By LEE HILLER, Journal Sports

The Shreveport Mavericks enjoyed a week off to prepare for the second round – or semifinals – of the Central Division playoffs in The Basketball League matchup with the Potawatomi Fire that begins tonight in Oklahoma.

Shreveport, who is the No. 2 seed, travels to Shawnee, Oklahoma to face the Fire, the No. 3 seed, in the first game of a best-of-three series. The two teams will meet for game two Friday night at Centenary’s Gold Dome and if necessary, game three Saturday night in the Dome.

The Mavericks and coach Steve Tucker feel like they are ready.

“Well it’s here now! We have been preparing all week for our next opponent,”  Tucker wrote in a post on social media. “We knew all along who that would most likely be, so we’ve spent the entire week with our focus on them.

“The time when two powerhouse teams get it on. This matchup should be happening much later in the playoffs, for there are too many powerful teams in one division,” continued Tucker.

The Mavericks finished the regular season with a 19-5 mark, while the Fire finished 18-6. The No. 1 seed in the Central Division, Enid (20-4) will begin the other semifinal series hosting No. 4 seed Dallas (18-6).

The records for the four teams are in the top of the 42-team TBL.

Shreveport and Potawatomi met in Oklahoma the last weekend of the season with the Fire coming away with a 123-111 win.

Tucker believes that loss could be a wake-up call for his team to really get focused for the playoff run for a fifth championship ring for the veteran coach.

“I really think that is what we needed,” said Tucker. “We had seven- and eight-game win streaks and got a little too comfortable with ourselves.”

Photo by LEE HILLER