Month: February 2024

Heading into Friday night’s clash between the Birmingham Squadron and Maine Celtics, the New Orleans Pelicans affiliate had only one season sweep of a two-game set against the same opponent. That came in December when T.J. Saint’s took two on the road against the Osceola Magic.

Now they have a pair on their 2023-24 resume – and the first at home.

Maine’s JD Davison – a 2022 second round draft pick out of Alabama – missed the second of two free throw attempts with 1.2 seconds left and Birmingham hung on for a 99-98 win in front of 2,233 fans at Legacy Arena.

A hotly contested fourth quarter was ultimately settled at the charity stripe as Squadron two-way player Dereon Seabron hit the first of two freebies with 8.5 seconds left to make the score 99-97.

“In the entire G League season, including the Showcase Cup, I believe we’re now 12-4 in close games,” Saint said. “Games like this make us better.”

The big story, however, involved Birmingham’s new big man – Karlo Matkovic. Just two games into his G League career, Matkovic recorded his first double-double with 21 points and 10 rebounds.

“He’s really good,” Saint said. “And he’s going to be – over time – a very good NBA player. He’s been playing pro for a while (six seasons and three different teams in Croatia, Serbia and Slovenia) and we need a five (center) because we lost two in twelve days when Trey (Jemison) got called up and Ike (Anigbogu) got hurt. He fits in with exactly what we need.”

Matkovic was all smiles after the game. In two nights, he’s racked up 40 points and pulled down 19 boards.

“When I transferred from Europe to here, I expected there would be an adjustment,” said Matkovic, who played for KK Cedevita Olimpija of the Adriatic Basketball Association last season. “But the guys have really talked to me a lot and helped me out, and think that’s what’s really got me going.

“It’s an adjustment from Europe to here with the three-second lane violations and faster game play, and also knowing where to be on the court. There’s a lot of little stuff.”

All five starters for the Squadron (10-12) finished in double figures. Aside from Matkovic, E.J. Liddell scored 16 points, Malcolm Hill and Seabron each netted 14, and Jalen Crutcher accounted for 12 points.

Landers Nolley II came off the bench to score 11.

Birmingham is now two and half games out of the final playoff position with 12 games to go.

The Boston Celtics developmental team (11-11) was paced by Davison’s 19 points. Other Maine players to hit twin figures were Joe Wieskamp (15), Drew Peterson (13), Brandon Slater (13), DJ Steward (12) and Neemias Queta (12), who also had 12 rebounds for the double-double.

Birmingham got the upper hand early, leading by as many as 10 points in the first quarter. But Maine made a push late in the frame and the Squadron’s lead was down to five – 28-23 – when the horn sounded.

The Celtics managed to tie the score at 34-34 at the second period’s 7:49 mark, but the hosts never allowed them to take the lead. A surge in the final two minutes of the period helped Birmingham enter the locker room on top, 55-48.

The Squadron looked to blow this one open in the third, going up 63-50 9:29 into the quarter and grabbing all the momentum.

But Maine kept chipping away, slicing the deficit to one on a pair of occasions.

Heading into the fourth, Birmingham was clinging to a 74-71 lead.

The Celtics managed to take the lead once at 75-74, but when the final horn sounded it was the home team that owned the one-point edge.

Next up: The Squadron travels to Southaven, Mississippi, to meet the Memphis Hustle Sunday at 1 p.m.

Coaching ‘em up: Here’s a trivia question for you … who is the winningest coach in Birmingham professional basketball history?

That would be none other than the current Squadron coach.

Saint, who is winding down his second season guiding Birmingham’s G League team, won his 29^th game on January 11, which put him atop the leaderboard among Magic City pro hoop bosses.

Records of his predecessors are 28-20 (Ryan Pannone, Squadron, inaugural season); 27-34 (Mo McHone, Birmingham Bandits, Continental Basketball Association); 21-18 (Jim Price (interim coach of both the Birmingham Vulcans and Birmingham Steelers of the Southern Professional Basketball League); 17-5 (Fred Lewis, Birmingham Skyhawks, Professional Basketball League of America); 14-13 (Wheeler Fleming, Vulcans); 8-3 (Ben Chapman, Steelers); and 5-8 (Cherry Foster, Vulcans).

After tonight’s rematch with Maine, Saint is 37-51 overall.

