Around the Perimeter: Will Lightning take care of ‘unfinished business’?
Can the Lightning cap off a dominant season by winning an NBLC championship? Only the K-W Titans stand in the way of London capturing a fifth title — in the league’s 10th anniversary season.
The Lightning’s Jordan Jensen-Whyte will return from injury and be available for the NBLC Finals. (Photo: Matt Hiscox Photography).
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STARTING FIVE
1. Unfinished business. On the eve of the 2022 NBL Canada Finals, this franchise has not forgotten what might have been in 2020.
“This continues from the past season for us,” London Lightning head coach Doug Plumb explained. “Last time we were here, we got robbed by COVID. Not many of those same people are here with us, but we share the same sentiment of I didn’t come here to just make the finals. I came here to win. That's the reason all of our guys are here, too.”
The 2019-20 Lightning were coming off a first-place league finish in 2018-19, but a disappointing first-round playoff exit, denying the team an NBL Canada championship three-peat.
On March 11, 2020, the Lightning were 15-9 and leading the Central Division by a game and a half. The franchise was tops in the league in terms of total and average attendance. That night, the squad shrugged off a slow start against the Sudbury Five to earn a 122-113 victory. Just days later, however, the league shut down. COVID-19 became a reality in everyone’s lives.
Only Cameron Forte, Mareik Isom, Abednego Lufile, and Jaylon Tate remain from that roster. But this unfinished business is less about, as they say, the names on the back of the jersey, as it is about the name on the front.
“Throughout the year, we’ve struggled with complacency. You’ve heard me say that a lot of times – a lot,” Plumb continued. “Everybody knows you don’t come to the Lightning to just play here in front of fans; you play here to win. Now is the time that all of our work throughout the year is paying dividends. People understand the expectations – to whom much is given, much is expected, so we know what the deal is. You have got to win.”
2. Rich get richer. Seriously, this must drive the competition wild, but Lightning Devil Magic strikes again as the league’s top seed, who just swept out a first-round opponent, will add another key playmaker for the final round. Forward Jordan Jensen-Whyte will be ready to go for the series starting with Game 1 on Friday. As a result, guard Josiah Mastandrea will be listed as inactive for the series.
London will have a full week off since it wrapped its series against the Windsor Express; that is plenty of time to heal sore bodies – and get one more back.
“It’s nice that we’ve had a (long) gap before the next round. Yes, it kind of sucks from a continuity standpoint and maybe a little bit of rhythm, but it’s been good for us in terms of practice and getting guys healthy,” Lightning head coach Doug Plumb said. “Getting Jordan back will be huge. With a team like KW, we need perimeter defenders – the kind of guys who can make people’s lives tough. Jordan is a big piece of that for us. He can really keep guys in front and make their life harder.”
That looks to be the lone roster move.
The Lightning’s planned roster for the NBL Canada Finals includes guards Lance Adams, Jordan Burns, Jermaine Haley Jr., Chris Jones, and Marcus Ottey; forwards Cameron Forte, Mareik Isom, Jordan Jensen-Whyte, Abednago Lufile, and Terry Thomas; and centre Amir Williams.
3. Hardware on the hardwood. RONA isn’t as staked with hardware as this series. Four players and a head coach in this series took home seven of the NBLC’s top regular season awards, including: KW Titans guard Joel Kindred was named both MVP and Most Improved Player; Titans guard Shakwon Barrett was named Rookie of the Year; Titans centre Tyran Walker earned Defensive Player of the Year honours; Lightning head coach Doug Plumb was named Coach of the Year; and Lightning forward Terry Thomas was named both Sixth Man of the Year and Canadian Player of the Year.
“Just look at the talent on display. You couldn’t ask for a better way to cap off our 10th anniversary season,” said Audley Stephenson, NBLC VP of Basketball Operations.
4. Pain in the paint. Nobody had an answer for them all year. At all. In the regular season, forward Cameron Forte and centre Amir Williams were dominant underneath, a twin tower force that wrecked the league. But that didn’t fully hold up against the Windsor Express in the first round.
Flash back: 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. That was largely on the back of MVP-like performances from Forte and Williams.
But the team stumbled somewhat down the stretch, as injuries to the big men took a toll. The team was outscored or tied by their opponents in four straight games in the paint, only to right the ship and close the season with three straight dominating performances down low, including 50-38 over Windsor on May 2, and 84-34 and 60-32 over Sudbury on May 9 and May 12, respectively.
In round one, Windsor won the battle underneath, outscoring London 46-34 in Game 1, playing the Lightning to a near standstill (52-50) in Game 2, and then dominating again 40-26 in Game 3. Nevertheless, the Lightning swept the series thanks to timely guard play, free throws, and deep talent that can outlast nearly anyone. In the three-game series, Forte and Williams put up averages of 11 points, 8 rebounds and 19 points, 9.7 rebounds, respectively.
“Windsor was a vastly improved team. That series could have gone either way. There were multiple points in each game where things were hanging in the balance. At the end of the day, we made plays, got stops, and wore them down,” Lightning head coach Doug Plumb said.
Like everyone else, Plumb noticed the dominating performance of Express centre William Claiborne.
