Category: Basketball

The NBA G League playoffs don’t begin until April, but Sunday’s clash between the Birmingham Squadron and Long Island Nets at Legacy Arena most definitely had a postseason vibe.

The visiting Nets – affiliates of Brooklyn – started the afternoon in sixth place in the Eastern Conference, clinging to the final available playoff position.

The New Orleans Pelicans’ developmental club, on the other hand, was one and half games behind Long Island in the standings.

When it all shook out, 2,124 fans saw the Nets hold onto their spot and make Birmingham’s job harder with a 115-112 victory.

“We talked about before the game and halftime (how it was a playoff atmosphere) and that they’re a good team,” Squadron coach T.J. Saint said. “I think they’ve been in the most clutch games this season, and we’re 12-5 in clutch games. We’ve had a lot of them go our way and that one didn’t … it was unfortunate, and a tough loss.”

Malcolm Hill led Birmingham (13-14) with 23 points, followed by Jalen Crutcher (22), Dereon Seabron (18), Izaiah Brockington (16), Karlo Matkovic (16) and E.J. Liddell (10).

Patrick Gardner and Keon Johnson came off the bench to add 23 and 20 points, respectively, for the winners, who improve to 15-11.

Kaider Gates and Kyler Edwards each chipped in 13 points for Long Island, Jacob Gilyard added 12 and David Muoka netted 10.

With just 12 minutes left the Nets led by one, 88-87, setting the stage for a frantic finish.

With 5:51 to go Gardner nailed a 25-foot trey to put Long Island in front, 102-97, and moments later a Johnson layup increased the lead to seven at 104-97.

Seabron cut it to 104-99 on a short jumper and the Nets were teed-up, giving Birmingham a free throw that closed the gap to 104-100.

With 3:08 showing on the clock Matkovic’s bucket sliced the deficit to 107-104, and at 2:13, Hill’s 3-pointer knotted things up at 107-107.

But a Gardner layup made it 109-107 at the 1:50 juncture, and Gilyard hit two foul shots with 14.2 seconds left to give the visitors a 111-107 cushion.

Hill then sank two freebies, but Birmingham was still down, 111-109.

Gilyard had a chance to ice it at the line with :05 to go and hit both shots to make it 113-109.

Hill connected on a late three, but the Squadron was still one point shy.

Nate Pierre-Louis added two charity shots with a second left, and Birmingham never got a good look on the game’s final play.

“That last play we were trying to run into somebody and get a tip, and that’s just really hard to execute,” Saint said.

Crutcher scored the first eight points for Birmingham and finished a high-octane opening quarter with 11 points. Matkovic came off the bench to tally nine points, and the Squadron entered the second quarter on top, 40-29.

The pace slowed considerably over the second 12 – and the home team cooled off – but Hill and Matkovic joined Crutcher in twin-figures and helped Birmingham hold a 65-62 edge at the break.

Long Island led by as many as seven in the third quarter, thanks in large part to the scoring prowess of Gardner, Gates and Edwards, and were on top 88-87 going into the fourth.

Next up: The Squadron finishes up its two-game set with the Nets on Tuesday at 11 a.m.

OTD in 1992: The Birmingham Bandits of the Continental Basketball Association lost to the Rapid City Thrillers, 107-100.

Jim Farmer led Birmingham with 24 points while Skeeter Henry scored 20 in the loss. The biggest news of the night, however, came from Birmingham general manager Tom Maloney. He announced that Bandits owner Tom McMillen was attempting to sell the team and the chances of it remaining in Birmingham were “70-30 against.”

They say it ain’t over ‘til it’s over.

Truthfully, the NBA G League matchup between the Birmingham Squadron and Greensboro Swarm on Friday looked like it was going to be over pretty fast, with the visiting Swarm scoring on the New Orleans Pelicans’ developmental club early and often.

But after falling behind by as many as 19 points in the first half, Birmingham flipped the script after intermission to top the Charlotte Hornets’ farm club, 110-96, before 1,776 fans at Legacy Arena.

The Squadron entered the fourth quarter on top by five, and combined stingy defense with sharp shooting to outscore the team from North Carolina 30-21 in the frame and win going away.

The 33-point swing allowed T.J. Saint’s team to improve to 13-13 and stay in the thick of the Eastern Conference playoff race (one and a half games out of the final spot) with eight games remaining in the regular season.

“It’s a championship essence,” Saint said of his team’s ability to rally. “We came out flat, but it didn’t bother us. We were down seven at the half, but we really challenged them to make a push for the playoffs.”

Malcolm Hill, the G League’s leading scorer and now on a two-way contract with the Pelicans, led the winners with 29 points.

“I’ve nicknamed him the Terminator,” Saint said. “He’s one of the most locked in dudes you’ve ever seen. He puts time in on his own, extra … he’s a gift, man. He’s awesome.”

Jalen Crutcher finished with 17 points, E.J. Liddell had 15, Karlo Matkovic came off the bench to score 14 points and grab seven rebounds, and Dereon Seabron picked up a double-double (12 points, 12 assists).

The victors won the battle for points in the paint, 58-36.

Amari Bailey paced Greensboro (11-15) with 25 points, while Jaylen Sims was good for 17 points and 10 boards.

Other twin-figure Swarm players were Marcus Garrett (14) and Kent Bazemore (11).

The Swarm dominated the first quarter, grabbing an 11-2 lead right out of the gate and holding a 29-16 advantage after 12 minutes. Birmingham was just two of 11 from 3-point range, and Bailey had already racked up 12 Greensboro points when the horn sounded.

The Swarm led by 19 in the second period before the Squad starting chipping away. With just :54 to go before halftime a Landers Nolley trey cut the deficit to 50-46, and Greensboro had to settle for a 53-46 upper hand at the break.

