Lightning open playoffs with one goal: Repeat as champs

The London Lightning begin their NBLC title defense this week against the KW Titans in a playoff semi-final series. What to expect? Catch all the latest Lightning news & notes …

(Photo: Matt Hiscox Photography).

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There shouldn’t be any surprises. The London Lightning played the KW Titans four times in a 23-day span in April – most recently, last Sunday when they clinched first place in the NBLC standings.

Four of their final seven regular season games came against the Titans. They know them well. The Titans know them, too. So, will London’s opening round playoff series simply come down to who better prepares and executes a gameplan against a familiar opponent?

The short answer is yes. But the longer answer, at least for Lightning head coach Doug Plumb, is bigger picture – and it focuses more on his own team rather than the opponent.

“If we move the basketball offensively and execute our own stuff, we’re very tough to beat. If we don’t do that, and we play ‘hero’ basketball, or we get complacent, then we can be beat,” said Plumb two days prior to London’s first playoff contest of the year.

“Defensively, we’re as good as they come, especially in the half court. But we need to take care of the basketball, we need to win the rebounding battle, and we need to execute offensively.”

By ‘hero’ basketball, Plumb means situations where players get away from the offense and team basketball and try to put things in their own hands, which usually ends up in low percentage shots and turnovers.

That hasn’t been the case for the Lightning down the stretch as they’ve won seven in a row heading into the playoffs. The team has been getting contributions throughout the lineup. They’re hoping to carry over that play into the 2023 playoffs, which get underway Saturday night at Budweiser Gardens …

STARTING FIVE

1. Lightning vs. Titans: Familar foes. When they won 90-77 last Sunday at The Auditorium in Kitchener, the Lightning not only clinched first place – and home court advantage throughout the playoffs – but they also ensured they’d face the Titans in the first round of the playoffs. London finished with a 24-6 record; KW was 10-14.

On paper, this series, a best-of-five affair, grossly favours the Lightning. Not only did they fare much better in the regular season, but they won six of the seven contests between the teams this year. But not so fast. London’s coaches themselves deemed three of those victories ‘ugly wins,’ where they were fortunate to come away on the winning side.

The Titans are a better team than their record suggests. They took two this year from the Sudbury Five (22-9), the team London narrowly beat for top spot in the standings. In fact, they beat the Five just last Saturday, the night before the Lightning came to town. In convincing fashion, they handed Sudbury a 100-78 loss. Aside from their losses to London, the Titans won six of their other seven remaining games in April.

“They play extremely hard. And they’re good athletes,” said Plumb. “So, we need to match their energy and surpass that energy. I fully expect us to do that. We’ve been preparing the whole year. But I think in the playoffs you have to go in with a healthy level of paranoia in the back of your mind, from an energy standpoint, that you could be beaten on any single night.”

Plumb has tried to install that mentality throughout the season – not to play down to an opponent or take anyone lightly. And the players know it. Heck, it took a Marcus Ottey three-pointer with 3.1 seconds left two games ago to avoid a loss against the Titans.

The Titans rebound well (second in the league behind London), and they led the NBLC in steals per game. London will need to keep in check Sam Akano (17.7 ppg), Jalen Hayes (15.3 ppg), Mike Poole (13.9 ppg) and veteran Joel Kindred.

SEASON SERIES: London vs. KW (London wins 6-1)

London 90 @ KW 77 (Apr. 30)
London 91 @ KW 90 (Apr. 26)
London 98 @ KW 83 (Apr. 12)
KW 94 @ London 102 (Apr. 8)
KW 82 @ London 89 (March 16)
London 111 @ KW 113 (March 12)
London 97 @ KW 89 (March 4) 

And now …

NBLC Playoffs (Semi-final) - London Lightning (1) vs. KW Titans (4) (best-of-five series)

Game 1: Sat. May 6 (7:00pm vs. KW Titans)
Game 2: Tues. May 9 (7:00pm vs. KW Titans)
Game 3: Thurs. May 11 (7:00pm @ KW Titans)
Game 4: Sun. May 14 (7:00pm @ KW Titans) (if necessary)
Game 5: Mon. May 15 (7:00pm vs. KW Titans) (if necessary)

2. Game changer. The Lightning have been a different team since Jermaine Haley Jr. re-joined the team after spending a season in the G-League. In great shape and playing with confidence, he’s been the catalyst for the team during its current seven-game winning streak.

Since his return, the 26-year-old has averaged 14.8 points (52.5% shooting), 6.4 rebounds, 5.2 assists and 1.9 steals in nine games. In other words, he’s contributed everywhere – and in big minutes, averaging 36.1 mpg, second only to the team’s leading scorer, Jordan Burns (who has missed the last six games due to a back injury).

Most importantly? The offense has gone through Haley, who, impressively, can play all five positions on the court, 1 thru 5, and tailor his game to suit each one.

“Jermaine, to me, is the key to our team,” said head coach Plumb. “Before Jermaine, we were really having trouble containing wings. And our bigs would be not strong enough vs. their bigs … it would be a calamity of things that would hurt us. Jermaine is so versatile. He’s 6-foot-8 and can play (everywhere) on the floor. He’s got like a 6-11 wingspan. He’s unique. He’s a special talent, for sure.”

