Around the Perimeter: Playoff prep happens now

With only two games left, the Lightning are making adjustments and planning for playoffs; Is Chris Jones still in the picture? A breakdown of year one of the NBLC-TBL partnership; All this and more from columnist Jason Winders …

(Photo: Matt Hiscox Photography).

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STARTING FIVE

1. Redemption song. Never say never in the NBL Canada. You’ll remember that the Lightning parted ways with their talented-yet-volatile floor general after an on-court tantrum during a game against Sudbury on April 14. That outburst resulted in a league suspension for the remainder of the regular season; the Bolts cut him the same day.

But with an underperforming backcourt, the Lightning might consider bringing Jones back for the playoffs.

“Chris Jones is still here,” Lightning head coach Doug Plumb said. “He’s working out every day. He hasn’t practiced yet because we gave him some space to do what he has to deal with. But he’s working out with my assistant every single day. He’s lifting weights. He’s running sprints. And I can add Chris, so that's nice.”

Plumb continued, “I don’t want to put all the pressure on Chris to come back after being out for six weeks and say, ‘Here you go – save us!’”

Jones averaged 15.9 points, 5.0 rebounds, 4.6 assists, and 2.1 steals in 17 games this season.

2. The sad and salacious story of Royce White. Some of you have been following the story of Royce White, the former London Lightning star and NBL Canada MVP who has gone full conspiracy theorist as he seeks the Republican nomination for Minneapolis’s 5th District, which has been held by Ilhan Omar since 2019.

White, a former first-round draft pick in the NBA whose playing career was derailed by mental health issues, faces a steep climb for the nomination against Cicely Davis, who won a 77-26 vote from Minnesota Republican delegates for their endorsement.

But stranger things have happened in American politics.

Fortunately (or not), The Washington Post profiled White last week in a lengthy story, How a former NBA player and activist became a far-right media darling. It describes White as every bit the train wreck you would think it would be. When names like Alex Jones, Tim Pool, Steve Bannon, and Jordan Peterson pop up, you know it’s heading to a bad place.

Post reporter David Gardner did a bit of poking around with league and team officials. But, as always, our Canadian stories always pale next to the Americans. Here’s the relevant Canadian content:

“In 2016, White re-emerged with the National Basketball League of Canada, leading the London Lightning to a championship (and, yes, flying with teammates to select road games). But his anxiety didn’t dissipate. Frank White remembers having to hospitalize his grandson during bad panic attacks as he was getting ready to return to Minnesota. And he was suspended for 11 games during the 2017-18 Canadian season after getting into a shouting match with fans, an official and the league’s deputy commissioner.

During those two years in Canada, White became more politically aware. When controversial Canadian psychologist and right-wing culture warrior Jordan Peterson was condemned for criticizing a bill that would have prohibited discrimination based on gender identity and expression, White did a deep dive of Peterson’s posts and clips. ‘I wanted to go hear what he had to say,’ White said. ‘And when I went to listen to him, I thought: This guy is clean. … What is all the hatred towards him for? I’m not getting it.’”

Lordy, who could have guessed, a Jordan Peterson cameo appearance.

It’s a wild feature, and I encourage you to read it.

But, honestly, my opinion on these profiles has swung 180 degrees in the last few years, as I tend to see these as sad more than salacious. This is a sick man who is being taken advantage of by powerful people for money and ratings. When White loses – and he will lose – and guys like Bannon cast him aside, then what happens to this still young man? Do they make him a cable news and internet sideshow? Does he seek deeper into his troubles? I am not a doctor (at least that kind), but I am a reporter who has covered people like this for 30 years. The Royce White story strikes me as one that is headed for a tragic end.

3. It’s still a team game. End-of-season awards time is upon us. While a few London Lightning players will certainly be under consideration for some of the top awards (looking at you Terry Thomas for Canadian Player of the Year), odds are that the league’s best team might miss out on many of the major awards. Lots of reasons for that, including some early season blowouts that let them play 10 deep and late-season injuries that have kept some of the team’s best players from padding their numbers.

