By LEE HILLER, Journal Sports
Shreveport Mavericks’ veteran coach Steve Tucker is feeling good about his team going into Saturday’s first game of The Basketball League Championship Series against the Albany Patroons at Centenary’s Gold Dome.
Tipoff for the Mavs’ last home game of the season is 7:05 p.m.
Original plans had the first game being played Wednesday night, but Albany didn’t win its series in the East Region until late Monday and travel plans could not be set quickly enough, so the opener of best-of-three championship series was pushed back to Saturday. Following games will be played in upstate New York, July 6 and, if a Game 3 is necessary, July 7.
“I think the extra time to prepare for Albany has been a huge factor,” said Tucker. “Moving the series back, everybody thought it was to their advantage. It really was to our advantage. We have had extra days to really prepare for them.”
Tucker believes a pivotal factor could be his bench and the depth he has there. The Mavericks have played 10 players consistently and sometimes all 12 players suited out hit the floor. Almost every player on the roster has started at least one game.
“I think we are in for a battle, a major battle,” said Tucker. “I think our depth will be a major factor in the series. I don’t think they have a match for (Paul) Harrison, and Paul Parks is just playing on a really high level right now.”
The Mavs coach also believes a big factor will be how his shooting guard Ty Jordan plays. Jordan is coming off a 31-point outing in the West Region-clinching win over So Cal.
“How Jordan plays against (Mike) Williams is going to be a real key factor in the series, and really how we contain (AJ) Mosby. He’s going to come out in a real attack mode; he’s going to be real aggressive offensively. I think we have really good matchups for him,” said Tucker. “We have several guys we can throw at him.”
Albany’s Mosby, who played for Shreveport last season, leads the Patroons in scoring at 20.3 points per game and averages 4.9 assists a game. He represented Albany on the All-TBL first team. Center Anthony Moe is right behind Mosby in scoring at 17.3 per game. Williams is next with a 14.8 points per game average and the other big man, Jared Sam, scores at a 13.7 clip.
Shreveport counters with Parks leading the scorers with a 23.1 average. Harrison is scoring at a 25.5 clip in the playoffs to increase his overall average on the season to 19.9. Jordan is third in scoring with a 16.9 average.
The 6-foot-9 Harrison leads the team with 7.8 rebounds a game with Parks getting 6.5 misses a game. PJ Meyers runs the point and averages 6 assists and 10.2 points a game. Alani Moore splits time with Meyers and averages 8.2 points and 3.2 assists.
The versatility of the Mavericks bench meant that Tavin Cummings was inserted into the starting lineup for six of the eight playoff games. Cummings scored a season-high 21 points in the first playoff game with Enid and followed that up with a 20-point game. He averages 9.4 points a game on the season.
TBL Sixth Man of the Year candidate DeAndre McIntyre usually spells Parks and averages 8.8 points per game. Six-foot-9 Bilal Richardson, who usually gives Harrison a break, started the West Region-clinching win against So Cal and averages 6.6 points and 4.7 rebounds a game.
The Mavericks are playing for their first TBL Championship but fifth Pro Basketball National Championship since 2010 when the team competed in the ABA. A win would be the third championship brought back to Shreveport, preceded by ABA titles in 2014 and 2015.
Contact Lee at lee.hiller51@gmail.com
Photo by LEE HILLER