Erie made their 2010 D-League Showcase debut this afternoon, defeating the Reno Bighorns 92-88 in overtime. The game was broadcast on NBA TV. I was at work, so I followed most of the first half through some combination of the D-League site's box score/play-by-play and the Ridiculous Upside Twitter account.
At halftime, I tweeted this simple statistical analysis. That's why they play 48 minutes. Erie's final shooting numbers were not nearly as pretty (41 percent from the field, 27.8 percent from 3, and 79.3 percent from the free throw line), but they found a way to grind out the win.
How'd they do it? Here are a few reasons why and some other general reactions to the game I unfortunately wasn't able to watch:
- Alade Aminu.
- Alade Aminu. Yes, he deserves the first two bullets. He was a beast today. In a game where John Bryant struggled, Aminu thrived. He played almost 45 minutes and led the team in both scoring (30 points on 12-20 shooting) and rebounding (23, including 7 offensive). Prior to the game, I suggested that the team needed to find a way to showcase someone in front of all the scouts in attendance. Aminu was that someone on this day.
- What do we make of Mike Gansey? The newly acquired Gansey missed his first five shots as a BayHawk and finished just 5-17 from the field (3-11 from 3)—not exactly an improvement from Donell Taylor's shooting percentages. But perhaps the threat of his 3-point shooting helped the offense in general? Hard to say since I didn't watch, but he played a team-high 52 minutes, so apparently Coach Treloar liked something about what he was giving them. He did score 4 of the team's last 6 points in overtime, including a pair of clutch free throws and had 6 rebounds. Still, I'm a little surprised he was such a big part of the gameplan in game one with the team. Then again, if he can give them some 5-, 6-, or 7-11 games from beyond the arc, it'll make a lot more sense why Treloar pulled the trigger on this deal. After one game, it's way to early to say whether it was the right move, but the team is 1-0 with Gansey in the starting lineup, so that's a start.
- The player most affected by Mike Gansey's arrival seemed to be Jackie "Iron" Manuel. He'd played 42.5 minutes per game coming into this game, but saw just 24 minutes of action tonight. Foul trouble also may have played a role, however, as Manuel picked up three fouls in the first quarter, his fourth before halftime, and eventually fouled out of the game.
- Cedric Jackson got the bulk of the point guard minutes. Though he had 5 turnovers with his 11 assists, my bet is that his aggressiveness is getting his number called more often than Cliff Clinkscales. He led the team with 11 free throw attempts, converting 9, including the final two in overtime to seal the win. Jackson has a knack for getting to the rack and drawing contact (say that five times fast). He's under 70 percent at the line for the season, so if he can shoot like he did tonight on a regular basis, he'll become a much more dangerous threat when he drives to the basket.
- It's hard to judge defense by numbers alone, but unless Reno just had an awful shooting day, you have to credit Erie for holding the Bighorns under 40 percent from the field.
- What a tough Showcase experience for the Bighorns, losing both of their games in overtime.
- Just as I was surprised by how much time Gansey saw, I was surprised that Booker Woodfox never got in the game at all, especially when the team went ice cold shooting in the second half.
- One more for Alade Aminu. He grabbed the first defensive rebound of overtime. Scored the first four points of overtime to give the BayHawks new life after they squandered the lead in regulation. And fittingly he grabbed the final rebound as the game ended.
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