Erie wrapped up the season with a 105-97 win over the Maine Red Claws. It was their first win in seven tries against the Red Claws this season. The Red Claws finished the season with six straight losses and missed out on the playoffs at 27-23. Erie finished the year 21-29 by winning their last two games.
The 2010 D-League Playoffs will begin on Wednesday. The Erie BayHawks season is now over, but that doesn't mean Blog Talk BayHawk will shut down. We'll be transitioning into off-season mode, but not before recapping all of the ups and downs from the 2009-10 season.
The BayHawks closed out their home schedule yesterday with a 107-90 victory over the Springfield Armor. Tonight, they finish the season on the road against the Maine Red Claws in a game that will be televised on Versus tonight at 11 p.m.
Erie coming in: Yesterday's win was the second in three games for the BayHawks and their 10th home win of the season (10-15). Blake Ahearn led the way with 31 points, including 6-14 from 3, and 11 assists. Mike Gansey also made a splash in his return to the lineup, shooting 7-12 from the field for 16 points to go along with 10 rebounds and 6 assists. Ivan Harris and John Bryant each chipped in with 15 points, and Mike Sweetney and Kyle Goldcamp each had 12. Abdulai Jalloh was a one-man wrecking crew for the Armor, scoring a game-high 35 points in a losing effort.
Check out the highlights below:
Maine coming in: After sporting one of the top records in the league earlier this season, the Red Claws have fallen off down the stretch. They've lost five straight, including a 102-95 loss at home last night against Fort Wayne, and currently sit in eighth place in the D-League standings at 27-22.
What's at stake tonight? For Maine, the stakes couldn't be much higher. They need a win plus a loss by Reno in one of the Bighorns' final two games in order to make the playoffs because Reno (26-22) owns the tiebreaker by virtue of going 2-0 against the Red Claws this season.
For Erie, they have a chance to play the role of spoiler in a game that will be on national TV. This is also their final opportunity to break through and get a victory against Maine. The BayHawks are 0-6 against the Red Claws so far this season, but this is the first time Erie has played Maine since acquiring Blake Ahearn and Michael Sweetney. It should be a fun backcourt matchup with Maine's Russell Robinson and Maurice Ager going head-to-head against Ahearn and Mike Gansey.
The BayHawks' season-long struggle against the Maine Red Claws continued yesterday in a 102-95 loss at Maine. Erie is now 0-6 against the Red Claws. Their seventh and final meeting will take place on April 3, the last game of the season for both teams.
Danny Green was recalled by the Cleveland Cavaliers prior to this game, leaving the BayHawks to fend for themselves without the aid of Green, who led the team in scoring in their previous game.
John Bryant got the start at center and came through in a big way, scoring 32 points on 14-20 shooting while adding 12 rebounds. He did have 5 turnovers, however.
Ivan Harris and Jackie Manuel started at forward. Harris was 4-8 for 9 points in 27 minutes. Manuel played a team-high 46 minutes. It took him 16 shots to score 16 points, but he did chip in with 6 rebounds, 5 assists, and a steal.
At guard, Cedric Jackson got the start despite severely bruised ribs, an injury he suffered Friday against Dakota. He scored 19 points on 7-13 shooting, but he had just 4 assists with 3 turnovers. Mike Gansey had 7 assists as the starting shooting guard, but he scored just 6 points, shooting 3-14 overall, 0-6 from downtown.
The mystery of Alade Aminu continues to be a storyline for the BayHawks. The lone BayHawk to be named a D-League All-Star, Aminu went into the all-star break in a bit of a slump, and he has yet to emerge in no small part because he hasn't received the playing time. He played just 13:24 in this one, scoring 4 points on 2-3 shooting and grabbing 3 rebounds in the short time he was on the floor.
The BayHawks followed up a 35-point first quarter with 37 points combined in the second and third quarters. The game was tied at 54 at the half, but Maine scored the first 7 points of the third quarter, and Erie never regained the lead after that.
Erie falls to 13-24 on the season, ahead of only Springfield in the East Conference standings. Their flickering playoff hopes are now nothing more than a dream as they sit 6.5 games behind Utah for the eighth and final playoff spot with just 13 games to play.
And things don't get any easier. Up next for the BayHawks is a two-game set against the East Conference leading Iowa Energy, another team Erie has not beaten all season (0-8). Erie will host the Energy this Friday and Saturday at Tullio Arena.
