Riders have to be wary of play-offs’ surprise package
GLASGOW WERE UNDERDOGS FOR PLACE IN SEMI-FINALS
LEICESTER Riders visit the Emirates Arena, in Glasgow, today (2pm) in search of their third piece of silverware this season.
The first leg of their BBL play-offs semi-finals clash with Glasgow Rocks will be closely followed by a second encounter at the Morningside Arena on Monday (7.45pm). The Riders’ home match will be live on Sky TV.
The prize for the winner of the tie will be a place in the final against London Lions or Bristol Flyers at the O2 Arena on May 15, with an anticipated crowd of more than 15,000.
The Rocks were one of the form teams in the BBL towards the end of the regular season, with seven wins in their final 10 games sealing seventh spot and a place in the play-offs.
But one of those defeats was a 101-86 loss at home to the Riders, and Glasgow closed out the season with a disappointing loss at Newcastle Eagles.
This made them heavy underdogs in the play-offs quarter-finals against second-place Sheffield Sharks, but the Scottish outfit pulled off a huge shock.
The Sharks went up to Glasgow and ground out an 83-76 victory in the first leg.
But in the return leg in Sheffield last Sunday, the visitors turned the tables, helped by the fact that Sharks point guard Rod Glasgow was out due to a groin injury picked up in Glasgow.
Glasgow led from start to finish, generally by single figures, then dominated the final quarter 26-7 to take the match 96-72.
They shot a superb 51 per cent from the floor and 37 per cent from the three-point line to dominate the normally stingy defence of Sheffield.
Most surprisingly the Rocks dominated close to the basket, outscoring the Sharks 50-38 in the paint.
Quicksilver American point guard Jordan Johnson was key to both the wins, scoring a total of 35 points and dishing out 10 assists in each game, while making four three-pointers.
American forward Jordan Harris was also influential, finishing with 46 points and 14 rebounds over the two legs.
Fellow American forward Jaycee
Hillsman has not been quite so consistent, but he scored 19 points and pulled down 13 rebounds in the decisive second leg in Sheffield.
Riders, meanwhile, were bothered by the hard, physical play of Plymouth City Patriots in their quarter-final, running up early deficits in both legs before settling down late in the game to come though relatively convincingly.
They will want to stop the Rocks’ transition play to give their leagueleading defence a chance to limit their opponents’ options in the half court.
Riders head coach Rob Paternostro said: “The Rocks are a team that is tough to defend in any event and the play-offs make it that much more unpredictable.
“Offensively, they have been near the top of the league all season, in both points scored and points per possession.
“They are also playing with a lot of confidence now, so, defensively we will have our work cut out.
“They are excellent in transition, and the way to combat that is to score efficiently. The more scores you make the less opportunities for fast breaks they will have.
“And the other factor, of course, is to take care of the basketball. When we have taken care of the ball this year, we have been tough to stop.”
Glasgow Rocks: Gareth Murray, Jonny Bunyan, Fraser Malcolm, Jordan Johnson, Jordan Harris, Jaycee Hillsman, Boban Jacdomni, Murray Hendry, Vance Johnson.
Leicester Riders: Geno Crandall, Zach Jackson, Marc Loving, Mo Walker, Patrick Whelan, Conner Washington, Darien Nelson-Henry, Kimbal Mackenzie, Jubril Adekoya, Louie Jordan, Greg Wild, Evan Walshe.