I have been way too invested in all of the sports going on and because of that, I am slightly behind in giving you all Sea Bears recaps. Let’s take a little bit of time to get you all back up to speed. The first game we will touch on is Thursday evenings beat down of the defending champion Brampton Honey Badgers. After a close first quarter saw the Honey Badgers take an early lead, the Sea Bears didn’t look back exploding for a 26-5 second quarter. That would essentially have Winnipeg in cruise control for the rest of the game, and they would win this one 110-89. Teddy Allen was unconscious from deep, and solid contributions from other starters had the Sea Bears rolling in this one. Unfortunately the same could not be said for the Father’s Day matinee in Calgary with the two best teams in the Western Conference battling it out. The Surge’s defence in the second quarter, and Winnipeg throwing away possessions were their downfall in this one. It was disappointing to see after such a great team performance on Thursday against the defending champions. These two games confirmed to me that this team is still coming together, and there still will be lapses in their form. The Sea Bears record is now 5-3, with soul possession of second place in the West. Getting close to the half way mark in the season, we are seeing most teams settle in and players getting comfortable with their roles. We are also starting to see what each players’ ceilings are, and what we can expect from them. But before we get into who I feel the players have done over the past two games, lets talk about the three keys from the last week.

Defence

There is a saying/narrative going around at the moment: Where Teddy Allen goes, the Winnipeg Sea Bears go. While that may have some truth to it, I am not 100% sure that it is totally accurate. We know that this team can score, having some fantastic scorers, and can put up points, but the real key for this squad is its defence. Whenever this team plays well on that end of the floor, everything else seems to take care of itself. When the Sea Bears are stringing together stops and locking down on the defensive end, it has been really hard for teams to stay in games with them. This can also be said regardless if Winnipeg is scoring, or even shooting well from the field. As good as this teams offence is, it is not enough to constantly bail them out of games. The Sea Bears need to find their consistency defensively because I believe that is the missing piece to the team having a more complete game.

Complimentary Scoring

The most surprising trend we have seen with this roster has been how the team rallies around Allen and E.J. Anosike on the offensive end. The other players around those two have shown that they can provide extra scoring, being extra threats. This allows for teams to not just lock in on Allen and Anosike, which can open up opportunities for themselves to score. We have no seen good performances from Jelani Watson-Gayle, Simon Hildebrandt, A.J. Hess, Chad Posthumus, and Glen Yang. All of these players have had a signature offensive games, which is important when a bad game from Allen or Anosike happens. The offensive firepower this team possesses if everyone has a good game is massive for the Sea Bears if they want to make a deep playoff run.

Wasted Possessions

As much as this key pertains to the offence, and though I just praised the scoring from this team, there are still issues that need to be solved. The biggest of them being that too many of them become wasted. Whether that be a turnover, or a bad shot, we have seen the Sea Bears lose tons of momentum in games when possessions are lost. I believe that this is partially due to the scheme that coach Mike Taylor runs, but it also has to do with decision making. When it comes to choices, players have missed making easier passes, or missed opportunities to take easier shots. Because they have either not made the right decision or done so quickly, it has led to throwing the ball out of bounds, or taking a difficult shot. These outcomes have also been affected by suffocating defence, and panicking when there’s pressure or a run ongoing from the opposing team. Having a little more composure can solve some of these issues for the Sea Bears.

Now that we have gone through the three important keys from the past two games, lets get to the individual player performances. These ones will be interesting to put together.

Teddy Allen

I didn’t think that Allen could go any much more nuclear than he did against Scarborough. This time he did it against the defending champions. I also got to see this one first hand, and it was special. It’s hard to believe that he still hasn’t been completed locked in on by teams to shut down. Allen’s going to keep getting buckets and I can’t wait to see more of them. What a special player he is. I will also mention that he has had his 42 and 40 point games coming off of losses. Be prepared for Wednesday.

E.J. Anosike

Just like the rest of the team, Anosike’s form over the past two games was up and down. In the game against Brampton, he was essentially non-existent but bounced back well in Calgary. I have been very pleased with how Anosike has performed this season, and be prepared for him to be around that 20 points per game mark at the end of the summer. I can see him ending up with some honors when all is said and done. The only part that has me still slightly reserved is how the Edmonton Stingers defended him. Other teams have not clued in on that yet, and if they do, it may have Anosike nullified.

A.J. Hess

While similar form to Anosike, Hess did the opposite. After being inserted into the starting lineup for the first time this season, you could say that he had his best game of the season against the Honey Badgers. But he did go back to familiar form in Calgary. His shot selection against Brampton was fantastic, and I think those types of shots will be crucial to his success the rest of the season. If catch and shoot threes, with some smart drives incorporated are the recipe, the final product should be perfectly fine.

Glen Yang

What a fantastic game did Yang have at home in Winnipeg. Similar to Hess, I was very impressed with his performance because he looked like the player I had hoped would show up for the Sea Bears. Unfortunately it did not continue in Calgary. He once again looked like he had been eliminated from the game, and had no effect. I really do hope that that game against Brampton was not an anomaly. He was so fun to watch and I thoroughly enjoyed how he played.

Chad Posthumus

Mid-Season veteran form has been reached for Posthumus. It seemed as though the Sea Bears were trying to feed him a lot more in the post, to get him more incorporated in the offence the last two games. This seems to have worked, as Posthumus had back to back double-doubles and looked very good. I am wondering if this is a way for coach Taylor to try and distract teams to get Anosike more open, and if so I love it. Not only does this help Anosike, but it does get Posthumus going, and makes him more of a threat to teams. I hope the big man keeps getting opportunities to contribute, because it seems to stabilize this crazy Winnipeg offence.

Michael Okafor

I wanted to start with the new member of the bench mob, because I found it interesting that the change was made. I did predict Okafor to be on the bench to start the year, but after being with the starting five for the first six games, I assumed that nothing would change. I do believe this role suits Okafor much better, because we have not seen the offence surface at this point. Stellar defence goes wherever he does, but on the other end it could not be more different. He will still have a huge impact one games, but be prepared for his minutes to be significantly cut.

Jelani Watson-Gayle

6th Man of The Year. That’s all that needs to be said.

Simon Hildebrandt

The number one pick in this years U-Sports Draft is on a cold streak. Have some good looks not fallen? Absolutely. But has he also forced up some shots he didn’t need to? Absolutely. We already knew coach Taylor was gong to give Hildebrandt tons of minutes this season, and expect him to get the same as he works through this drought. I have a feeling he’s due for a good game soon enough.

Shane Osayande

We already knew what we were getting from Osayande when the Sea Bears signed him: Rebounding and defence. That is exactly what we have gotten, and that’s not going to change. Another steady veteran for this younger squad to keep the ship intact.

Stephane Ingo

With the arrival of Osayande, Ingo’s minutes have completely disappeared and I am assuming he will not be getting them back. It’s unfortunate for the Canadian big man who I thought had some pretty good flashes early on.

Final Thoughts

Even though we have not seen consistent play from the Sea Bears over the last three games, I think they will be just fine. They have the scoring to keep them in many games, but the key for this team to put it all together is defence. We have seen the flashes of when it does, and it excites me a lot. Two huge games this upcoming week at home against the surging Vancouver Bandits, and with round two of the battle of the Prairies versus Saskatchewan, this could prove to be a pivotal week for Winnipeg. If they want to keep up with Calgary and continue to show they deserve to be in the playoffs, wins must be in order. It will be a challenge and we have seen how this team responds to tough tasks. It’s going to be fun.