The Erie BayHawks should've gone 2-0 on this weekend road trip. They didn't. The Erie BayHawks could've gone 0-2 on this weekend road trip. They didn't. After the smoke cleared on two games in two cities in a span of 18 hours, the BayHawks wound up 1-1.
I watched (and tweeted throughout) all of Friday night's giveaway game, which Erie lost 82-78 against a roster-depleted Maine Red Claws team. I watched none of Erie's 93-91 win over Springfield this afternoon, which featured Mike Gansey hitting the game winning layup with just seconds remaining.
There's a lot to cover from these two games, so I'll offer some quick notes on each game along with the video highlights and then go on to a player-by-player analysis for the BayHawks.
Erie BayHawks 78 at Maine Red Claws 82 With J.R. Giddens getting recalled by the Celtics, and Alexis Ajinca and Billy Thomas out with injuries, the Red Claws had a makeshift roster heading into this one that included two players making their team debuts, Russell Robinson and Dominique Coleman. Despite shooting 1-15 from 3-point range, the Red Claws found a way to win, outscoring the BayHawks 32-17 over the final 15:25 of the game.
Erie BayHawks 93 at Springfield Armor 91 The BayHawks overcame the early 1 p.m. tipoff, staying within a point at the end of one and taking the lead at the half in this one. It's no surprise that a game that featured 13 ties and 13 lead changes came down to the wire. Mike Gansey hit a driving layup with just 8 seconds to play, and T.J. Cummings missed a jumper that would've tied the game for Springfield as time ran out. Springfield star Morris Almond didn't get the start, but he still managed to score a game-high 28 points, going 12-13 from the free throw line.
Player notes:
Mike Gansey's calf must be feeling better. Not only did he tie for the team-high scorer in both games (21 vs. Maine, 27 vs. Springfield), the sharpshooting guard also played all 96 minutes of this weekend's game action. In addition to scoring the game winner against Springfield, Gansey was hot from the outside, connecting on 8 of 17 from 3 in the two games combined.
Like Gansey, Jackie Manuel played every minute of the way this weekend. He didn't shoot well (just 7-24 in the two games) but he contributed in other facets of the game—5 steals, 2 blocks—and the team is noticeably more active defensively when he's in the game. He also converted a team-high 11-12 free throws in today's win against Springfield.
The box score show that Frank Tolbert got the start in both games as a forward. Considering how much more often he handled the ball than Manuel, I'm going to disagree. That said, Tolbert isn't fooling anyone into believing he's a point guard. His 0.9 assist-to-turnover ratio is not good, but the crucial nature of the turnovers actually made it worse, really costing them some crucial possessions against Maine. He also blew a dunk in that one and continued his shooting woes. Not a good weekend for Tolbert.
The fourth and final player that started both games this weekend was Ivan Harris, who shot the ball well (14-22 from the field, 3-6 from 3). Of course, more than 6 of those 22 attempts should have been 3s if Harris didn't have such an affection for shooting the long, foot-on-the-line 2-point jumpshot. This has been an issue that's bothered me all year long. Since it doesn't look like it's going to be changing anytime soon, I tweeted during the Maine game to start calling the long, foot-on-the-line 2-point jumpshot a "Harris" for the sake of concise language.
The biggest question of the weekend is what is going on with Alade Aminu? Unless he's got some sort of unreported illness or something, there is no reason he should play a COMBINED 38 minutes in two games. After getting off to a slow start against Maine, coach Treloar took Aminu out of the game at the 5:54 mark of the first quarter. He didn't return until early in the fourth quarter. Then today, Aminu didn't even get the start, entered almost 9 minutes into the game, and played a total of just 21:26, scoring just 2 points on 0-4 shooting. I'm not sure if more of the blame goes to coach Treloar for not giving Aminu the minutes or to Alade for underachieving, but these two performances definitely hinder him, especially when inconsistency has been the biggest critique of his game as he tries to earn an NBA call-up.
As much as Alade Aminu wants to forget about his weekend, John Bryant wants to remember it. Big Bad John went for 12 points, 16 rebounds, and 3 blocked shots on Friday, and he was even better today with a much more efficient shooting performance for 27 points, 10 rebounds, and 2 blocked shots. Are Scott Schroeder and I the only two who think Bryant and Aminu should be starting and playing together for the BayHawks? The starting five should be Bryant, Aminu, Manuel, Gansey, and a point guard, but probably not Tyc Snow.
