FCFP Pre-Game Inspection: April 11th Round 1 Game 3 at KW Titans

1: Hard Fought and Physical

The focus in Game 2 for London and KW was to limit the other from scoring with each team making it to just 20 points by the end of the first. The Titans brought their physicality to the boards, by grabbing 11 more rebounds than the Bolts including six more offensive boards. You could see a difference in the Lightning's defence from Game 1, hustling around the court by switching or bringing help defence and just limiting the amount of movement the Titans could make with people or the ball. Every player on the London squad committed to switching on screens and then rotating when needed to get the proper players back on more favourable matchups. This shows in the turnover numbers for the Titans with 15 for the game compared to the Lightning's 9. It also shows in KW's three-point shooting where they only shot 28.6% on 35 attempts. The Lightning will need to continue their improved play on defence to win against KW because they are a strong offensive team with multiple weapons that can score from different areas on the court.

2: Streaking

London was really hot in moments but also really cold in others throughout Game 2. It came on both sides of the ball, but the Lightning were far more consistent on the defensive end as mentioned above. They struggled offensively in the first and third quarters and struggled defensively in the second and fourth quarters. It showed more in the second half where the Bolts could not finish shots going 6 of 19 in the third quarter and then flipping to 11 of 22 in the fourth. Defensively they forced five turnovers and held the Titans to 9 of 23 from the field in the third quarter. In the fourth, they only forced one turnover, and the Titans shot 12 of 21. The offence was more inconsistent only shooting 40% from the field as well as 26 percent from deep for the game running into the paint and looking for fouls rather than using their driving ability to start ball movement and find open shooters. In one of their best offensive quarters in the fourth, they only tallied three assists, and they only had seven assists total in the second half out of the 20 they had for the game. Ball movement has to be a key to get the offence rolling which will prevent long periods without scoring. This will also make each player more involved because they are touching the ball more. This will make them more engaged and ready to do whatever on either side of the ball to get the team the victory.

3: Where to watch

The Lightning are heading to KW this afternoon for a Game 3 tonight that will start at 7 PM EST. To check out the game and see if the Lightning can come back in the series head to this link here https://nblclive.ca/ to stream the game on NBLC Live!