And, despite handling the ball so much, he’s approached the game with a team-first mentality, taking high-percentage shots and finding open teammates for smart shots. But it starts, he says, on the other end of the floor.

“I feel like my game starts on the defensive end, and my energy comes from defense,” the Vancouver native said following London’s first-place clinching win over KW last Sunday. “I try to play as smart as I can on that side of the ball and hope that it transfers over to offense. And the offense dictates itself, because the ball has energy. I feel like I don’t just put points on the board or assists.”

Indeed, Haley impacts the offensive game in so many ways that he’s become the conduit through which everything flows – for a team that is surging into the playoffs. If he’d played the entire season in London? It’s this columnist’s opinion that he’d be in the running for league MVP.

(Photo: Matt Hiscox Photography).

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3. Burns’ back and team health. The Lightning player that IS up for MVP honours is guard Jordan Burns, who has enjoyed a fantastic season in London in 2023. In 21 games, the Tennessee native has averaged 20.8 points, 8.6 assists and 4.4 rebounds.

The problem? He’s been out of action for the last six games due to a back injury and hasn’t suited up since Apr. 8. Will he be back for the KW series? It’s unknown at this point, and Plumb says the guard is considered day-to-day as he continues to heal from the nagging injury.

Losing your leading scorer is no small loss, of course, but the Lightning have risen above it so far. A Burns return would/will add (return) a major weapon offensively, even if he’s primarily a catch-and-shoot player upon his return.

Otherwise, London’s health is pretty good, and Plumb expects to have everyone else available for the KW series – including Elijah Lufile, who missed a pair of games for personal reasons. Mareik Isom and Terry Thomas, who have dealt with nagging injuries, will both be ready to go Saturday for Game 1 at Bud Gardens.

The Lightning suited up just eight players for their season finale Tuesday in Sudbury, a 106-101 win over the Five. If there’s a positive to be gleaned from missing players, it’s the experience gained from the players who, subsequently, get more minutes. In fact, that’s something Plumb points to as a major advantage the Lightning have this year heading into the playoffs.

On Tuesday, for instance, Lance Adams stepped up and scored 21 points. Cam Lard, Kur Jongkuch and Ottey continued to see expanded minutes, too, preparing them all for a playoff run.

(Photo: Matt Hiscox Photography).

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4. Defense wins championships? Coach Plumb isn’t shy about talking up his team’s defense. “We’re as good a defensive team as I’ve seen in this league,” he says.

The numbers certainly work in favour of that assertion. The Lightning allowed a league-low 95.3 points per game in 30 contests during the regular season – by far the best in the NBLC (the Titans were second at 101.8 ppg against). A team usually earns kudos for holding a team under 100 for a single game. London did it 19 times this season.

That is an impressive feat. Against KW, they allowed over 100 points just once, in the Titans’ lone win against London on the year, a 113-111 contest at The Auditorium back on March 12. In seven games against the Lightning, the Titans averaged just 89.7 points.

Lard and Jongkuch are proven shot blockers, and Haley and Jeremiah Mordi lead a strong defensive front.

“Mordi is as strong as they come,” Plumb said of the veteran guard who contributes across the board. Impressively, the Brooklyn, NY native has averaged nearly 10 rebounds (9.9) a game in his 14 contests this year. He’s just 6-foot-3.

“Diego is also a very sound on-ball defender,” added Plumb of London’s newest addition, Diego Kapelan, who played the minimum five games to qualify for the postseason. Kapelan, a Vancouver native who London’s head coach has known for 15 years, came to London following his pro season in Greece.

Did we mention Mike Nuga? He brings the energy more than anyone on the squad, a hard worker who’s willing to grab loose balls and fight on every possession. It’s an interesting difference between last year’s Lighting team and the 2023 version. While the former got it done with offensive firepower, this year’s squad is combining offensive talent with a very strong defense that has kept London in every game this season.

5. Keys to victory. If the Lightning win their semi-final series against the KW Titans, what will have gone right? Plumb says it’ll be three key things: an ‘overall relentlessness’ in sticking to the gameplan; moving the basketball and executing offensively, while limiting turnovers; and staying together as a team throughout.

That third key is one that’s been evident for much of the season – especially over the last two weeks when London has had a dress rehearsal for the playoffs with a string of ‘must-win’ games in order to clinch first place and gain home court advantage.

“We have a great level of togetherness right now, and our guys are really playing hard for each other. They don’t care who’s winning MVP, who’s getting all the points, whatever. They know all boats rise with the tide.

“On a game-to-game basis, it could be one of six or seven guys on any given night who comes up big. Our 10th man has won us games (this season). Our depth, at the end of the day, is what I think will shine through.”

And that playoff mentality? They’ve been locked in for a couple weeks now.

“Our level of focus and intensity has been cranked up. And it’s really been cranked up in the last week and a half. Our guys are already in that mindset.”