His nose is broken, his ankle is sore and he’s feeling “a bit beat up” overall, but Carl English says he’s ready — even anxious — to get back on the court tonight and play some more big boy basketball.
English and the St. John’s Edge trail the London Lightning 1-0 in their best-of-seven National Basketball League of Canada divisional final heading into Game 2 tonight in London (8:30 p.m. NT).
Those who took in Tuesday’s series opener have to be wondering what the two teams can provide for an encore after an intense, physical, back-and-forth game that saw the defending champion Lightning prevail 140-133 in double overtime.
Amid a litany of lead changes, the teams combined for 64 fouls, and the league’s top two scorers — Royce White of London and English — both fouled out in the last minute of the contest.
“It was a physical game for sure, but we knew it would be that way going in,” said English, who finished with 22 points, second on the team to Ryan Reid’s 27.
“It’s the way teams have been playing us in the latter stretch. Windsor tried it (in a first-round series that the Edge swept) and we knew London would, too.
“We didn’t back down, but it really comes down to it being a mental game, especially in a physical game that goes into two overtimes. As your body wears down, your mental aspect becomes so much more important and I felt that’s what we were lacking in a couple of key possessions, a couple of key plays towards the end.”
On Tuesday, the 37-year-old English was at his best in the 10 minutes of extra time, where he hit a couple of three-pointers and collected 11 points — half his total for the game. He wonders if he might have been able to contribute even more down the stretch if he hadn’t twisted an ankle as he came down on the foot of the Lightning’s Julian Boyd after hitting one of those treys early in the second overtime.
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One thing is for certain, the NBL Canada MVP didn’t look at all like himself early in the contest — both in his shooting range and his appearance.
The two issues were related. English had suffered a broken nose in practice earlier in the week and decided to try for some protection in the form of a protective mask. But six minutes into Game 1, and after missing his first three shots, he chucked the faceguard.
“It didn’t fit right. It was hard seeing, especially downward, so we scratched that,” said English, who passed up on an optional shootaround Wednesday in order to help recover from the injuries.
He says he’ll be OK for tonight’s rematch.
“I should be ready,” stated English, adding “It’s always fun to play” in the postseason.
“But it’s that much better if you win. That was a tough one (Tuesday). I felt we let it slip away from us. We had multiple chances to win, we just could finish it.”
Indeed, the Edge led by as many as five points in both overtime sessions. And they were up by three with eight seconds left in the first extra stanza after Charles Hinkle hit a jumper. But four seconds later, the Lightning’s Kyle Johnson tied it up with a shot from beyond the arc.
English suggests it would have been better if the Edge had fouled and allowed London two shots from the charity stripe rather to take the chance of the Lightning doing what they did by hitting a trey that sent the game into a second overtime.
“Everybody argues (what to do in that situation), but I’ve always believed you should foul, because you are still in control with the ball and the lead,” said English.
“But that game didn’t come down to one play. There were many crucial plays where we could have been better, made better decisions.”
English says over his career he has come to expect visiting teams won’t get much in the way of breaks and that it won’t be any different tonight.
“Basketball is tough on the road,” he said. “I’ve always felt you have to be 10 points better on the road than the opposing teams.
“I thought (Tuesday), we were that much better for the most part, but just a couple of lapses cost us. So, we know we’re that close.”
That close to getting a win in London. The Edge have taken on the Lightning four times at the Budweiser Gardens this season and came away losers on each occasion, twice in overtime.
“They’re very talented, we know that, they’ve proved that” said English of the Lightning.
“But we’re right there and I still feel we’re the better team. It’s just that we haven’t shown it here yet.
“But you can’t dwell on those (four) games or even the last one. Yes, a loss like that can be devastating, but the fact that we made mistakes, but were that close to winning means we can still be in control of our destiny.”
Indeed, if the Edge come away with a victory tonight, they will have wrested home-court advantage away from London, with Games 3, 4 and 5 (the latter with the “if necessary” tag entering tonight) set for Mile One Centre in St. John’s on Saturday, Monday and Thursday, April 26.
Twitter: @telybrendan
