Atlantic Division Finals Preview: Moncton vs Halifax

Two of the NBL Canada's strongest teams are about to face off for a shot at the championship.

The Moncton Magic will be rested and ready for their next playoff tie, having swept the Saint John Riptide in the first round. Meanwhile, it took the Halifax Hurricanes five games to overcome the stubborn Cape Breton Highlanders.

Moncton’s record both in the playoffs so far and the regular season, as well as having defeated the Hurricanes five times already this season, will make them the hot favourites going into this second playoff series.

However, Halifax have proved themselves a dogged unit who will not give up without a fight, after falling behind in game one of the semi-finals series to go on and win 3-2. This could make for an enthralling Atlantic Division finals.

Doing the most to lift Halifax in round one were Terry Thomas and Mike Poole, whose contributions to Halifax this season cannot be understated, while they have also seen great work off the bench from Joel Kindred and Jordan Washington. They can also call on the talents of Rhamel Brown, still proving himself a deserving winner of the Defensive Player of the Year title.

Halifax’s defence, though, will likely have a hard containing Moncton’s Trey Kell. The 6’4 guard has scored in double digits in his last six appearances for the Magic, leading the team with 31 last time around.

The Magic have also seen great work on offence from Billy White, who this season has only failed to score in double digits five times – including his joint-season high of 30 points against the Riptide in game one.

Moncton have also seen big efforts in reduced minutes from both Nick Evans and Freddie McSwain, who both came off the bench in the last three games and put up a total 20 and 25 points respectively.

On paper they seem evenly matched, but on court this one could easily go either way. Game one begins on April 18th in Moncton.

Picture: Ryan Taplin