Raiders look better than ever in win over Wolves

Michael Ojo may have stolen the headline with his season high 31 points, but it was James Jones who pulled the strings and orchestrated one of the Raiders finest offensive performances of the season.

There are few as consistent as Jones when it comes to making the right play. A 14 assist outing on Sunday Afternoon was a not so subtle reminder of Jones’s spectacular basketball IQ – perhaps one of the highest in the league.

In a season where lead guard Jeremy Bell has been sometimes brilliant, sometimes detrimental, but always unpredictable, the cool heads of Jones and veteran guard Anthony Martin have always been there to restore order and take charge. And although against the Wolves Martin’s services were not called upon, he will no doubt be invaluable if the Raiders are to enjoy a successful post-season.

The trio of Bell, Ojo, and Jones worked in perfect harmony together on Sunday afternoon. Bell was forced to take a backseat as Ojo stuffed the stat sheet with his most impressive numbers of the season. The rookie connected on seven triples – four of which came in the opening quarter – and pulled down nine boards.

In a bid not to extend their two game skid, the home side raced out to a 30-11 lead and never looked back. Needless to say, the Wolves were poor. They failed to stop the ball on defence and got burned over and over by a relentless Raider attack.
Although having said that, It is hard to imagine any team being able to do much against the outburst of offense the Raiders came with early on – they were simply exceptional.

Had it not been for Kazlauskas, the game could have quickly gotten way out of hand for the Wolves. The savvy Lithuanian big man knocked down four triples in the first half, and seemed to be the only Wolves player to come to the Pavilions with a sense of urgency.

Whereas the Raiders were fluid in the half court, the Wolves were fractured and disjointed. Whilst one team took pleasure in making the extra pass and helping defensively, the other was more content to rely on the strengths of their individual play.
When the Wolves finally settled and began to execute they were good – very good. David Watts provided the energy off the bench, and the gap closed to six midway through the fourth period.

But, like they have done all season, the Raiders kicked it up a notch and regained control. The greens held their nerve at the line, and Paul Williams put away consecutive scores inside as the Raiders avoided a late Wolves Rally to take a convincing win at home.

For periods of the game the crowd were left oohing and aahing over the pretty basketball on display, and I think it is fair to say that Plymouth basketball has never looked quite so good.