Red Claws Suffer First Home Loss

Last night the Maine Red Claws continued the weekend trend and snapped a winning streak with a disappointing home loss. They followed the lead of the Celtics' home loss to Philly Friday night in the TD Garden, which ended an eleven-game winning streak for Boston. Saturday it was the Red Claws' turn, as their 113-105 loss ended a seven-game winning streak, dropping them to 7-2 and ending their brief possession of the best record in the D-League. Another sellout crowd in the Portland Expo watched the Claws come out in the first half and let the Fort Wayne Mad Ants walk all over them. The visitors seemed to sink every basket early on, working together in a way they clearly hadn't during their Friday night OT loss to Springfield. By halftime the Red Claws were trailing 62-55.

The third quarter was better, and by the start of the fourth the Red Claws had a narrow lead. The third quarter was the Claws' best in the game by far, and they really began to sync as a team. It was looking as though they might not only pull it out, but pull well ahead of the Mad Ants - just as in the second quarter of the Celtics-6ers game it looked like Boston might put Philly away. As in that game, it was not to be. Fort Wayne readjusted and came out strong in the fourth quarter, erasing Maine's gains.

One of the problems for the Red Claws was a lack of scoring balance. The Mad Ants had five players in double digits and two others close behind with 8-9 points. Led by F Ron Howard with 30 points, the Ants had a fairly balanced, very effective offense last night. When the Claws started to readjust and pull ahead, they did too, dampening several attempted rallies.

Maine, meanwhile, had four players in double digits, and two of those were far closer to 10 than 20. G Billy Thomas and F Darnell Lazare had 11 and 12 points, respectively. Lester Hudson's anemic performance didn't help any (7 points, 2 rebounds, 5 assists). Indeed, if this game was the only factor, Hudson would be staying in Maine and Walker would be headed back to Boston.

Bill Walker and Alexis Ajinca were both outstanding last night. Walker had 33 points, leading the team and keeping them in the game all night. Ajinca neared a double-double with 23 points and 9 rebounds, making good adjustments to read the plays. It was his best performance in Maine so far, and is indicative of steady improvement since the beginning of the season. Hopefully it's a trend that will continue for him, and hopefully they won't again have to carry the team on their back. Combined, they had half the points last night.

The team as a whole failed at the defensive end of the court last night. Much of the Claws' success can be attributed to defensive prowess, which is even more uncommon in the D-League than it is in the NBA. The Claws have won three games scoring less than 100, and two of those were less than 90. They're one of the best defensive teams in the D-League right now, but after last night they know that defense has to be there on every play in every quarter.

The Red Claws have had a few disappointing efforts even in their seven-game winning streak, but Fort Wayne's stellar shooting was too much for them to overcome. Clearly they were eager for the win and the Red Claws just weren't ready for another rally.

NOTES: Celtics GM Danny Ainge attended the game...Lester Hudson is expected to return to Boston for the 6PM tilt against the Minnesota Timberwolves...this was the team's third straight sellout...the next game is Saturday, Dec. 26, vs Bakersfield at home, 1PM.

Red Claws Road Recap

The Maine Red Claws, the D-League affiliate of the Boston Celtics and the Charlotte Bobcats, officially began their inaugural season on the road over the weekend. They played the Sioux Falls Skyforce on Friday night in South Dakota and the Dakota Wizards Saturday night in North Dakota. This sort of short road trip is common for the D-League.

The Claws split the weekend, returning home 1-1 after their jaunt to the Dakotas. They fell to Sioux Falls 112-95 on Friday, but defeated Dakota 107-97 on Saturday. In both games Billy Thomas (the first player signed with the team) and Bill Walker led the team in scoring. Walker had a double-double on Friday with 25 points, 11 rebounds, and 2 assists, but on Saturday had 18 points, 8 rebounds, and no assists in much less playing time. Thomas had 18 points on both nights.

The Friday night game was competitive despite the final score, with the Claws only behind by five at the half. Sioux Falls pulled away in both quarters in the second half, however, and F Reggie Williams, a VMI product, finished the night with 29 points. On Saturday the Claws seemed to have a much more balanced approach, with points spread across more players.

The Claws will now have four days of rest before the Friday night home opener. This is fairly typical for the D-League, where most games (about two-thirds) are played on the weekend to maximize attendance. When the Red Claws play their first home game on Friday I'll be keeping a close eye on Walker to see how integrated he is with the rest of the team after two games. I suspect he'll see a lot of time on Friday after only playing about 13 minutes on Saturday. This will also work well for the team marketing-wise, to have the one assigned Celtic play more during the home opener.

It will also be interesting to see if Charlotte assigns any players to Maine before the home opener. The Bobcats have four players eligible for D-League assignment: Alexis Ajinca, D.J. Augustin, Derrick Brown, and Gerald Henderson. Ajinca and Brown are the likeliest of these to be shipped up to Maine, as Augustin and Henderson seem to be seeing regular playing time off the bench for Charlotte. Plus, Henderson is a favorite of both MJ and local crowds, so the idea of him being sent to Maine is remote.

UPDATE: Alexis Ajinca, the 7-foot French Center/Power Forward was assigned to Portland.

For Boston, J.R. Giddens and Lester Hudson are the other two players eligible for D-League assignment. Neither have seen much playing time so far this season, and as Tony Allen and Glen Davis return from injury they are likely to be pushed from the bench to the D-League.

It will certainly be an interesting season for the Red Claws. While I'll be paying special attention to Giddens, Hudson, & Walker, I'm also looking forward to seeing all the D-League players, including those assigned by Charlotte. Based on the preseason game and the first two regular-season games, it looks like we'll be getting an exciting year in Portland.