Riders @ Raiders – BBL Championship preview

The UCP Marjon Plymouth Raiders look to snap a two game losing skid as they face the Jelson Homes DMU Leicester Riders on Sunday. The pair of losses came last week in a couple of closely fought losses that have left last seasons BBL Cup and Trophy finalist sitting eight points behind the league leading Riders as both sides enter the Christmas period.

Plymouth’s subpar form of late has coincided with the departure of local lad, Anthony Rowe, who parted ways with the club after a challenging start to the season on the South Coast that saw him play in only three games due to injury. Since Rowe’s move to the Riders, the Raiders have split eight games, going 4-4 (the Raiders played six teams from the top half of the table and two from the bottom half during that period), while with Rowe on the roster, the team were 6-2 (Raiders faced four teams in the top half and four in the bottom during this stretch).

In the Raiders two most recent losses, fourth quarter leads have been erased as the ‘Green Machine’ struggle to produce on offense, taking until nine-plus minutes of play in the final quarter in both games to record 10 points. The late game woes are out of character for a team that currently lead the league in scoring (93ppg) and are one of the highest scoring teams in the final ten minutes (3rd with 22.5 points).

The Leicester Riders, meanwhile, have continued their early season form, with Anthony Rowe’s move only serving to strengthen their positive start to the campaign. The 2013 BBL Cup Finalists haven’t missed a beat since the 6’8 forward’s signing, with Rowe posting 18.6ppg and 7.6rpg over three games and seamlessly slotting into the versatile Riders line-up. His addition has given the Riders a strong inside presence on defence as well as providing another option on offence.

The Riders defence has been in imperious form this season, restricting teams to a meagre 68.9 points a night, holding them to below their season average in points per game, regularly stopping sides from shooting more than 40% from the field, as well as outrebounding opponents on nine of 11 occasions.

The last time the two sides met, a resurgent Riders came from behind to claim a narrow 83-80 victory, deflating a Raiders side who had held a lead for the duration of the game.

Tip-off at the Plymouth Pavilions on Sunday 16th December is scheduled for 4:00pm.

(All statistics taken from BBL.org)