As reported by Duane Rankin, point guard Tyc Snow tried out for the BayHawks all six times they've had open tryouts since the franchise began last season. This weekend, his persistence finally paid off as he made his BayHawks. With Cedric Jackson playing for the Cavs and Cliff Clinkscales a late scratch with an injury, the team needed to find a fill-in at point guard. Snow played just 20 minutes total with 3 assists and 2 turnovers in each outing. Snow likely will last until either Jackson and/or former BayHawk Maureece Rice returns to the team.
Jarvis Gunter saw limited action in both games, but he was the third big man in the rotation, behind Aminu and Bryant, but ahead of Kyle Goldcamp, who ironically has not played at all in the three games since this article was published with the headline "Goldcamp seeing more action with BayHawks."
Cliff Clinkscales missed both games with a foot/ankle injury.
Cedric Jackson played just 2 minutes in a Cavaliers 94-73 blowout victory over the Pacers. The BayHawks call-up scored his first NBA point (on 1-4 shooting from the free throw line) to go along with 1 rebound and 1 turnover. Despite Cleveland's shortage at guard, Jackson has played just 5 minutes total in 3 games with the Cavaliers.
Up next for the BayHawks is arguably their toughest four-game stretch of the season. All four games are against conference-leading Iowa. The first one is Wednesday night when they welcome the Energy to Erie, but the final three games are on the road in Iowa. Erie is 0-4 against the Energy this season, although all four games were decided by 10 points or less.
First, an update on the BayHawks' guard situation:
Cedric Jackson is still with the Cavaliers. His 10-day contract runs through Tuesday, February 2, unless he signs a second contract with the team.
Maureece Rice is still on the team's radar, but he'd have to be bought out of the deal with his Ukraine team.
Cliff Clinkscales was hurt late in Wednesday night's win against Springfield but said he plans to play tonight against Maine. He will likely get the start considering the fact that he's the only point guard on the roster.*
*Not anymore. The BayHawks announced the signing of Tychicus “Tic” Snow today. Snow is a 5'7" 165-pound point guard from Mississippi Valley State. He played two seasons for the Delta Devils from 2005-2007. It's likely that he's a stopgap solution while the team figures out the situations involving Jackson and Rice, but it's not a bad idea to add someone considering how thin they've been at guard the past few games.
And now, on to tonight's preview:
Game 27 Preview: Erie BayHawks (11-15) at Maine Red Claws (16-9)
Erie coming in: The BayHawks snapped a three-game losing streak with a dramatic come-from-behind win at home against Springfield Wednesday night. They have a rematch on the road against the Armor tomorrow, but first they have to focus on doing something they have yet to do all season: beat Maine. The BayHawks are 0-4 against the Red Claws this season, including a 94-86 loss New Year's Day in their only trip to Maine so far this season.
Maine coming in: The Red Claws return home after a 3-0 trip out west where they defeated Bakersfield, Utah, and Idaho to improve to 16-9, good for second place in the East Conference. The Red Claws have been one of the busiest teams with NBA player movement this season as Alexis Ajinca, Bill Walker, Lester Hudson, and J.R. Giddens have all seen time with the team this year. According to the team's current roster, Giddens and Ajinca are on the roster for tonight's game. Additionally, the team just signed guard Dominque Coleman and made a deal sending Will Blalock to Reno for guard Russell Robinson. Both acquisitions are expected to be active for tonight's game against Erie.
BayHawks keys to success:
Keep the game in check early. Two of Erie's losses against Maine were losses of 20+ points. They need to fight and claw through the first half to keep within striking distance. As they found out Wednesday night, anything can happen late in a close game. No one's expecting Erie to win this one, but if they stay close early, maybe they find a way to steal another one with some late game heroics from Mike Gansey...again.
Speaking of Gansey, ride the hot hand. The BayHawks are just 11-15 on the season. Not so good. They are, however, an impressive 5-1 when Mike Gansey is in the lineup. The midseason trade that sent top draft pick Donell Taylor out of Erie raised some eyebrows (guilty as charged), but it's paid off for the BayHawks so far. Gansey gives them a pure shooting presence that they didn't have before, and he's also an underrated rebounder and defender.
