KW Titans on April 23; and 46-46 in a 113-99 win over Windsor on May 1.

Monday marked the second game in a row that the Lightning returned to dominance down low, previously outscoring Windsor 50-38 in a 105-96 win on May 2.

3. Let’s check the leaderboard. With one game to play, the Lightning have a handful of players atop the league’s leaderboard. Cameron Forte (66.7%), Amir Williams (65.1%), and Jermaine Haley Jr. (57.3%) sit 1,2,3 for field goal percentage; Mareik Isom (96.2%) for free throw percentage; Jaylon Tate (104) for assists; and Jaylon Tate (3.7) for A/TO (assists-to-turnover ratio). If you are super into stats, Forte (70) has a chance to overtake Subury’s Zena Edosomwan (71) for the offensive rebound leadership in the final game on Thursday.

4. Penny for your thoughts on the Nickel City. The City of Sudbury Chamber of Commerce won’t be looking to the London Lightning for a testimonial any time soon. Something about the Nickel City brings out the fire in the Bolts. Maybe it’s the crowd. Or the officiating. Or the six-plus-hour bus ride. Last time the Bolts took the hardwood in the Sudbury Community Arena it ended in one of the team’s four losses and the suspension of floor leader Chris Jones for the remainder of the regular season. On Monday, London picked up a couple of technical fouls, including one by head coach Doug Plumb when the team was up 10 with two minutes to go. “I love it when we’re in an environment like that. It’s always fun to play up here. The fans get on us and we responded,” Plumb said. “This was one of the most fun games we have played. Regardless, if positions are secured, you’re lined up against the second-best team in the league. We’re talking junk. They’re talking junk. Fans are getting on you. It was fun for sure.”

Cameron Forte has put up MVP-type numbers in 2022. In 19 regular season games, he’s averaged 20.7 points and 10.6 rebounds on a league-best 66.7% shooting from the field. (Photo: Luke Durda).

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5. Playoffs? Are you kidding me? Playoffs? The 2022 NBL Canada Playoffs picture is clear. All four current NBL Canada franchises will qualify for this year’s playoffs, with overall record determining the seeding. The 2022 NBL Canada Semi-Final matchups pit No. 1 vs. No. 4 and No. 2 vs. No. 3 in a pair of best-of-five series. Both series will follow a 2-2-1 format with the top seed starting at home. The schedule is as follows:

London Lightning (1) vs Windsor Express (4)

Game 1 | Windsor Express at London Lightning | 2 p.m. Sunday, May 15
Game 2 | Windsor Express at London Lightning | 7 p.m. Tuesday, May 17
Game 3 | London Lightning at Windsor Express | 7:30 p.m. Friday, May 20
Game 4 | London Lightning at Windsor Express | 2 p.m. Sunday, May 22*
Game 5 | Windsor Express at London Lightning | 7 p.m. Tuesday, May 24*

Sudbury Five (2) vs. KW Titans (3)

Game 1 | KW Titans at Sudbury Five | 3 p.m. Sunday, May 15
Game 2 | KW Titans at Sudbury Five | 7 p.m. Tuesday, May 17
Game 3 | Sudbury Five at KW Titans | 7 p.m. Friday, May 20
Game 4 | Sudbury Five at KW Titans | 7 p.m. Saturday, May 21*
Game 5 | KW Titans at Sudbury Five | 7 p.m. Tuesday, May 24*

* If necessary

Tickets for all games are available through the home team box office. Follow along with all the action on NBLC-TV with broadcasts available for single-game purchase or as part of your season subscription.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the league has not crowned a champion since the Moncton Magic swept the St. John’s Edge in the 2019 NBL Canada Finals in May 2019. This year will mark the ninth champion in league history, a title claimed by the Lightning four previous times (2011-12, 2012-13, 2016-17, and 2017-18).

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LIGHTNING NOTES

The Lightning had a handful of players making the official selection pool for end-of-season awards, including Jermaine Haley Jr., Jordan Jensen-Whyte, and Terry Thomas for Canadian Player of the Year; Jordan Jensen-Whyte for Most Improved Player of the Year; Amir Williams for Defensive Player of the Year; Lance Adams and Amir Williams for Newcomer of the Year; Marcus Ottey for Rookie of the Year; Mareik Isom and Terry Thomas for Sixth Man of the Year; and Cameron Forte, Terry Thomas, and Amir Williams for Most Valuable Player. … London wraps the regular season by going 8-4 on the road, losing once to every NBL Canada team and the Albany Patroons of the TBL.

BEYOND MY BYLINE

For a guy deathly afraid of heights, I love stories about Mt. Everest, from the earliest attempts to summit to the tourist nightmare it has become today. This New Yorker story from 1954 celebrates one of my fave people that pop up in these stories. The Story of the First Sherpa to Climb to the Top of Mt. Everest Is about Tenzing Norgay, a man who had been on more Everest expeditions than any other man, and probably “deserved,” if anyone did, to reach the top.

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