The Saskatchewan Rattlers ended their six game losing streak with an
uncharacteristically convincing 91-79 win over the Fraser Valley Bandits, sending the quiet Abbotsford onlookers home in complete silence. The Rattlers' win
comes on the heels of a massive roster shakeup earlier this week that saw the
exit of Ali Haidar, Gentrey Thomas, and even “Awesome” Tavrion Dawson (who’d
been with the team since the beginning of the season). Coming up big among their replacements
was beefy Shaquille Keith (previously fat-shamed in the July 12 entry of this
blog while he was a member of the Hamilton Honey Badgers), whose deft finger-roll lay-ins
and solid shooting from the floor landed him the team lead in scoring. That said, the Rattlers also got help from exactly where they needed
it—that is, their core performers. Negus Webster-Chan, for instance, re-asserted himself as an integral part of the Rattlers offensive attack. His one-man 8-0 run in the 3rd
quarter helped the Rattlers pull away from the home side. With the win, the
Rattlers climb back toward .500 with a record of 7-8.
The win was some small measure of vindication
for the Rattlers, whose ongoing struggles extend beyond the court. Their revolving
door roster has given the team little stability and, evidently, decreasing
chemistry. What started as an intimidating pack of lean, sleek, and chiselled Alpha dogs like
Tavrion Dawson, Justice Alleyn, and, most pronouncedly, Bruce Massey, has been, by all indications, spiraling into a rag-tag group of ham
and eggers. The Rattlers still have their de facto birth in the league
championship showdown to fall back on, but it may take further roster changes—or
at least giving the current line-up a fair chance to gel—to ensure the hosts don’t
get seriously embarrassed on the CEBL's biggest stage.
