Game of the Week: BA London Leopards v Derby Trailblazers
16th March 2012
Our Game of the Week on 18 March sees a potential Division 1 league decider when BA London Leopards and Derby Trailblazers meet for the second time in as many weeks.
With both sides locked at the top of the table on 13-4 records and Leopards taking the first of their two league meetings last week 91-79, a win for coach Jamie Maudsley's Blazers could be crucial come the season's end.
Although there are two other teams in Division 1 with 26 league points (Worthing and Bristol), both Blazers and Leopards have a pair of games in hand over these clubs and with their current run of form look unlikely to give up too many losses. Leopards are riding a 12-game win streak heading into the weekend while Derby's loss to them last Sunday was their first in eight games.
Coach Maudsley will also undoubtedly be concerned that London has not lost at home in the league all season.
"They are playing with a high level of confidence and will be exceptionally tough to match up with at Brentwood," he said. "They hold the psychological advantage after beating us at home last week.
"We will look to make some adjustments as we go into the game as I wasn't happy with our performance last weekend. We need to prove that we are capable of executing both our offensive and defensive schemes in order to be successful this weekend."
Much of the talk surrounding Leopards revolves around their American duo of Vernon Teel and Ousman Krubally, both of whom are tearing up the stats charts. Teel recorded his seventh triple-double last week against Blazers and is the league's top scorer while Krubally's 21 boards against Reading on Sunday boosted his Division 1 lead.
Despite these impressive stats lines Leopards are deeper than these two men with guys like David Buchberger, John Lister and Zak Wells all capable of giving coach Dejan Mihevc a good outing.
"With first place on the line, this is going to be a really intense game," said Buchberger. "Both clubs have had great seasons so far, and I'm sure Derby, like us, want to finish things off at the top of the table. They have great guard play and a strong interior presence as well, and if we're going to beat them again we'll need to put forth the best collective effort we have had all season. It should be a great game."
Coach Mihevc mirrored his guard's sentiment saying:
"I still think that they are probably the best team in our league, with some really good individuals that can beat you by themselves and we will need to play even better this time to repeat a success from last weekend. For us a win would be a great bonus to everything what we did last month. It could be a crucial game for winning the league championship."
Derby do have their share of talent this season starting with the man in the middle, American big man Troy Whittington, who trails only Teel and Krubally in overall efficiency. Known for some monstrous dunks and sending opponents' shots into the stands with his blocks, Whittington is tops amongst scorers and rebounders and his 68% field goal shooting is third in the league.
However, like London, Derby's success is not solely because of their overseas imports. Their blend of British youth and veteran talent has helped them win the 2012 National Trophy and put them in the running for more silverware this season.
Prominent amongst Maudsley's young British contingent are Rishi Kakad, Martyn Gayle, Rema Lascelles and Josh Guddemi. All four of these players have featured heavily in Maudsley's rotation, especially Kakad who is the league's second top scorer with a 24 point per game average.
"Last Saturday was tough as it always is when you lose," said Kakad. "I think the Leopards executed their game plan and took us out of ours. They seemed to be much more hungry for success than we were. We are now in a much tougher position. However this is what sports is all about.
"Every game here on out is like a league title game and it starts versus a tough Bradford team on Saturday followed by a chance for revenge against Leopards on Sunday."
Mark Woodhouse and Stedroy Baker also return this season as part of the Derby faithful and bring the leadership and experience needed by a championship team. Unfortunately for Derby Dave Attewell suffered a broken hand earlier this season and the longtime veteran will miss the remainder of 2011/12.
Heading into Sunday's game, both teams' second of two weekend games, coach Maudsley admits Leopards are the team to beat:
"I've been very impressed at how Coach Mihevc has put this group together and has them playing some outstanding basketball at the moment. Realistically they are top of the league right now as they hold the head-to-head with us, with Bristol and Worthing also on the same number of wins," he said.
"As I said last week Krubally and Teel are standout players in this league, as demonstrated in their performances this season. Buchberger and Wells did an excellent job against us last weekend and their younger players stepped up too."