*Disclaimer: With Edmonton playing in Guelph on Saturday night and travelling the next day to Hamilton, the following preview was written in advance of the Stingers’ back-to-back contests. Data used for the July 21 preview will not include the July 20 game between Edmonton and the Nighthawks.

When the Edmonton Stingers (9-4*) and the Hamilton Honey Badgers (8-7) last met on July 4 at Expo Centre, it was the Stingers who were knocking on the door of the Honey Badgers, attempting to leapfrog into second place in the CEBL standings. Jermaine Small had recently taken over as head coach and general manager of Edmonton and the Honey Badgers, who stood at 7-4, were playing good enough ball to win on any given night.

A lot has changed in two weeks. Action required. Action taken.

(Tickets available at TicketMaster. Watch via CEBL TV or the CBC Gem App ).

Entering Sunday’s game against the Stingers, the Honey Badgers have dropped to third place, losers of four of its last five contests, can’t score and have lost the desire to play defence. Since Hamilton’s 90-87 win in Edmonton on June 14, the Honey Badgers have averaged just 91.8 points per game. Guard Ricky Tarrant has netted 16.2 points per contest, forward Ryan Ejim, who led the league in rebounds for much of the season, has managed just 9.5 points and 6.2 rebounds. Even sharpshooter Demetrius Denzel-Dyson is struggling, averaging 11.0 points over the past three contests.

What’s been more troubling for Hamilton has been its defence. During the first month of the season, the Honey Badgers looked to be the only team in the league who cared to defend the ball. Now they are struggling to keep opponents off the scoreboard. Over the past six games, Hamilton has allowed opponents to shoot .498 from the field, averaging 101.2 points per contest. More than 25 per cent of those points have from the fast break. When you miss shots, don’t rebound or hustle back, it’s really hard to stop the break.

Needless to say, this hasn’t sat well with Hamilton General Manager and Head Coach Chantal Vallée, so she did what she has done throughout her illustrious basketball career, she adapted.

Vallée has significantly upgraded her lineup in just eight days, squeezing in high quality players just in time before the playoff eligibility deadline. Since July 11, the Honey Badgers have welcomed 6-foot-11 centre Keanau Post, versatile forward Murphy Burnatowksi, and Raptors 905 guard Duane Notice. The big splash then came on Friday as the team announced the signing of its first overall draft pick, Raptors 905 forward MiKyle McIntosh, and guard Xavier Rathan-Mayes – who played five games with the Memphis Grizzlies. McIntosh, Notice and Rathan-Mayes have all recently played in the NBA Summer League. These additions, all Canadian players, should reenergize a talented Hamilton lineup who needed a boost.

While the Honey Badgers may have stolen all the headlines heading into the weekend, the Stingers began their final eastern road trip with a game in Guelph on Saturday night and may have already punched their ticket into the CEBL Championship Weekend (a Nighthawks loss, combined with a Fraser Valley loss in Niagara would qualify Edmonton for the playoffs).

Heading into Saturday night, the Stingers have won five games in a row, tying Niagara for the largest winning streak of the season. Edmonton hasn’t made a roster change since June 21 when it acquired hometown guard Denzel James, but then again, why mess with success?

If you look at the CEBL team statistics , you will find that Edmonton still ranks last in scoring, averaging 92.6 points per game. What the chart doesn’t explain is the fact that the Stingers have produced 104.0 points per game during this current five-game winning streak, after averaging just 85.5 points in its first eight games. They love to score inside (a rarity in this league), thanks to forwards Grandy Glaze and Travis Daniels, and that opens the perimeter for shooting guards Xavier Moon and Adika Peter-McNeilly.

Playing on Saturday night in Guelph, followed by another contest just 21 hours later at FirstOntario Centre, pressure will be on Jermaine Small to balance playing time to ensure maximum output in Hamilton. With a potential playoff preview on tap against the new-look Honey Badgers, motivation should not be a problem.

Tip-Off is 4pm ET.