Find a way to lesson the load for Clinkscales Cliff Clinkscales has done an admirable job filling in for Cedric Jackson, but it's taking a toll on him. As the team's only point guard, he's played 40 minutes per game since Jackson was called up to the Cavs, and he's missed important minutes down the stretch of each of the past two games with injury issues. With Snow in uniform tonight, perhaps he gives Clinkscales a few minutes to rest up in this one. Otherwise, Mike Gansey and/or Frank Tolbert are going to have to play out of position. Neither is a natural point guard by any stretch of the imagination; however, the BayHawks did use a Gansey/Tolbert backcourt to go on an 8-0 run to close out the game Wednesday night versus Springfield. It might not be pretty, but they need to be creative in the short term until they get their point guard situation straightened out.
The Erie BayHawks started the New Year with back-to-back road games at Maine and Springfield, two expansion franchises at opposite ends of the standings. Erie lost 94-86 to Maine on Friday night.
They followed that up with another loss, falling 87-75 to Springfield yesterday afternoon.
The pair of losses came on the back of a blockbuster trade announcement New Year's Eve when the BayHawks shipped their leading scorer, Donell Taylor to Idaho for Mike Gansey. Neither Taylor nor Gansey have played for their new teams yet.
With the two losses, Erie now sits at 4-11 in a tailspin heading into the D-League Showcase, where they'll play—as will all 16 D-League teams—in front of NBA scouts during a four-day stretch running Monday-Thursday. Erie's games are Wednesday against Reno and Thursday against Los Angeles. This will be the only time Erie plays these two teams this season.
I didn't see the game against Maine, who is now 4-0 against the BayHawks, but I did watch almost all of the game yesterday against Springfield. The Armor came into the game with just one win on the season, and after the teams played to a 66-66 tie after three quarters, Erie hit the proverbial wall. They were outscored 21-9 in the fourth, and quite honestly, those numbers don't come close to showing how much they were outplayed down the stretch.
Looking at the stats, you'll see that John Bryant had a double-double and Jackie Manuel had 18 points on 8-16 shooting. They were OK, but no one had what I'd call a good game in this one. The team looked like a team that was playing the second game of a back-to-back. Ivan Harris shot 4-19 from the field (2-8 from 3), Alade Aminu was 3-11, Cedric Jackson went 4-13 with just 1 assist. And while Cliff Clinkscales had 8 assists, he added 4 turnovers and 0 points on 0-5 shooting.
The BayHawks are hoping that Mike Gansey will be the magic elixir for their shooting woes, but their biggest problem seems to be inconsistency. With the possible exception of Jackie Manuel, no one on the BayHawk roster seems to be dependable from game to game. Several of them have had breakout performances, including John Bryant, Ivan Harris, Cedric Jackson, and Cliff Clinkscales, but unless they can find a way to get them all on the same page soon, this team is not going to repeat its first year success, which culminated with a playoff berth.
The third time was definitely not the charm for the Erie BayHawks, who dropped their third straight game against the Maine Red Claws last night by a final score of 96-75. The 75 points were a season low for the BayHawks, breaking the mark they set just one night earlier. Now 2-5 (0-3 at home), the BayHawks have a lot of questions to answer as they try to bounce back from a disappointing opening homestand. I'll try to answer five of the most pertinent ones.
Are the BayHawks done with Maine yet? The good news is the fans of Erie won't have to see the Red Claws anymore after Maine spoiled each of the home fans' first three experiences in Erie. Unfortunately, the same can't be said for the players. They've got a lot of unfinished business with the Red Claws. Erie has four separate trips to Maine left on the schedule, starting with a game on New Year's Day. It's unlikely that Maine will still have all three of its NBA assigned players the rest of the season, but the Red Claws are loaded with NBA experience and will be a tough matchup for anyone this season. Trey Gilder is one of the smoothest players in the D-League, and he's coming off their bench right now!
Things don't get any easier for the BayHawks either. Up next they play two games against the 6-1 Iowa Energy on the road.
Does our team have an offensive identity? No. If they did, they lost it against Maine. I expected Erie to rely on their size and run the offense through the post via John Bryant and Alade Aminu, but neither player looked capable of being a featured player in these last three games. Add to that the team's poor perimeter shooting (27.3% from 3) and the offense becomes very limited. They had some success with pick and roll, but for the most part, their offense was stagnant with a lot of isolation consisting of excessive dribbling and contested two-point jumpshots. That might work if you're Kobe Bryant and you make difficult shots look routine. Otherwise, that is not a formula for success (see: 3-game losing streak).
