Lightning ditch early woes, bring 4-game win streak to TBL

Four straight wins cured what ailed Lightning in their first two outings; What’s with all the fouls?; Millinghaus makes an impression; How to use Jachai? It’s Rhode Island Friday & Sunday. Our latest news/notes …

Shadell Millinghaus in his Lightning debut (vs. Montreal) last Thursday, Jan. 11, 2024. (Photo: Barry Field Photography).

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STARTING FIVE

1. The Shadell Show. As far as first impressions go, they don’t get much better than the one Shadell Millinghaus turned in last Thursday against Montreal. In his first game as a Bolt, in front of the home fans, Millinghaus shot a near-perfect 9-for-10 from the field and finished with a team-high 24 points – and eight rebounds – in London’s 122-116 win at Budweiser Gardens.

The next night, in Sudbury, the newcomer led the team in scoring (along with Billy White) again, tallying 26 points – to go along with seven rebounds and four assists. And though he lost his shooting stroke Sunday (4-for-15), Millinghaus contributed in other areas (nine rebounds, five assists, six steals) in London’s second straight win against the Tundra.

“Shadell is an animal. He’s got good energy. He plays with a lot of joy,” said Lighting head coach Doug Plumb, adding that the former Albany Patroon had just a practice and a half with his new mates before getting into game action. “He’s got this youthful exuberance to him that’s contagious. I’ve been really happy with that so far.”

2. Lightning running afoul. They’re 5-for-6, but not in something to be proud of. In all but one of London’s first six games in the BSL, they’ve outfouled their opponents – often by a wide margin. And it’s cost them a lot of points. In fact, they’re lucky it hasn’t cost them more games than the first two of the season.

Consider: In London’s season-opening 124-113 loss in Sudbury, they had 14 more fouls then their Five counterparts, which translated into 21 more free-throw attempts for the home side. It’s no wonder they lost their BSL debut. And it was just as bad in Game 2. In KW, London outfouled the Titans 34-24 and attempted 22 fewer three throws. They lost by six.

The foul count has improved, relatively, since then, and the Lightning have gone on a four-game win streak. Still, they’ve outfouled their opponents by a cumulative 96-86 margin during that span. And, more importantly, the free-throw count is 125-99 in favour of their opponents. That’s a lot of ‘free’ points to be giving away, and it’s something London is surely going to have to address.

Billy White had his best game in a Lightning uniform so far last Friday, producing 26 points, 10 rebounds and 7 assists in a 115-112 win in Sudbury. (Photo: Matt Hiscox Photography).

3. What is Jachai’s jam? He debuted with a splash, but he’s been fairly invisible since. Jachai Taylor, one of coach Plumb’s prized recruits from the Windsor Express, played 31 minutes in London’s first game of the year, scoring 22 points on 9-of-16 shooting, including making half of his six three-point attempts.

But his playing time – and his production – has been nearly non-existent since then. In fact, he’s totaled 17 points in the five games since, his playing time averaging around just 11 minutes. But it’s not for a lack of talent.

“I need to figure out how to use Jachai. Some nights, I’ve really struggled,” said Plumb. “I need to capitalize on his strengths. He’s such a good athlete that I need to figure it out. Maybe that means calling different things or a different style of play when he comes into the game.

“We’re struggling at going and getting rebounds. Maybe we give something up in terms of offensive execution sometimes, because he’s playing out of position a little bit. But it’s on me. I need to figure that out. He’s shooting the ball extremely well, and he’s probably the best athlete in the league.”

Taylor was also underutilized last year with the Express. So tantalizing is his athleticism, though, it just seems that an adjustment here, a tweak there, and he’s a player that could be a difference maker on the court. He’s also a great teammate, Plumb says. Certainly not one to complain about a lack of playing time.

“No, it’s been totally fine,” the coach said. “He’s a great kid.”

4. We’re on the air. Mostly. For watching fans at home, BSL-TV has been, at best, inconsistent in some locations – choppy and freezing feeds, mismatched or muddled audio, and, as Lightning fans experienced for the first time Sunday afternoon, a French-only broadcast from Montreal.

NBLC-TV had similar tech issues (especially video lagging in broadcasts originating from Budweiser Gardens), and it looks like they have continued to the new league.

Fear not, assured BSL President David Magley, the league is aware of the issues and on them.

“Overall, I would grade the broadcast quality a B. But that’s with one of our teams really struggling. With those, it would be an A,” Magley said. 

Sudbury’s broadcast has been stellar, with KW. Windsor, and London largely OK. Montreal is struggling.

