Category: Basketball

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.

With its next game at Legacy Arena 18 days away, the Birmingham Squadron wanted to finish up its current home stand on a winning note.

Motor City wasn’t having it.

Breaking open a relatively close contest with a huge third quarter, the Cruise cruised to a 133-115 victory in front of 1,450 fans, completing a two-game weekend sweep.

With its fourth consecutive loss, the New Orleans Pelicans’ developmental club tumbles to 7-10 while the Detroit Pistons affiliate improves to 9-7.

Leading 61-56 at the half, Motor City outscored Birmingham 42-26 in the third quarter, taking advantage of defensive lapses to take command.

Buddy Boeheim led the winners and all scorers with 30 points, followed by Jared Rhoden (21), Jayce Johnson (17), Nathan Knight (16), Stanley Umude (14), Zavier Simpson (13) and Malcolm Cazalon (13).

Johnson also had 15 rebounds and Simpson dished out 10 assists for double-doubles.

Dereon Seabron topped Squadron scorers with 24 points, while Tevian Jones added 19 and Malcolm Hill chipped in 18.

E.J. Liddell finished with 17 points and Landers Nolley II accounted for 11.

“We’ve played five games in eight days and haven’t practiced since nine days ago,” Birmingham coach T.J. Saint said. “A big part of coaching is not what you know, but what you can get them to do on the floor. We’ve been a connected team all year, but I’m just not seeing it on defense right now.”

Boeheim – son of Hall of Fame coach Jim Boeheim – already had 11 points at 6:25 of the first quarter, helping Motor City take an 18-12 lead.

The balloon would inflate to 11 before Birmingham closed the gap, and after one the Cruise was on top, 34-27.

Motor City held double-digit leads through much of the second stanza before the Squad made a push, mainly thanks to long range shooting from Jones and Hill.

Jones’ 3-pointer with 39 seconds left in the stanza cut the Motor City edge to one at 57-56, but the visitors scored the last four points to take a 61-56 lead into the locker rooms.

Jones and Hill combined for 27 points in the opening half, with Jones tallying 14 of them.

The Cruise scored the first 10 points of the third quarter and blew the game open, moving on top, 71-56.

Everything was going Motor City’s way, from 3-point shots that bounced off the iron but still went down the hole, to unlikely tip-ins for two.

The cushion reached 18 at 80-62 with 8:06 showing on the clock and 19 (87-68) at 6:21.

Once a Boeheim layup made it 89-68, the rest of the contest looked more like a recovery than a rescue for Birmingham.

After three Jamelle McMillan’s charges were in command, 103-82, and all five of the eventual winners’ starters had already reached twin figures.

“We had a great halftime talk,” Saint said. “It was very spirited and for whatever reason, that stuff happened in the third. It was Murphy’s Law.”

With the outcome no longer in doubt, both teams were able to play everyone suited up in the fourth quarter.

Up next: The Squadron begins a three-game road swing on Thursday with the Westchester Knicks providing the opposition.

Tip-off is set for 6 p.m. at Westchester County Center.

The teams play a next day rematch Friday at 6 p.m.

OTD in 1948: The Birmingham Vulcans of the Southern Professional Basketball League defeated the Detroit Vagabond Kings of the National Basketball League, 44-39, in an exhibition game.

Herman Roberson topped the scoring chart for Birmingham with 14 points. Steve Kontos scored all eight of his points down the stretch to help the winners break a 36-36 deadlock.

OTD in 1992: The Birmingham Bandits of the Continental Basketball Association defeated the Yakima Sun Kings, 98-90, in front of 441 fans at State Fair Arena.

Irving Thomas recorded the double-double for Birmingham with 25 points and 13 rebounds in a contest that snapped the Bandits’ four-game losing streak.

Dave Popson aided the cause with 19 points and Skeeter Henry chipped in 17.

OTD in 2022: The Squadron defeated the Memphis Hustle, 129-116, at the Landers Center in Southaven, Mississippi.