Of course, the main goal of G League coaches is to get players ready for the next level, and Saint is certainly getting the job done in that respect.

“Coach Saint has distinguished himself in the area of player development for many years both in the G League and NBA levels,” said David Griffin, executive vice president of basketball operations for the Pelicans. “His growth as a head coach has been profound.”

OTD in 1992: The Birmingham Bandits of the CBA lost to the Columbus Horizon, 105-104.

Skeeter Henry had a career-high 42 points for Birmingham, while Dave Popson finished with 16 points.

Eric Johnson had a double-double with 15 points and 18 assists, and Michael Cutright also had 15 points.

OTD in 2023: The Squadron fell to the Oklahoma City Blue, 113-111, with 1,813 fans at Legacy Arena looking on. James Kelly Sr. had a double-double to lead Birmingham (18 points, 12 rebounds). Other double-digit me for the Squadron were Kelan Martin (16), Javonte Smart (15), Feron Hunt (14), Seabron (12) and Zylan Cheatham (11).

Thursday was an active day for the Birmingham Squadron.

It started with the acquisition of 6-11 center/forward Karlo Matkovic, brought in to add some size and strength to the lineup.

Later in the afternoon Malcolm Hill – the NBA G League’s top scorer – was given a two-way contract by Birmingham’s parent club, the New Orleans Pelicans.

And Jalen Crutcher, who has played every game for T.J. Saint’s squad in 2023-24,  got a 10-day contract with New Orleans and was immediately assigned to the Squadron.

For the day to have a happy ending, though, the Squadron needed to topple the visiting Maine Celtics at Legacy Arena.

Dereon Seabron made sure they did.

Seabron scored on a reverse layup with 1.3 seconds left as Birmingham (9-12) downed Boston’s developmental team, 127-125, in front of 1,353 fans.

The Squadron led by six late but the Celtics (11-10) managed to rally and knot the score at 125-all just 14 seconds from the finish.

Opting to work the clock down, Seabron made sure the ball was in his hands when it came time for the last shot.

It was the most important bucket of his 16-point night, and he also added 11 rebounds to earn the double-double.

But the “W” was secured in large part by Hill and Matkovic; Hill finished with a team-high 27 points and Matkovic was outstanding in his Magic City debut with 19 points and nine rebounds.

E.J. Liddell aided the cause with a double-double of his own (16 points, 10 boards), while Landers Nolley II added 12 points, Izaiah Brockington chipped in 11 and Crutcher wound up with 10.

Joe Wieskamp led Maine with 36 points and University of Alabama product JD Davison, a two-way player, contributed 28 points and eight rebounds.

Other double-digit scorers for the Celtics were Drew Peterson (18), Tony Snell (12), Jordan Walsh (11) and DJ Steward (10).

The game was tight throughout, with Maine leading 30-27 after the first quarter and 62-54 at intermission.

Birmingham won the third quarter 28-20 to erase the deficit, and outscored the visitors 45-43 in a wild fourth stanza. The victory leaves the Squadron three games out of the final playoff position with 13 games remaining.

Next up: The Squadron and Celtics square off again here Friday at 7 p.m.

Ignite in trouble?: One of the unique aspects of the G League is the Ignite, a team based in Nevada and made up of elite NBA prospects. It was formed as an alternative to college basketball, offering salaries up to $500,000.

However, NBA commissioner Adam Silver suggested that G League Ignite will be “reassessed” due to NIL options for current college players.

“I think given that that’s happened, I think we are in the process of reassessing Team Ignite,” Silver said during his state of the league address during All-Star weekend. “Now some of those same players who didn’t want to be one-and-done players because they felt it was unfair and they wanted the ability not just to earn a living playing basketball but to do commercial deals that weren’t available to them at college, to hire professional agents, an opportunity that wasn’t available to them at college, they now — all of those same opportunities have become available to them.

“I’m not sure what the future of Team Ignite will be, because before there was a hole in the marketplace that we thought we were filling before doing that, and now my focus is turning to earlier development of those players.”

OTD in 1948: The Birmingham Vulcans of the Southern Professional Basketball League defeated the Mobile Gulls, 77-46, for their ninth consecutive victory in league competition and tenth straight overall.

Shag Hawkins led the winners with 20 points and four other Vulcans notched double figures.

