M atthew Winick
Following a wildly lopsided 101-60 defeat on Thursday night, you’d think the Saskatchewan Rattlers (0-5) would rather face anybody but the white-hot Edmonton Stingers (4-0). Unfortunately for the Rattlers, that is exactly what will happen on Saturday afternoon at 4:00 p.m. ET/2:00 p.m. local time as the two squads face off once again, this time at the SaskTel Centre in Saskatoon.
Edmonton’s 41-point win was the second-largest margin of victory in CEBL history, slightly trailing the 108-66 loss the Niagara River Lions handed the Stingers themselves on May 16 th , 2019.
The Rattlers were thoroughly outplayed in almost every facet of the game, shooting only 30% from the field to Edmonton’s 61%, making five three-pointers compared to Edmonton’s 15 and getting outscored 17-3 on the fast break. An overall gap in continuity was evident as well, with the Stingers dominating the assists tally 30-8.
Saturday’s tilt brings a new day and gives Saskatchewan a chance to properly reset from the loss. With the game being aired on national television (CBC), a better effort from the squad will certainly be necessary.
Silver Lining
Things weren’t all bad for the Rattlers despite the big loss, as guard Mambi Diawara broke out of a season-long slump with a strong 21 points, four rebounds and four assists. The 21-point effort marked the first time this season Diawara reached that plateau, and his 41% field goal percentage has only been topped once this year.
A former member of the Stingers, it was clear that Diawara wasn’t afraid to square off against his old squad. Having his familiarity with Edmonton head coach Jermaine Small’s system is a positive for Saskatchewan in general. Should Diawara keep up the positive momentum, it will certainly be a step in the right direction for the Rattlers.
Spectacular Seven
Picking out just one player of the game for Edmonton in Thursday’s contest is practically impossible. All seven Stingers that play at least 15 minutes put forth superb efforts that encapsulate their individual role to a tee.
Xavier Moon, Mathieu Kamba and Adika Peter-McNeilly are three of the team’s best scorers, and torched the nets from deep, shooting a ridiculous 12-16 (75%) from three as a trio. Jordan Baker, Marlon Johnson and Brady Skeens make up Edmonton’s inside attack, and they combined to shoot 13-17 (76%) from two-point range, while grabbing a collective 20 rebounds. Even backup point guard Jahmal Jones excelled in his role, dropping a team-high nine assists while also being a game-best +32 in the contest.
It's safe to say that when all of Edmonton’s rotation is playing as well as they did on Thursday, there is practically no one in the CEBL who can stop them.
Alone at the top
By virtue of Edmonton’s win coupled with Fraser Valley’s loss to the River Lions, the Stingers now stand as the CEBL’s last undefeated team at 4-0.
Rumblings of a perfect season can now be heard quietly, but four games remaining against the aforementioned Bandits, along with the team’s next seven games coming on the road could prove to be a challenge towards a historic undefeated campaign.
All CEBL games will be available for live streaming on the CEBL’s new OTT streaming service CEBL+, cbcsports.ca , the free CBC Gem streaming service, the CBC Sports App for iOS and android devices, and on Twitch.
A league created by Canadians for Canadians, the CEBL has the highest percentage of Canadian players of any professional league in the country, with 75 percent of its current rosters being Canadians. Players bring experience from the NBA, NBA G League, top international leagues, the Canadian National team program, and top NCAA programs as well as U SPORTS. The only First Division Professional League Partner of Canada Basketball, the CEBL season typically runs from May through August. Head to CEBL.ca for more information or follow us on Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, LinkedIn, Facebook & YouTube