But forget individuals for a moment. Where this team stands out is when you look at team stats. It’s quite incredible, really.

It is easy to forget what an exceptional roster of talent Lightning head coach Doug Plumb assembled early on, as injuries have robbed fans of seeing a truly special team perform. Even still, we are witnessing a team that dominates. On offense, London leads the league in total field goals made, field goal percentage, total rebounds per game, assists per game, and points per game. On defense, they lead the league in fewest total field goals allowed, defensive rebounds, rebound margin per game, turnovers per game, and have given up the fewest points per game.

Few of these numbers are even close.

Want to guess the only areas where they sink to the bottom of the league? Not hard if you have been paying attention this season. London is dead last in 3-pointers made, 3-point percentage, and free throw percentage.

Terry Thomas, reigning Canadian Player of the Week, has put the Lightning on his shoulders at times while the team has been banged up with injuries. (Photo: Matt Hiscox Photography).

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4. International incidents and accidents, hints and allegations. The NBL Canada-TBL cross-border partnership has wrapped up for 2022. While the Yanks took the first-ever NBL Canada-TBL All-Star Game, the Canadians went 16-8 against the Americans in the regular season. London and KW led the way by going 5-1 against the TBL, with Windsor at 4-2 and Sudbury at 2-4.

While the Albany Patroons had, arguably, the season’s loudest interleague victory by handing the then-undefeated Lightning their first loss of the season on March 31, Toledo Glass City was the class of the TBL going 2-0 against the NBL Canada. If the partnership continues next year, no franchise is going to argue with seeing Lansing land on their schedule. The Pharaohs went 0-5 against the Canadians.

Here’s how the TBL stacked up vs. NBL Canada opponents:

Toledo Glass City 2-0
Albany Patroons 1-0
Indiana All-Americans 1-0
Syracuse Stallions 2-1
Kokomo Bobkats 2-2
Lebanon Leprechauns 0-1
Dayton Flight 0-1
Flint United 0-3
Jamestown Jackals 0-3
Lansing Pharaohs 0-5

5. It’s the most wonderful time of the year. The 2022 NBL Canada Playoffs picture has – almost – sorted itself out just over a week to go in the regular season. The postseason will tip off on Sunday, May 15, following the conclusion of the league’s 10th anniversary regular season on Friday, May 13. That tournament will lead to the league crowning its first champion in nearly three years.

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.

That means the London Lightning (18-4) will take on the Windsor Express (6-16) with the series starting in London. The KW Titans (12-11) and Sudbury Five (12-9) will be matched up in the other semi-final, although homecourt advantage has yet to be determined.

The 2022 NBL Canada Finals will also be a best-of-five series following a 2-2-1 format with the highest remaining seed getting home-court advantage.

A complete playoff schedule will be released at a later date.

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

Would be hard to argue if you said this team was being held together by duct tape and Terry Thomas right now. The Lightning shooting guard pulled off an elite double-double this week, being named the league’s Canadian Player of the Week for the second straight week (April 24 and May 1). It is his third time receiving the honour this season (March 6 being the other). … The Lightning outscored the Windsor Express by a combined 62-24 in the fourth quarter of back-to-back games this week. Not going to lose many games that way. That total includes a 31-8 drubbing in the 113-99 win in Windsor on Sunday and a similar 31-16 spread in the 105-96 win in London Monday. … Guard Mareik Isom went 6-7 from 3 against Windsor on Monday. The rest of the team? 0-18.

BEYOND MY BYLINE

Stumbled onto this wonderful article about a week in 1968 that Johnny Carson tapped singer-actor-activist Harry Belafonte to guest host The Tonight Show. If you have never heard about it, you are not alone. Once you read, check out the documentary The Sit-In: Harry Belafonte Hosts The Tonight Show on Crave.

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