Who is the real John Bryant? Admittedly, I've only seen Bryant's two worst games as a pro. But they were really bad, bad enough to warrant a one-game benching from Coach Treloar. So, to borrow a phrase from Eminem (how many times have I written that sentence?), will the real John Bryant please stand up. Is it the 2008-09 WCC Player of the Year who started the season as a double-double machine, averaging 17.8 points (on 60.7 percent shooting) and 14.5 rebounds? Or is it the plodding player that looked timid and out of sync against the taller, quicker Alexis Ajinca? His next opponent features only one legitimate big man, Earl Barron. The next few games will say a lot about Bryant and role with the BayHawks the rest of this season.
Will the Cavaliers send us Danny Green for Christmas? Erie's shooting woes are serious. You can have an off night or a short slump, but when the whole team shoots poorly from the perimeter, game after game—with rare exceptions—it's clear that help is needed. Watching Boston Celtics rookie Lester Hudson hit a clutch 3 Wednesday night to tie the game in the fourth quarter, it donned on me. The BayHawks could really benefit from a Green Christmas. Danny Green to be exact.
The rookie swingman out of North Carolina is currently sitting on the Cavaliers bench. He's played all of 14 minutes this season. His biggest moment of the year so far was serving as LeBron James' dance partner during a recent game against the Chicago Bulls. Green could use the playing time. The BayHawks could use a perimeter player with a shooting touch. It seems like a win-win situation. Is there any reason not to make this move?
Why did we cut Rod Wilmont and Oliver Lafayette? Of course, one of the biggest reasons we need someone like Green is the decision the team made to cut Rod Wilmont and Oliver Lafayette before the season started. They were the teams top two scorers in the preseason and would have provided Erie with exactly what they are lacking right now—offensive firepower and the ability to stretch the defense with the threat of the outside shot. Credit Fort Wayne for jumping at the opportunity and adding both players to their roster.
In five games with the Mad Ants, both Wilmont and Lafayette are averaging in double figures with Wilmont second on the team in scoring at 16.8 points per game. The duo has also combined to shoot 13-33 from 3-point range. The entire BayHawks team has hit just 18 of 66. There's still a lot of season left, but the decision to cut Wilmont and Lafayette remains the biggest head-scratcher to me.
After a blowout loss Saturday night in their home opener, the Erie BayHawks had a chance at revenge tonight against the Maine Red Claws. As it turned out, they had a great chance at revenge, and they squandered it, losing 81-77 despite leading most of the way. Maine improves to 6-1 while Erie falls to 2-4.
Erie outscored Maine in each of the first three quarters, holding Maine to 16, 20, and 16 points, respectively, before the Red Claws broke through with a 29-point fourth quarter to to win the quarter and the game.
When Bill Walker hit an awkward runner off the glass to give Maine a 77-75 lead with 1:05 to play, he gave Maine their first lead since the score was 19-18 in the opening minutes of the second quarter. Ivan Harris answered back with a long jumpshot to tie it. Then, on the other end of the court, Lester Hudson drew a foul call that looked questionable and sank the two free throws to put Maine back in front by 2. Donell Taylor missed Erie's last best chance to tie. And Will Blalock hit two more free throws to put the game on ice for the Red Claws.
By all accounts, Maine stole this game that belonged to Erie for most of the night. I'd like to see the replay of the foul call that sent Hudson to the line in the final minute, but even if it wasn't a legitimate foul, Erie allowed Maine to hang around and claw (yes, I like using that term for Maine) their way back into this one late.
Lester Hudson played well for Maine, but he wasn't the difference in this one. Poor execution down the stretch was the issue. Erie didn't seem to know what to do or who to turn to when things got tight. Last year they had Erik Daniels as a go-to guy. This year, I don't think anyone's established themselves as a consistent crunch-time performer, and it really cost them tonight.
Erie now sits at 2-4 with another home game against Maine on the schedule tomorrow. With their disappointing record in mind, here's 2 pros and 4 cons that I took away from watching tonight's game.
PROS
Jackie Manuel Taylor and Bryant garnered early headlines with their numbers, but Manuel is my early pick for BayHawks MVP. He's just a consistent all-around performer. Whenever Manuel makes a key play, the crowd at Tullio Arena is treated to a sound clip of Ozark Mountain Daredevils' "Jackie Blue" (roughly from about :11 to :15 of this clip). Point is, we heard it often tonight. Manuel dominated the third quarter offensively for the BayHawks, scoring the team's first 8 points. For the game, he scored 15 on 7-15 shooting to go along with 10 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 blocked shots. Not surprisingly, he also led the team in minutes played with 46:25. Manuel has led the team in minutes played in all but one game so far this season.