Jared Harper led the winners with 23 points and 11 assists to get the double-double.

Other players who hit twin figures for Birmingham were Darius Adams (21), Ra’shad James (18), Joe Young (15), Riley LaChance (13), Zach Hankins (13) and Zylan Cheatham.

The lead changed hands seven times in the final quarter of the Birmingham Squadron’s clash with the Motor City Cruise on Saturday at Legacy Arena. Once the Cruise got it back with 3:59 remaining, the visitors never let it go.

Jayce Johnson’s free throw made it 107-106 and the Detroit Pistons’ developmental club led the rest of the way in a 121-116 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans’ affiliate.

Motor City improves to 8-7 while T.J. Saint’s squad slips to 7-9 and owns a three-game losing streak.

“Rebounding has got to get better – it’s something I’ve got to coach better,” said Saint, whose team lost the battle of the boards 33-26 and had only eight offensive rebounds to 18 for the Cruise. “To play at the next level you have to be so detailed, and the play that really got us … we didn’t talk on a slip-out pick-and-roll, and the littlest things can cause the biggest problems.

“The finest details have just got to be better if you want to play in the NBA.”

A season-high crowd of 2,819 watched Malcolm Hill score 25 points and E.J. Liddell add 23 in a losing effort. Other double-digit men for the Squad were Devin Cannady (17), Jalen Crutcher (17), Landers Nolley II (13) and Dereon Seabron (13).

Zavier Simpson pumped in 30 for the winners, Stanley Umude tallied 26, and Jared Rhoden added 20.

Umude also had 10 rebounds to earn the double-double.

Buddy Boeheim scored 12 and Nathan Knight closed out twin-figure Motor City scorers with 10.

The Squadron got off to a  slow start, falling behind 17-9 early.

But Cannady bagged two consecutive 3-pointers, and Liddell powered his way in for a layup to knot the score at 17-all at 4:30 of the first.

The Cruise stormed back thanks to Umude, however, moving in front 33-22 with a minute to go in the quarter.

When the buzzer sounded Motor City led, 33-26, and Umude topped all scorers with 12 points.

The Cruise gained a 42-30 edge in the second and used a smothering defense to keep Birmingham out of sync. But timely threes helped the home team crawl back in the hunt, and a Crutcher 3-pointer 2:32 before the half cut the deficit to 48-44.

Motor City always seemed to have an answer, though, and went into halftime with a 58-49 lead.

The teams matched each other basket for basket during the bulk of the third period. Yet, after trailing the entire night, the Squadron finally got its first lead on a Cannady trey at the 1:30 juncture, moving on top, 83-82.

And with the score tied 85-85 with time running down, Nolley drained a contested 3-pointer at the buzzer to give Birmingham an 88-85 advantage with one quarter to go.

Ther Squadron led by as many as six before the Cruise closed the gap, keeping things tight until they were able to overtake the BJCC tenants and win the first of a two-game set.

Next up: Nineteen hours after they finished up the first one, the Squadron and Cruise meet again. Start time for Sunday’s game is 4 p.m.

OTD in 1949: The Birmingham Steelers of the Southern Professional Basketball League defeated Firestone of Decatur, 71-51, in an exhibition game played in Decatur.

Bob Murphy paced Birmingham with 21 points and Johnny Murphy added 14 in a contest that saw the Steelers play with the same five starters from wire to wire.

It was the SPBL team’s 13^th victory in 14 exhibition games played during the 1948-49 season.

OTD in 2023: The Squadron fell to the Sioux Falls Skyforce, 106-99.

James Kelly Sr., Zylan Cheatham and Kelan Martin scored 16 points apiece in a losing effort, while Josh Nzeakor, Feron Hunt and John Petty Jr. had 11 points each.

D.J. Stewart and Jamaree Bouyea had the hottest hands for the winners as both players pumped in 27 points. Justin Champagnie contributed 19 points and 13 rebounds for Sioux Falls.