Three games into the 2023-24 NBA G League season, the Birmingham Squadron – affiliates of the New Orleans Pelicans – boasts a 40-point opening night victory over Austin as well as a two-game road sweep of the Capitanes de Ciudad de México. Now 3-0 in the Showcase Cup in-season tourney standings, the team head coach T.J. Saint said would be hot-shooting and fun to watch is off to its best start since coming to the Magic City in 2021.
“Actually, our offense can get a lot better,” Saint said Friday afternoon before practice. “I think I want to take even more threes. We’re a really good shooting team – I think we’re fifth in the league right now. But our turnovers are keeping us from attempting even more, so we need to cut down on those.
“The thing that I’m very, very happy with is our defense. We’re second in the league and our rebounding is really good. And to build an identity as a team and then eventually get a call to the NBA, you have to be an elite system defender and we’ve got a lot of good buy-in so far on the defensive end, so I’m super happy with it.”
In Mexico City the Squadron took two hard-fought victories against a club that has plenty of talent.
“I love playing down there,” Saint said. “The fans are engaged, it’s loud … it’s a big-time arena. They’re a really, really good team with a lot of veteran players that know how to play and we went against some very, very intense defensive pressure from them.
“And I really am proud and happy with the team essence. We had to overcome a lot of in-game adversity and pull through it and to be honest, it’s an experience that I will never forget. It’s one of the coolest basketball moments of my entire career.”
Up next for Birmingham is a pair of games against the Texas Legends (1-2), who are based out of Frisco and linked with the Dallas Mavericks.
A.J. Lawson – in his second season on a two-way deal with the Mavs – has made two appearances for the Legends and leads the team in scoring with a 26.5-points per game clip.
Justin Jackson scores 23.3 per night, followed by Greg Brown III (14.5) and Dexter Dennis (10).
Oliver-Maxence Prosper scored 19 points in his one game with Texas this season.
The Legends also feature Jelly Walker, who – along with Birmingham center Trey Jemison – helped UAB reach the NIT finals last season.
“I think it’s pretty exciting for fans to see two players from UAB go against each other,” Saint said. “Who wouldn’t be excited about that if you’re a Blazer fan? Trey has improved a lot since we first signed him. He’s a very, very quick learner, and I’m talking about within a game he can do multiple different things. We changed coverages three different times in the second half in Mexico. And he wasn’t perfect, but his ability to change with that on the fly made a huge impact.
“Like, we started switching all pick-and-rolls with him, something we didn’t do a lot in camp, to try to keep (Mexico City guard) Trey Burke out of the paint and just make him take tough shots over Trey, and Trey did that pretty well.”
Jemison and E.J. Liddell have been forces on the glass, with Jemison pulling down 9.7 rebounds each time out and Liddell snatching 9.3.
As a team, Birmingham is third in in rebounds with 53 per outing.
Malcolm Hill is currently second in the G League in 3-pointers made with 12, while the Squadron ranks fifth (40) in that category and fifth in 3-point percentage (36.4).
It was Hill’s trey with 0.3 seconds on the clock that forced overtime in Birmingham’s 108-102 victory over Mexico City on Monday night.
Jalen Crutcher, who led the team in scoring with 18 points, tallied the game-winner as the Squadron reached the O.T. target score (first team to score seven points).
In Sunday’s road opener against the Capitanes, Landers Nolley II tallied his second consecutive double-double with 27 points and 12 boards in a 108-103 conquest.
Hill hit for 25 points, Crutcher scored 21, and Liddell chipped in 18.
Hill is one of six Squadron players who averages double figures in the team’s perfect start, accounting for 19.7 points per game through three outings.
Nolley II scores 19 points per contest, followed by Crutcher (16.7), Liddell (14.7), Izaiah Brockington (13.7) and Tevian Jones (11.7).
Sunday’s game between Birmingham and Texas is set for 3 p.m. at Legacy Arena, and the two are at it again on Tuesday at 7 p.m.
“I think it’s really cool to see how the guys are building a true connectivity and camaraderie with each other,” Saint said. “They’re very connected right now. Trey’s one of the leaders in that with his voice and just how he plays and yeah … I think we’ve got some future NBA players on our team.”
For ticket information, go to birmingham.gleague.nba.com.
looking forward to Sunday!
Jelly vs. Jamison! I can’t wait!