Team defense and rebounding The team bounced back in a big way from Saturday night in the areas of defense and rebounding. The numbers speak volumes. Tonight, Maine shot 35 percent from the field (31.3 from 3-point range) compared to 47.7 percent from the field (and 59.3 from 3-point range) on Saturday. Yet even with all those extra missed shots, Maine's offensive rebounds dropped from 17 to 8. Overall, Erie won the rebounding battle tonight 54-39.
CONS
Shooting woes Pick a spot on the floor, the BayHawks have struggled there against Maine. They were 1-8 from 3, 14-23 from the free throw line, and just 31-78 from the field. Needless to say, this was not exactly a pretty game to watch even though it was competitive throughout. Of particular concern is the 3-ball, one of the most dangerous weapons in basketball. It has simply been lacking from Erie's arsenal this season. Including tonight's performance, the team is now just 16-57 from 3 this season (28 percent). Last year's team leader from beyond the arc, Ivan Harris, is struggling as well, converting just 2-13 3s through six games.
Shot selection Obviously, this ties into the point above, but the fact of the matter is that the BayHawks are wasting two many possessions by finishing them with a long, contested 2-point jumpshot off the dribble. That's not the way to play efficient basketball. And I can't even pinpoint just one guy. Donnell Taylor, Cedric Jackson, Ivan Harris, they're all guilty of it.
John Bryant In his defense, maybe Maine is just a bad matchup for him. After all, that's the only team I've actually seen him play against in person. But after hearing him touted as a potential all-star and watching him fill out the box score to start the season, I'm concerned. Coach Treloar took my advice (wink) and played Bryant just over 17 minutes tonight with Aminu and Gunter seeing increased roles. To Bryant's credit, he pulled down 10 rebounds while he was in there. But he also looked out of sync on offense (1-5 shooting, 4 turnovers) and overmatched on defense (5 personal fouls).
Lack of a closer Tonight marked the second time that Erie blew a fourth quarter lead this season. They also blew an 11-point fourth quarter lead against Sioux Falls. They nearly lost another game after leading by 17, needing overtime to secure a victory in another game against Sioux Falls. There are a number of important factors that play into maintaining a lead: limiting turnovers, rebounding to prevent second opportunities for the opponent, not sending the opponent to the free throw line. But the one aspect that stands out to me is that Erie is unsure who to go to on offense.
There is no alpha dog at this point in time. Donell Taylor seems to be the default choice because of his experience. John Bryant had a play run for him late because of his size and post moved, but I'm not sold on anyone as THE MAN on this team just yet, and I don't think the players or coaches are either. The difference was clear tonight. Bill Walker wanted the ball down the stretch and made a play. Same with Lester Hudson. Both of those guys are on assignment from the NBA and it shows. Well, Erie doesn't have any NBA players assignd to its roster right now, so they need to figure out a go-to guy or else these late-game disappointments may becoming a recurring problem.
The scheduling gods have not been kind to the Erie BayHawks so far this season. After starting the season with four games on the road, the team returned to Erie for its home opener where they were met by the red hot Maine Red Claws. Erie hosts Maine again Wednesday and Thursday in back-to-back games at Tullio Arena, and if the result is anything like Saturday, the BayHawks won't be seeing 5,000+ in the stands for long.
Game 6 Preview: Maine Red Claws (5-1) at (2-3) Erie BayHawks
Maine coming in: The expansion franchise can seemingly do no wrong these days. Loaded with a roster featuring seven players with NBA experience, including currently assigned players Bill Walker of the Celtics and Alexis Ajinca of the Bobcats, the Red Claws have won five straight games, including the 116-90 thrashing of the BayHawks on Saturday. Following that game in Erie, they went back to Maine where they hosted Tulsa on Sunday. At one point, Tulsa led by 22 points, but Maine clawed their way back and won it 87-82. Not that they need it, but more help is on the way. According to the Boston Herald, rookie point guard Lester Hudson will join the Red Claws for both games against the BayHawks this week (as well as a game against Fort Wayne).