The nimble-footed big man was everywhere, averaging 19.7 points and 8.7 rebounds per game, including a series-high 27-point performance in Game 2.
“Claiborne was a heck of a player,” Plumb continued. “He's just an interesting cover because he's about 6-foot-11-inches, 320 pounds but has incredible feet and hands. Obviously, his conditioning was a factor, but it wasn't as big of a factor as I anticipated. He had a heck of a series. He gave Amir fits – not only was he as big as Amir, but he moved his feet extremely well laterally. When you have a seven-footer who’s facing up then hitting step backs, well, you know it’s going to be a long night.”
Plumb compared him to Glen ‘Big Baby’ Davis, the former NBA standout who ended his career as a member of the Plumb-led Saint John’s Edge. “The things that he did at his weight with his size, that is good for us to face. It was an incredible challenge. Amir will be the first to tell you this that that guy ate his lunch.”
Throw in the contributions of former MVP Billy White (18.7 points, 6.7 rebounds per game), and it’s easy to see how Windsor was a ‘big’ pain.
On the plus side, it shouldn’t matter that much in the Finals.
The KW Titans play a completely different game, a run-and-run style that leans heavily on a three-headed monster of MVP Joel Kindred, Eric Ferguson, and Chad Frazier. (You could even throw in Tyrrel Tate for good measure.)
Lightning guard Chris Jones. (Photo: Matt Hiscox Photography).
“Everything I have been saying since the beginning of the year is starting to come to fruition now,” Plumb said. “Windsor pushing us was good just from a team chemistry standpoint, because it was the first time all year that we were really, really pushed. And every time we answered the bell. Our team knows that when their backs are against the wall, they can overcome.
“We’re in a mode right now where people don’t care about individual stats. Sometimes, even as you progress through the playoffs, people are still concerned with their numbers, or they want to get home because it’s been a long year. We don’t have that at all right now. Everyone’s bought in. People are happy for other people’s success. It makes my life a whole lot easier.”
5. Tale of the tape. In 2022, the Titans are averaging 103.5 points per game, shooting 46.1% from the floor, including 35.2% from 3. They also averaged 49 rebounds and 18.3 assists per game. The Lightning, meanwhile, are averaging 108.8 points per game, shooting 48.4% from the floor, including 31.9% from 3. They also averaged 50.0 rebounds and 21.3 assists per game.
In head-to-head regular season matchups, the Lightning (20-4) went 5-1 against the Titans (12-12) with KW’s lone topper coming on a narrow 103-102 victory at home on April 2. London boasts a perfect home record (12-0, 2-0) in both the regular and postseason.
This is a fun matchup, as both teams play their best games on the move – and run deep.
The Titans have scored 449 total points in four playoff games, with starters accounting for 354 of them (78.8%). The Lightning have scored 323 total points in three playoff games, with starters accounting for 234 (72.4%). When you look closer at the bench contributions, both the Lightning (28.8%) and Titans (28.6%) count on their benches to deliver a bit more than a quarter of the total minutes.
With that floor time, the Titans bench is averaging 23.8 points per game, headed by a 36-point effort in Game 3 of their first-round matchup with the Sudbury Five. In its sweep of the Windsor Express, the Lightning bench averaged 29.7 points per game, also topped by a 36-point effort in Game 1 of their first-round series. Of 89 total bench points for London, guard Chris Jones accounts for 45 alone.
The Lightning are averaging .43 points per bench minute versus .35 for the Titans.
(Photo: Matt Hiscox Photography).
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LIGHTNING NOTES
Here’s your schedule for the best-of-five NBL Canada Finals pitting the London Lightning (1) versus the KW Titans (3):
Game 1 | KW Titans at London Lightning | 7 p.m. Friday, May 27
Game 2 | KW Titans at London Lightning | 2 p.m. Sunday, May 29
Game 3 | London Lightning at KW Titans | 7 p.m. Wednesday, June 1
Game 4* | London Lightning at KW Titans | 7 p.m. Friday, June 3
Game 5* | KW Titans at London Lightning | 7 p.m. Monday, June 6
* If necessary
BEYOND MY BYLINE
Two quick ones this week: Just a great read from my former colleague Trent Rosecrans, The Athletic beat writer covering the Reds. Check out his piece on a Canadian legend, Joey Votto goes back home to the Toronto city park that forged him into MLB star. … Writer Roger Angell, one of my writing heroes and one of the finest baseball writers ever, died last week at 101. So many amazing tributes flowed in for the man. Google his name and pick one (like this one from Emma Baccellieri), or simply buy one of his books (or ask to borrow my copy if you catch me reading one before a Majors game). They are a perfect companion on a hot summer’s day. When I heard the news of his death, I revisited my fave story, from my fave writer, about my fave all-time player, Distance: The game belongs to Bob Gibson.
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Note from Gameday London: Want to watch the NBLC Finals but can’t make it to the game? You can purchase game passes -- and help support Gameday London along the way by using our personalized link (https://nblc.tv/lightning/r/GameDayLondon). Just click 'Start watching' to purchase your subscription.
Knight Watch: London back in familiar territory; Sam Dickinson OHL Player of the Week; Efficiency from goal-scoring Van Gorp; Powerplay clicking once again; Knights get Soo showdown Friday …