Heron in line for his debut
INJURED DUO MAY RETURN IN TIME FOR PLAY-OFFS
LEICESTER Riders complete a weekend double in the BBL Championship when they take on the Wolves at the Worcester Arena tomorrow afternoon (3pm).
New signing Mustafa Heron will be available to play for the Riders, having just beaten yesterday’s registration deadline.
The 23-year-old American shooting guard flew into Leicester on Thursday and will have the benefit of just two training sessions with the team.
Heron replaces the injured Zach Jackson, who has returned to the US for surgery.
That follows severe injuries earlier in the season to British forward Raheem May-Thompson and Canadian centre Mo Walker.
Both those players were expected to be lost for the season, but, in fact, their recovery plans are ahead of schedule.
Both Walker and May-Thompson are in light training but not yet ready to scrimmage with the team.
Riders could have an abundance of talent available ahead of the BBL Play-offs scheduled to start at the beginning of May.
With the 2020 Play-offs abandoned due to Covid last spring, assuming they qualify in the top eight, Riders will go into the Playoffs this season as defending champions, since they won in the 2018/19 season.
In fact, Riders will be looking to win the BBL Play-offs for the fourth season in a row, although this season it will not be held at the prestigious O2 Arena in front of 14,000-plus fans.
Following the Prime Minister’s announcement earlier this week, fans will not be allowed into indoor venues until the day after the BBL Play-off Final on May 16. The BBL are due to announce arrangements for the Play-offs in the next two weeks.
But with Riders currently at the top of the Championship, they look on course for a place in the end-ofseason shoot-out.
The last time Riders did not make the top eight in the BBL Championship, and therefore qualify for the Play-offs, was 13 years ago in the 2007/08 season.
Riders have qualified for the Playoffs every season since the arrival of head coach Rob Paternostro in summer 2008.
Leicester have won the Play-offs five times in their history, while their opponents tomorrow have yet to win that piece of silverware.
But the Wolves are very much in the hunt for a play-off place this season, having recent wins over contenders around them in the table.
Paternostro is cautious about playing teams back-to-back in the regular season, although that is the format for the Play-offs.
“Playing teams so close together gives you little time to adjust,” he said. “But we started the season by playing Newcastle at home and then away, and in early January we had to go to Plymouth Raiders away twice in a row, but eight days apart.
“It does prepare you for the Playoffs because you have to anticipate they are going to make adjustments and react.
“Worcester has proved to be a very smart team in the last few seasons, and we know they will react to Friday night, whatever the result.
“We also need to adjust to playing without Zack in our starting rotation, but we have very flexible guys.
“I know I have players who can step in and do a job, just like Jamell Anderson did last Sunday against the Giants.
“There are a lot of games coming up and having that flexibility in the squad is essential. We have to take it one game at a time.”
Teams
Leicester Riders: Corey Johnson, Jamell Anderson, Geno Crandall, Zach Jackson, Darien Nelson-Henry, William Lee, Conner Washington, Ali Fraser, Aaron Falzon, Mustafa Heron, Greg Wild, Kyle Jimenez, Justin Hedley.
Worcester Wolves: Lamarr Kimble, Maarten Brouwknecht, Mike Parks, Jordan Williams, Ky Lawson, Josh McSwiggan, Micah Elan, Nathan Ramsdale-Owen, Tola Okiki, Matt Williamson, Henry Wilkins, Daniel Johnson-Thompson, Brandon Anderson, Shaun Parren-Rackley.