Erie coming in: The BayHawks have to be disappointed with the result of their home opener. After splitting a pair of games against both Fort Wayne and Sioux Falls on the road, they have experience adjusting to an opponent, but Maine has an offensive arsenal that makes it tough for Erie. Against the Red Claws, John Bryant had his first bad game as a pro. Donell Taylor also struggled mightily shooting the ball. The BayHawks will need better performances from its two top offensive options if they're going to have a shot at enacting revenge Wednesday night.
BayHawks keys to success:
Defend the pick and roll with Gunter The BayHawks will need to be better at defending the pick and roll, especially with Hudson figuring to step in and see significant minutes at the point guard position. The high pick and roll was devastating to Erie on Saturday, leaving John Bryant scrambling and out of position, freeing the paint for the Red Claws to operate. If Ajinca is still on the roster for this game, Coach Treloar may want to think about using Jarvis Gunter more often when Ajinca is on the floor. His speed/quickness matches up better with Ajinca on the defensive end.
Move the ball on offense Erie's offensive was painful to watch on Saturday. A lot of standing. Too much purposeless dribbling. Minimal movement of both the players and the ball. They can't become stagnant, and they haven't shown enough consistency to think that they can rely on hitting outside shots, especially jumpers that are forced late in the shot clock. Whether it's a post presence from Bryant or Aminu or penetration from Taylor or Jackson, they need to find a way to get some easy buckets.
Win the hustle battle And finally, let's see some hustle. The stat sheet wasn't favorable for Erie in their last matchup but more disappointing was the way they let this game get out of hand in the second half. All teams have off nights. The good teams find ways to stay close by forcing turnovers, getting to the free throw line, or simply finding a way to get all the loose balls and deflections. Those hustle points don't show on the box score, but they make a difference on the scoreboard.
Tipoff for the game is 7 p.m. As always, you can stream the game live online for free at NBA FutureCast. Also, the game will be broadcast on local radio WFNN 1330 AM.
The home opener was not pretty. After an entertaining first quarter that finished with Maine ahead 31-29, the BayHawks became stagnant on offense and watched Maine light them up from downtown on the other end.
Sometimes, numbers really do tell the story. Take, for example, the 3-point shooting numbers from this game. Erie shot 1-6 from distance. Maine was 16-27, including 6 makes from Billy Thomas (he had 5 in the first half alone) and 5 from Tony Bobbitt.
Alexis Ajinca, on assignment from Charlotte, didn't have a major statistical impact, but anyone watching the game saw that his athleticism and quickness left John Bryant out of position time and time again, scrambling to find his man after hedging on the high pick 'n roll. Jarvis Gunter was much more effective defensively against the quicker opposing front line that Maine had.
A 2-point deficit at the end of the first quarter was up to 7 by half and 14 at the end of three. Early in the fourth, the Red Claws put it permanently out of reach with their relentless barrage of 3s. Offensively, the BayHawks struggles seemed to mount as time went on.
Aside from Jackie Manuel and Ivan Harris, no one shot the ball particularly well for Erie. Donell Taylor was a woeful 3-18. Alade Aminu and John Bryant struggled mightily up front as well, combining to shoot just 6-18 from the field. Jarvis Gunter had an efficient 14 points on 6-9 shooting to go along with 6 rebounds in 22 minutes, but it wasn't nearly enough.
Erie couldn't have picked a worse night to suffer their first blowout of the season. More than 5,000 fans were on hand to witness the BayHawks' beatdown at the hands of the expansion Red Claws. The BayHawks will have a chance at revenge on Wednesday when they once again host the Red Claws. But it will take some major adjustments in both the scheme and execution if the next encounter is to finish any differently. In the meantime, the BayHawks have a lot of work to do. With the loss, Erie drops to 2-3 on the year, and Maine improves to 4-1.
Blog Talk BayHawk is an unofficial Erie BayHawks blog covering the NBA D-League. It features opinions and information about the NBADL and the Erie BayHawks. Blog Talk BayHawk is written from a basketball fan’s perspective to fill In the gaps left by professional journalists’ coverage of BayHawks basketball and the Erie professional basketball scene.
Matt Hubert is a 25-year-old writer and basketball fanatic born and raised in Erie, Pa. He graduated from Mercyhurst College in 2007 with a bachelor's degree in English and a dual concentration in writing and creative writing. Matt's not wavering from his stance as a lifelong Los Angeles Lakers fan, but he will cover the BayHawks' NBA affiliates in Cleveland and Toronto when it makes sense to do so throughout the year.
