D.J. Burns can’t score in bunches like Teddy Allen.
He’s not a threat in the post like Jeremiah Tilmon Jr., and he’s not as versatile as Emmanuel Akot.
But he does bring something to the table that not everyone in the world of pro hoops has: an endless amount of energy and the willingness to do anything to help his team win.
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Winnipeg Sea Bears centre D.J. Burns and head coach Mike Raimbault celebrate.
With the Winnipeg Sea Bears losing those three key names in the days leading up to Thursday’s Western Conference semifinal against the Saskatoon Mamba, the door was swung wide open for Burns to make an impact in what was his first start of the season.
He didn’t wow anyone offensively with seven points on 3-of-10 shooting but the 25-year-old forward out of Youngstown State contributed in other ways, leading the team in both rebounds (seven) and blocked shots (two), while adding a pair of steals.
Burns — who played out of position at centre with Tilmon’s departure — played a pivotal role in a 99-88 Sea Bears win to earn their first playoff victory in franchise history.
“At a young age, I was blessed and honoured to see just how valuable being one of those guys is,” Burns said.
“It’s so impactful, so why not do it? We’re living the dream, I’m from New Orleans, Louisiana, and I’m blessed to be a professional basketball player, so I give my emotions to it because not everybody gets to do this — I’m living the dream.”
The Sea Bears led 83-72 with six minutes remaining when star Saskatoon guard Tavian Dunn-Martin drove to the basket for what appeared to be an easy layup — until Burns came out of nowhere to swat the ball into the stands.
The defensive stop got the biggest reaction of the night from the 6,037 fans inside the Canada Life Centre.
“Everything I do is for the city of Winnipeg at this point. I know what it means to the city, I know what it means to the players that stayed and committed here, so I just wanted to make sure we did what we had to do,” Burns said.
“I know I had a big chance to make a big impact with the blocks and with certain plays and I’m just so happy to be in a position for Winnipeg and for my team to be able to do that.”
Burns got a hand on another Dunn-Martin shot in the paint in Target Score Time, leading to Sea Bears guard Jelani Watson-Gayle knocking down a corner three at the other end to put the home side two points away from sealing the deal.
Burns, standing near centre court, turned to the crowd, flexed, then waved his arms to encourage everyone to bring the noise — something he was doing consistently throughout the night.
Star guard Xavier Moon capped it off a moment later at the free throw line.
“Everybody needs a guy like him. He brings the energy whether he’s making shots or making hustle plays,” said Moon.
“He was huge for us tonight, guarding (Mamba centre Jaden) Bediako who probably has 30 or 40 pounds on him.
“We really fed off his energy.”
Prior to Thursday, Burns was averaging under 12 minutes per game in 15 appearances.
“It’s nothing new. I just finished a great year in the first division in Israel, so I’m used to being a professional, I’m used to doing my job well, I just needed a platform to do it,” said Burns.
“We doing this for the city of Winnipeg, we’re doing this for Teddy, we’re doing this for Tilmon, we’re doing this for everybody.”
Burns wasn’t the only one who stepped up. He isn’t going to win a three-point shootout anytime soon, but guard Isiah Osborne woke up at the perfect time to show everyone how that’s something he’s capable of. In Winnipeg’s final six games of the season, the 29-year-old from Windsor, Ont., was ice cold, shooting 4-for-30 from deep.
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During that same stretch, Osborne failed to hit double digits in scoring.
But against Saskatoon, the former Carleton University product was back to his old ways by drilling four treys and scoring 19 points. Watson-Gayle was the biggest standout with 27 points, and Moon also came up clutch with 20.
“That’s the reason why we call him the silent assassin,” said Burns on Osborne. “He don’t need to say too much, but he does everything you need him to do. Everybody on the team knows the type of high-level player he is.”
The Sea Bears will play the winner of the Vancouver Bandits (15-9) and Edmonton Stingers (9-15) in the Western Conference Final on Saturday afternoon. The Bandits-Stingers contest was still ongoing at press deadline.
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Taylor Allen is a sports reporter for the Winnipeg Free Press. Taylor was the Vince Leah intern in the Free Press newsroom twice while earning his joint communications degree/diploma at the University of Winnipeg and Red River College Polytechnic. He signed on full-time in 2019 and mainly covers the Blue Bombers, curling, and basketball. Read more about Taylor.
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