Photo Credit: Jacinthe LeBlanc

Franchise records third consecutive 30-plus point win

By José Colorado

Follow @coloradourb

With all due respect to the other seven participating teams, it's the Moncton Magic and then the rest of the league.

Indeed, such an argument can be made with little push back currently as the top-ranking club eviscerated its third straight opponent by 30-plus points in Week 10.

In fact, during the Magic's current eight-game win streak the squad has averaged an absurd margin of victory at 27 points per game – no outing has been within single-digits.

Granted, only one of those results were against a roster with a winning record but with such consistent domination, it's hard to fathom another franchise seriously contending for the No.1 spot heading into the home stretch of the regular season.

1. Moncton Magic (19-4)

Last Week's (LW) Ranking: 1 | LW Record: 1-0 | Upcoming Schedule: Windsor

Utter and complete control flowed through the Avenir Centre as the Moncton Magic destroyed the Island Storm for a 130 – 90 victory on March 6.

With a 50-plus per cent shooting night, 14 made three-pointers and 26 assists, the one nitpick could be nine missed free-throws (20-29, 69 per cent), marking the third consecutive game the club has shot below 70 per cent from the charity stripe.

But in reality, there really can't be many complaints.

Moncton is the best in the league.

Hands down.

2. Sudbury Five (12-9)

LW Ranking: 4 | LW Record: 1-1 | Upcoming Schedule: @London, St. John's, Halifax

Braylon Rayson is getting hot at just the right time.

With big-time contributor Marlon Johnson now out of the picture (overseas contract), the explosive point guard picked up the slack in Week 10 with two massive performances, resulting in a split.

@B_Rayson2 delivers an unreal performance and tied @thesudburyfive franchise record for points in a game with 4️⃣9️⃣ on his way to Line of the Night honours.#NBLC9 | #NBLCLive |#LOTN pic.twitter.com/mdzZy4Kx7S — NBL Canada (@NBLCanada) March 8, 2020

And while Rayson has had a strong season to date at 22.7 points per game and seven assists, it hasn't quite been up to his MVP standards from a year ago as the Sudbury Five entered this campaign with more offensive parity.

Well with that temporarily in flux, it may be time for the floor general to unleash the beast once again for; that could spell trouble for the rest of the league.

3. London Lightning (14-8)

LW Ranking: 3 | LW Record: 0-1 | Upcoming Schedule: Sudbury, St. John's

Head coach Doug Plumb may never see another occasion like that of March 7.

That's because despite his team connecting on 15-of-22 three-pointers (68.2 per cent, season-high) and shooting 55.2 per cent from the floor, the London Lightning actually came away with a double-digit loss in a 131 – 119 defeat to the Five.

An abysmal eight-of-20 showing from the free-throw line was a huge factor holding the Bolts back– that, and the Five's Rayson torching London's defense for 49 points including eight triples.

Although the Lightning have lost five of its last seven outings, its Week 9 showing was rather convincing (a pair of wins) with this latest mishap looking more like an anomaly than an alarming sign.

With that being said, it will be interesting to see where the club goes from here as nine of its last 14 games are away from Budweiser Gardens.

Sudbury, St. John's and maybe even Windsor could be ahead of London when it's all said and done just based on the remaining strength of schedule.

4. St. John's Edge (11-9)

LW Ranking: 2 | LW Record: 0-2 | Upcoming Schedule: @Kitchener-Waterloo, @Sudbury, @London

The St. John's Edge's six-game road trip didn't get off on the right foot as the club dropped a pair of outings in Week 10.

Turnovers (15.5 per game) played a huge role in The Rock's opponents finding good looks in transition as the Central-club allowed a combined 33 three-pointers on 72 attempts (46 per cent).

The end result was the Edge also surrendering an average of 113 points per game – six above its seasonal mark.

The good news is St. John's will almost immediately get another crack at the KW Titans – the team who defeated St. John's 114 -108 on March 7 - on Thursday.

From there things will get much tougher however as head coach Steven Marcus' squad must head to Sudbury and then London.

If this unit is to truly be considered a threat, it must find a way to consistently win on the road.

Currently it is 5-7 away from Mile One Centre.

5. KW Titans (9-16)

LW Ranking: 5 | LW Record: 2-1 | Upcoming Schedule: St. John's

Leadership, bench scoring, shooting, defense – if you can name it, it's likely Joel Friesen brought it in his opening week for the KW Titans.

The end result: the franchise coming away with a 2-1 (win-loss) mark with the sole defeat coming prior to the shooting guard's activation on March 7.

Guess WHO is back! The #KWTitans are excited to welcome back Joel Friesen @jf_hoops to the team! Catch him on the court, tonight!!!

����#TurnItUp

�� @dancongdon pic.twitter.com/L9RLkPxvOY — KW Titans (@kw_titans) March 7, 2020

Certainly however there were many other contributing factors including a season-best performance from Damon Lynn and the reintegration of workhorse Justin Moss into the line-up.

All in all though, Friesen's addition to the squad could provide a pivotal turning point for the roster as the Canadian has a proven NBLC championship pedigree.

And with the Titans in the midst of a seven-game home stand, the timing couldn't be any better.

6. Windsor Express (10-11)

LW Ranking: 6 | LW Record: 1-0 | Upcoming Schedule: Halifax, @Moncton, @The Island

The Windsor Express righted the ship by snapping a two-game losing streak with a convincing 112 -93 win against the Edge on March 6.

While the offense has remained steady over the past six games, averaging 112.16 per outing, the defense has varied.

Week 10 was a good showing however as the Rose City held its opponent to just 44 per cent from the floor and 33 per cent from downtown while permitting only 11 free-throw attempts.

Beyond that the club also out-boarded its adversary by 10 rebounds and committed only 12 turnovers.

Translation: that nose-to-the-grind mentality must travel as Week 11 brings the beginnings of a nasty six-games-in-12-days-roadtrip with stops in St. John's (twice) and Moncton.

7. Halifax Hurricanes (8-15)

LW Ranking: 7 | LW Record: 2-1 | Upcoming Schedule: @Windsor, @Sudbury

It took 44 minutes from the team's elder statesman but maybe the Halifax Hurricanes finally got the jolt it needed to turn its season around.

Indeed it was the Cliff Clinkscales-show in Week 10 as the floor general popped off for a stunning performance, notching 27 points and a franchise-record 19 assists in a 137 -118 win over the Five on March 5.

The fact that this club had to turn to a 35-year-old for such a heroic showing can't go unnoticed.

Evidently these are unrealistic numbers to expect from the veteran at his age but by overly exerting himself for one night, perhaps his younger teammates got the message: how far are you willing to go for the playoffs?

As winners of three of its last four matches, the 'Canes have been trending upwards of late; four upcoming home games following Week 11 should help that cause even further.

8. Island Storm (6-17)

LW Ranking: 8 | LW Record: 0-1 | Upcoming Schedule: Windsor

After stringing together a number of competitive outings, the Island Storm fell off its wagon in Week 10 as it was blown out 130 – 90 against the Magic, marking its seventh straight loss and its fifth tenth defeat in 16 matches.

A dismal 24 per cent shooting night from three-point range didn't help but the real killer came via 19 turnovers resulting in 29 points for its opponent.

With seven out of its remaining 12 games on the road, it's highly unlikely the Storm will see any other ranking besides No.10; the Island is 1-10 away from Eastlink Centre so far.