Hill and Crutcher did much of the heavy lifting for the hosts in the first half, scoring 17 and 12 points, respectively.

Hill took over early in the third, tying the game with a free throw (55-all) at 9:50 and giving Birmingham its first lead of the night moments later with a 3-pointer.

His second consecutive trey at the 8:55 mark put his team in front, 60-55.

A Crutcher 3-pointer extended the advantage to 63-55, and then Seabron’s shot from outside the arc inflated the cushion to 66-55.

The Swarm kept their composure, however, whittling away at the Birmingham edge and slicing it to 80-75 with one quarter left to settle this one.

Next up: The Squadron hosts the Long Island Nets on Sunday at 3 p.m. The Nets are currently 14-11 and are in the sixth and final playoff position in the East.

Saluting the heroes: The Squadron is partnering with Children’s of Alabama and will wear specialty hero-themed uniforms featuring the names of Children’s of Alabama patients instead of player names on the back nameplate of the jerseys for Sunday’s matchup with the Nets.

“We are thrilled to honor the patients of Children’s of Alabama, as well as their families, with the hero-themed uniforms,” Squadron general manager Leslie Claybrook said. “When the patients see their names on our players’ jerseys, our goal is they see the players giving their all, like they do, to fight and persevere as true heroes and understand they have the Squadron’s full support.”

Each player’s game-worn jersey will be gifted to their respective Children’s of Alabama patient following the game.

OTD in 1948: The Birmingham Vulcans of the Southern Professional Basketball League saw their season come to an end with a 99-61 blowout loss to the Nashville Vols.

Bufford Maddox led Birmingham with 18 points and Red Glasgow added 14.

OTD in 1992: The Birmingham Bandits of the Continental Basketball Association defeated the Tulsa Zone, 128-106.

Skeeter Henry led the winners with 36 points while Eric Johnson notched the double-double with 20 points and 12 rebounds. Chris Collier added 20 points off the bench in a contest that saw the Bandits score the first 12 points in a game played in front of just 347 fans at State Fair Arena.

I’m guessing in years to come, the Birmingham Squadron’s 124-112 victory over the Memphis Hustle last Sunday will not be discussed by sports historians.

It was, after all, simply a late season NBA G League game contested by teams trying to work themselves into playoff position in their respective conferences.

But you know what? I consider myself something of a sports historian, and I’m gonna talk about it today.

Why?

Because what Birmingham accomplished in Southaven, Mississippi, is one of the reasons I watch the G League.

And it’s one of the reasons you might want to consider watching it, too.

Being a farm club of the New Orleans Pelicans, the Squadron – like all G League squads – is a team in constant flux. Players go up, players come down, some are restricted in the minutes they can play. Any given game is a chess match for the coaching staff – and the chess pieces keep moving on their own.

The day before the Memphis game, T.J. Saint and his coaches learned that Malcolm Hill and two-way player Dereon Seabron had been transferred from the Squadron to the Pelicans.

Hill had started all 35 games he appeared in for Birmingham in 2023-24, and averages 21.9 points per game.

Seabron, who has battled injuries but been a standout with the Squadron for the past two seasons, pumps in 18.2 points per night while repping the Magic City.

Losing those guys was tough, but things got even tougher.

New Orleans also recalled Jalen Crutcher and E.J. Liddell from Birmingham.

Crutcher is good for 17.3 points in G League games, and Liddell pumps in 17.9 points and averages 8.2 rebounds each time out.

So, basically, Saint and company had 24 hours to put together a team that could be competitive on the road.

Mission accomplished.

Only seven players took the court, but all seven were key to the Squadron’s 12-point conquest.

“That win was a result of the culture we’ve built dating back to last season,” Saint said. “The players deserved to win, but earned it with how they believe in each other and the commitment to just doing your job. Whoever wears our jersey, there are standards we call Bars (readiness, attention to detail, being connected) to uphold in order to rep our organization and give yourself the best chance to make the NBA by being the most connected team in the league.”

Landers Nolley II recorded his second-career triple-double with 28 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists. Tevian Jones tied Nolley for team high-scoring honors with 28, and Izaiah Brockington scored 27 points and snared 14 rebounds for a double-double.

Newcomer Karlo Matkovic continued his outstanding play with 17 points; Galen Robinson Jr. had nine points and eight assists; Josh Nzeakor came off the bench to score 20 points; and Nate Bradley – added to the roster on Sunday and a member of the inaugural Squadron team – scored five points in 12 minutes.

Birmingham shot 50 percent from three-point range and remains undefeated on the season when making at least half of its treys.

The Squadron (11-12) is now riding a three-game winning streak and heads into two-game road set against the Capital City G-Go just one and a half games out of the Eastern Conference’s final playoff spot.

The Memphis game was an object lesson in just how talented G League rosters and coaches are. Regardless of the situation and regardless of who dresses out, they find a way to adjust.

And often – as was the case Sunday  –  the results are remarkable.

Look, I’ve made no secret of the fact that I’m a huge fan of this team. It started in 2021-22 when Ryan Pannone – now a member of Nate Oats staff at Alabama – ran the show, and continues on in Saint’s second season at the helm.

Birmingham has only six regular season home games left at Legacy Arena. The Greensboro Swarm comes to town Friday, March 8, and the Long Island Nets provide the opposition on May 10-12.

The Osceola Magic pays a visit on March 19 and 21, and the Cleveland Charge is here on March 30.

It’s the best brand of domestic basketball this side of the NBA, and I absolutely love it.

Give it a chance, and you might learn to love it, too.

“We have four NBA contract players playing for us right now,” Saint said. “It’s the closest thing to the NBA. We play a fun style of offense and we play hard.

“Everyone be there next Friday versus Greensboro.”