NATION basketball reporter Justin Marville previews the Barbados Amateur Basketball Association’s Premier League play-offs by looking at the first round series between Lumber Company Lakers and Cougars starting tomorrow.
IT’S ONE ROUND earlier than most expected for basketball’s next best rivalry as both Lakers and Cougars looked certain league finalists, following identical 6-0 starts to this season.
But if the best-of-three series will be wanting for more games, it certainly won’t be lacking in storylines, not with former Lakers players Peter Bancroft, Adrian Stewart and Ricardo Jemmott looking to upstage a side they all won championships with.
There’s the subplot of Stewart versus Andre Lockhart for the title of Barbados’ best, while the series will serve to juxtapose the continuity of a perennial, well established title contender with the seemingly flash-in-the-pan nature of a team just thrown together in two seasons.
Of course, the “haves” against the “have-nots” should also provide the perfect backdrop for a matchup of two teams that play contrastingly different styles on defence, thus setting the stage for what looks to be one of those epic series.
They’ve been there, done that. And then some.
To say these Lakers are battle-tested is an understatement akin to reasoning that Peter Wickham knows polls, with the nucleus of this squad set to appear in its ninth straight postseason after contesting six of the last seven league finals.
Everyone on this roster save Mark Bridgeman has won at least one championship, so the pressure of performing in the play-offs shouldn’t be too much of an issue for them as it might be for Cougars’ six Premier League postseason debutants.
It also doesn’t hurt any that Lakers have arguably the local game’s best player in Lockhart, who’s feasted on Cougars’ haphazard defence while averaging an other-worldly 29 points and nine dimes in two contests against the men from Hothersal this season.
And the top-flight point guard isn’t the only one who stands to prosper in this series as Cougars’ defence doesn’t figure to be disciplined enough to handle the league’s most prolific offence (82.1 ppg), which is predicated on efficient ball movement and sound floor spacing.
Cougars’ insistence on playing a 2-3 or 1-2-2 zone only makes matters worse against a squad just full of knockdown spot-up jump-shooters, who should have a field day with the space they will be allotted while playing inside the friendly confines of the Wildey Gym and Barbados Community College.
Additionally, Lakers can probably bank on getting even more easy scores by way of baskets in transition as the Husbands men have shown a penchant for turning over Cougars’ sloppy ball handlers, which suits their fast-paced guards just fine.
Their defence isn’t anything to scoff at either, not after Lakers managed to allow the third fewest points per game by limiting the type of baskets in the open court that Cougars thrive on.
Moreover, they should have enough big men (Omari Corbin, Ormond Haynes, Andre Boadu, Matthew Moore) to throw at the frontcourt combo of Ricardo Jemmott and Shawn Gaskin that has proven a source of strength for Cougars.
X-Factor: Mark Bridgeman
The least experienced cog in this wheel might very be its most important, at least for this series where Lakers will need every bit of his great rebounding instincts and shot-creating ability.
Ordinarily, the six-foot-six forward would be deploying his talents out on the perimeter, but Lakers can no longer afford to go with two offensively challenged big men on the floor at the same time for long stretches. This means a lot of crunch time minutes for Bridgeman as a “small-ball” power forward, where he will try to space the floor better for Lockhart’s drives while keeping bigger players off the boards.
Why Cougars will win
They might not have the combined experience of their Laker counterparts, but Cougars’ best players, Stewart and Jemmott, have both led league champions and that should be good enough for the Hothersal Turning squad.
And while experience may favour Lakers, collective talent certainly won’t, as pound for pound Cougars arguably feature the deeper squad – especially with a frontcourt that should prove a complete mismatch all series long.
Stewart alone will be a handful for Lakers, who might have to use an undersized Lockhart on the prolific small forward for prolonged stretches due to the defensive inefficiencies of Ian Alexander and Mark Bridgeman.
But this series sets up as one that Jemmott should dominate from Game 1, considering the matchup nightmare the wildly athletic, six-foot-nine pogo stick will present for each hapless Lakers big man.
Haynes can’t even dare think of bothering him on jumpers or shots in the paint, while Corbin, Boadu and Moore are all way too slow to stay in front of Jemmott on his drives to the rack.
Of course, Cougars are probably facing the best “help and recover” team in the business, but over-rotating will leave Gaskin and White in prime scoring and rebounding position underneath, or give open looks to threatening shooters like Stewart, Catlyn, Godfrey Leacock and Selwyn Brooks.
It’s not like Cougars’ frontcourt will be made to work at the other end either, as none of the opposing big men warrant any sort of attention in the paint – to the point that Jemmott and company are better served completely ignoring them to help chase Lakers’ guards off the line.
X-Factor: Godfrey Leacock.
In a series where Jemmott and Stewart should probably get “theirs”, a reliable third scorer should put Cougars over the top, and no one stands to benefit more from the attention those two will receive than Leacock.
If the wildly up-and-down two-guard can take – and ultimately make – judicious shots that come within the flow of his side’s offence, then Cougars will be near impossible to beat. But if he continues with that maddening tendency to turn down wide open looks in favour of over-dribbling to take contested jumpers, then Cougars are all but done.
Prediction: Lakers in three.
The basketball variables mostly point towards a Cougars victory, and I wouldn’t be surprised if they advance to the finals, but this series is going to come down to attention to detail on defence and execution – both of which strongly favour Lakers.
Cougars aren’t coming in with any form either, and Lakers possess the far superior head coach in Francis Williams, who will know the necessary in-game adjustments to make to pull out a series win.