OTD in 1949: The Birmingham Steelers of the SPBL lost to the Laurel Oilers, 78-49, allowing Montgomery to clinch the league title.

As someone who loves symmetry, the NBA G League’s 31-team lineup has been bugging me for a while.

Don’t misunderstand – I love the Association’s developmental circuit. Once ESPN+ began televising games in 2018, I watched as many as I could. (The Brooklyn Nets are my favorite NBA team, so I cheered for the G League’s Long Island Nets until my hometown Birmingham Squadron – affiliates of the New Orleans Pelicans –  came along in 2021).

I won’t say it became an obsession, but I won’t say it didn’t become an obsession.

Still, there was something missing – namely a farm club for the Phoenix Suns. While the G League Ignite and Capitanes de Ciudad de Mexico (Mexico City Captains) are independent and unique, every other G League club had a parent.

Starting next season, the franchise repping Arizona’s capital will be childless no more as the Suns will own and operate a G League team located in the Phoenix metro area.

“We are honored to welcome Mat Ishbia and the Phoenix Suns to the NBA G League, and are thrilled to achieve our long-stated goal that each of the 30 NBA teams has an NBA G League affiliate,” NBA G League President Shareef Abdur-Rahim said in a statement. “The NBA G League has never been more valuable to NBA teams than it is today, and the Suns’ investment only reinforces that reality. I can’t wait to join fans in the Valley next season to enjoy the unique brand of NBA G League basketball.”

That’s boiler plate stuff from Abdur-Rahim, but no less true.

The G League is an extremely valuable asset to the big league, and is, indeed, a unique brand.

One of their biggest points of pride is the fact that nearly 60 percent of NBA players have G League experience. During the 2022-23 campaign, 49 players were called up.

Of course, having two-way contracts (allowing a player to play up to 50 games with an NBA team during a season) means the guy you watch in a Thursday G League game might be on a big-league court on Sunday.

Trey Jemison was a rebounding machine for the Squadron. It put him on the radar of the Washington Wizards, who signed him to a 10-day contract, and then the Memphis Grizzlies, who offered the same deal.

Memphis was so impressed with him that they inked him to a two-way pact, and now the young man who began his pro career in Birmingham has already scored points and cleaned glass in an NBA regular season contest.

Oh, and eight current NBA head coaches (including Atlanta’s Quin Snyder and Oklahoma City’s Mark Daigneault) coached in the G League first. That’s impressive.

However, it’s the innovative rules that make it such a great fan experience – at least for me.

My favorite is the One Free Throw Rule, which has been part of the league since 2019. During the first 46 minutes of a game, only one charity toss is taken in all free throw situations. A two-shot foul gets you one shot worth two points, and if a guy is fouled while attempting (and missing) a 3-pointer, one successful freebie is worth three points.

During the last two minutes of a contest and overtime, standard NBA free throw rules apply.

This streamlined approach really speeds up games, and it’s rare when one takes more than two hours to complete.

My second favorite innovation? The “Elam Ending,” or target score finish to overtime. If a game is tied at the end of regulation, the first team to score seven points in the extra point is the winner.

Such experimental rules aren’t just done for kicks; the Coach’s Challenge and 14 Second Shot Clock Reset on offensive rebounds were tried in the G and later adopted by the NBA.

And you can also give the farm system a bit of credit for the new in-season tourney in the NBA. Before a G League team starts on its 34-game regular season, it plays 16 games in the Showcase Cup Tournament.

If you’re a hardcore basketball fan, there’s too much to like about the G League to ignore it. It’s not just a proving ground for future NBA stars, but it offers the next-best thing to NBA quality.

As part of the All-Star Break this weekend, four teams of G League players will compete in the NBA G League Next Up Game today, which is actually four teams squaring off in two semifinals. There are 28 players participating, with 10 selected by fan vote.

Each team will be coached by a member of the Indiana Mad Ants staff.

G League teams won’t return to regular season action until next Thursday. Once they do, it’ll be a mad dash to the March 30 finish, followed by single elimination playoffs.

Do yourself a favor and check out a game – any game. If you have a favorite NBA team, it’s fun to follow the progress of their affiliate. And since all 30 will be matched up with developmental squads next winter, a great league will be even better.

The G League might not become your next sports obsession like it did for me, but I’ll bet you’ll find watching it is time well-spent.