No other way to say it, but Sunday’s Lightning-Tundra broadcast was embarrassing for a pro league. The lone camera was positioned far from the court, creating a viewing experience that focused on the game in only the middle third of the screen (the top third captured the building’s rafters, the bottom third was the back of heads in the first section of fans). It was near impossible to ID players or follow the game.

Additionally, the camera was stationary at midcourt, much like it was filming a high school musical production of Annie, and that meant only about 60% of the basket was visible with two notable blind spots in the near court corners where players ‘disappeared’ on every trip down.

“We are trying to get this dealt with. The broadcasts are a really big deal to our league in so many ways,” Magley continued, citing the fact that the Montreal feed is unacceptable for paying customers of BSL-TV and unusable by partners beIN SPORTS and IMG .

Lightning shooting guard Rashad Smith. (Photo: Barry Field Photography).

The audio was another issue in Montreal. Not only was it taking in the conversation of fans in the background (often louder than the announcers), but it was only in French. No English feed was available.

Unhappy fans were letting the league have it in the game feed chat, often resulting in numerous apologies (In English, strangely enough, as the play-by-play remained in French) for technical difficulties 

This is something the league (along with many other businesses outside Quebec who do business inside Quebec) continues to wrestle with understanding and reconciling with Quebec language laws.

“The fact is, the majority of people who watch those games are not going to be from Montreal; Montreal fans are largely at the game. We’re talking about other teams, other markets and (a French-language broadcast) doesn’t really cater to fans who want to watch the games outside of the market,” Magley said. “That’s the conversation we need to have and understand and then see what options we have.”

Hard to imagine this continues as is, as the majority of fans outside Montreal only understand English. Take a look at these numbers from Stats Canada: 

Understand English only / French only or French and English

London – 92.2%/6.7%
Sudbury – 59.9%/39.8%
Windsor – 88.4%/10.1%
KW – 92%/6.4%
St John’s – 92.5%/7.4%

Magley said BSL-TV may need to consider broadcasts of all games in both languages or captions given the importance of the Montreal market. But while linguistically correct, it may be logistically very difficult (and expensive).

5. Getting drafty in here. While much was made of the inaugural BSL Combine and Draft in November, only two of the 12 drafted players found their way to opening day rosters. 

Lightning shooting guard Rashad Smith has shown promise for the Bolts. The third overall pick in the draft, Smith hasn’t seen a whole lot of playing time yet (13.8 mpg), but he’s produced where the Lightning have otherwise struggled: from three-point range. He’s at 42.1% (8-for-19), while the Lightning are just 31.8% as a team. Smith enjoyed a breakout game last Thursday against Montreal, going 6-for-8 from three and tallying 21 points in 28 minutes (by far a season high). The Bolts’ No. 10 pick, Alonzo Murphy, was cut during camp.

Among other draftees, only Montreal’s Brandon Beloti (No. 11) has seen the court. Xavier Jones, the draft’s second overall pick, did not make the Tundra roster. 

Overall No. 1 pick JD Tisdale, along with No. 10 pick Patrick Robinson, did not make the KW Titans roster. Same can be said for Sudbury Five picks Brian Garrett (No. 5) and David Miakanda (No. 8) and Windsor Express picks Dominc Guthre (No. 6) and Myles Thompson (No. 7).

Making their BSL debuts on Jan. 19, the Newfoundland Rogues have not set a final roster, so the fates of Kingslee Dsilva (No. 4) and Adrian Mike (No. 9) remain in question.

UPCOMING GAMEDAYS

7 p.m. Friday, Jan. 19 vs. Rhode Island Kraken

2 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 21 vs. Rhode Island Kraken

Did you know singer-songwriter-NFL fan Taylor Swift owns High Watch (a.k.a. Holiday House or Harkness House), a $17.75 million mansion in Watch Hill, Rhode Island, the state’s most expensive private home? It’s true. That fact has nothing to do with this game, but it may help the SEO of this story.

The Kraken slither – Is that how Krakens move on land? – into the Forest City as the first TBL-BSL matchup for the Lightning. Last season, London went 8-1 against TBL opponents. This year, the team welcomes five TBL opponents to town – the Kraken, Connecticut Crusaders, LA Ignite, Pontiac Pharaohs, and West Virginia Grind.

BEYOND OUR BYLINE

Speaking of Taylor Swift … If you’re as sick of seeing a Kelce Brother – be it Swift’s boyfriend, Kansas City Chiefs TE Travis, or recently retired Philadelphia Eagles centre Jason – as I am, and you’re looking for someone to blame, err, credit, this is an interesting read from AndSCape on twin brothers from Cleveland who created this Kelce Moment.