We’re already halfway done this CEBL season. Kind of hard to believe, as only a few short weeks ago we kicked off with some of the most exciting matchups on the card. Now, each team has played at least 12 of their 24-game regular season schedule.
This provides the perfect opportunity to look back on some big moments for the league so far, early season predictions, and what’s next.
Big moments
To start off with, it’s always great to see some attention from NBA and Team Canada guys who are supporting the league.
Leonard Miller is the most recent NBAer to show love, spending the weekend taking in the Scarborough Shooting Stars:
Joe Mazzulla, Boston Celtics coach, took in a game in Ottawa to support his brother, Justin, who is coaching the BlackJacks as well. It’s always great to see more and more people becoming fans of the league.
Another significant achievement in the record books for the league has been Khalil Ahmad’s capture of the highest scoring player in league history. Previously held by Ahmed Hill, this is a huge milestone for Ahmad, a player who has been a fixture of the Niagara River Lions organization, helping bring them back-to-back championships.
With the FIBA world cup qualifiers kicking off, there was also the opportunity for the league to celebrate the amount of talent that has or is currently playing in the CEBL.
While only four of them are current (Bediako, Cisse, Mane, Creek), this will affect Vancouver more than anyone else. Mitch Creek has only been back for two games but managed to score 55 points in those contests and now departs again. In a tough Western conference, they could have definitely used him.
Former Toronto Raptor Javon Freeman-Liberty has also quietly been having an excellent season, averaging 21-6-5, helping lead the Montreal Alliance to the 2-seed in the East. It’s hard not to get excited to see him doing so well as he was always someone I rooted for when he played with the Raps.
MVP Chase
I really thought it would be Sean East II, but he’s cooled in a rather dramatic fashion. Teddy Allen, on the other hand, has been having a phenomenal season. Averaging almost 28-8-4 with 92%, 49%, and 36% shooting splits, if he continues on this trajectory he will be the undeniable frontrunner.
Power Rankings
Scarborough has set themselves leaps and bounds above the rest of the field, with an 11-2 record. There’s a four-game gap between their closest competition in the East, a struggling honeybadgers team and Montreal who is finally starting to show more of what they should’ve been capable of this season. Vancouver sits atop the west, only a game ahead of Winnipeg. New additions to some of these teams have helped them move around a bit. For others though, nothing seems to help. Ottawa’s tandem of Javonte Smart and Matthew Cleveland isn’t nearly as dominant as anyone would have expected. Sean Miller-Moore and Evan Gilyard II haven’t been able to help Calgary. Niagara are showing their age, and while the chemistry has been good over the years, they may have used up the last of their magic.
There’s a decent amount of movement here between the first game and now, as we approach the midway point of the season:
1 – Scarborough Shooting Stars (+1)
2 – Vancouver Bandits (+1)
3 – Winnipeg Sea Bears (+3)
4 – Montreal Alliance (+1)
5 – Ottawa BlackJacks (+3)
6 – Brampton Honey Badgers (-5)
7 – Saskatoon Mamba (+3)
8 – Edmonton Stingers (+1)
9 – Niagara River Lions (-5)
10 – Calgary Surge (-3)
What’s Next?
Now the focus will be seeding for the playoffs, with higher seeds reserving the right to host. Most teams have their roster intact now, with later additions arriving. Some teams only have 10 games left though, so now more than ever it’s time to lock in and win games. This will be the first year where home court advantage matters, and teams will certainly want to take what they can get.
