Gavin Love has to deal with injury worries at Sheffield
Marjon Plymouth Raiders' starting guards are both struggling with injuries ahead of tonight's tough BBL Championship trip to in-form Sheffield Sharks.
Drew Lasker (hamstring) and Michael Ojo (ankle) are doubts against Sharks, who have gone 8-3 in their last 11 contests in all competitions.
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Gavin Love
Ojo, the Raiders' leading scorer and chief three-point threat this season, sat out last Sunday's 78-66 loss at leaders Leicester Riders with a twisted ankle.
Lasker played, but has not trained this week after picking up a hamstring problem.
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"Michael will travel, but we're not sure how much he will play," head coach Gavin Love said.
"Unfortunately Drew has picked up an hamstring injury and has missed training, so we're struggling at the guard spots.
"We'd love to have Drew and Michael 100 per cent, but that's not going to happen.
"If we haven't got Michael, it's going to be difficult, but we need this win. We want to keep pushing for a top-four finish."
With Ojo the bigger doubt and Lasker hampered, Love is set to ask forward Jamal Williams to bring the ball up the floor at the English Institute of Sport tonight and help share the load at point-guard.
"Jamal Williams handled the ball quite a lot on Sunday," said Love. "It takes him out his comfort zone, but then he'll have a forward guarding him. That makes it easier."
Raiders had three weeks off before returning with a bang in last Friday's 76-71 win at defending league champions Newcastle Eagles before Sunday's defeat.
Love was unhappy that the referees at Riders awarded a one-sided, 24-14 foul count in favour of the home team. He said: "We're encouraged but disappointed. We know we deserved to get something out of Sunday, but for one reason or another we didn't."
Tonight, Raiders will aim to improve their record to 18-9 and force a tie with Glasgow Rocks in third place in the league. Love added: "We're upbeat with how we're playing. We're giving it everything we've got, we're better defensively and we're playing a good style of basketball.
"We're being very patient on offence and we're taking good shots. I'm happy and everybody on the team is happy."
Raiders decisively ran away from Eagles 33-14 in last Friday's first quarter on Tyneside and were still tied with Riders at 54-54 late in Sunday's third quarter.
Love said: "We might not be spectacularly talented, but we have seven guys who all want to work hard and that's what gets you results. Ninety per cent of it is energy and effort. I'll take character over talent every time."
He added: "I'm as upbeat as I have been all season. I'm enthusiastic about what we can do now. We're going for it."
Raiders and Sharks have only met once previously this season, in Sheffield in late-November.
Raiders won well, 99-71, but both teams now have new point-guards in place running their offences.
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