Running Game Blog 3-10-09 vs. Colorado 1st Half

I am having technical issues with my radio broadcast tonight, which hopefully will be alleviated by the 2nd quarter. But for you will have to settle for the blog. (Which I know hasn't been updated in forever).

6:09 remaining Colorado 18  Rio Grande Valley 10

The 14ers have gotten out to a hot start. What else is new?  Colorado is 6/8 from the field, RGV is 5/18 from the field. The Vipers need to start better and dig out of this hole... and fast. 

In case you didn't know the Vipers are 1-12 lifetime versus the 14ers. They would love a reversal of fortunes in a rivalry (can you call it that?) That has been ALL COLORADO.

More updates as we move along..

It is always tough to play in this building. Why? BECAUSE THERE IS NEVER ANYONE HERE!!. The financial problems of Colorado's ownership has been well documented. Don't forget that the altitude plays a factor and the floor has the tendency to be a little slippery. I hope Colorado doesn't go away next season. Wait... what am I saying. No in all seriousness. I love their building, the town, the front office, the press table. This is a trip I always look forward to. Except for the 0-5 record here in the Broomfield Event Center. I hope they find a buyer for the team. But in this financial landscape, I find it highly unlikely.

1:00 min remaining in the 1st Qtr. Colorado leads 27-20.

We got our first look at John Lucas III. He's a guy that's as good as any point guard in the NBA, but his size limits him tremendously. Right now they have Lucas and Gill on the floor at the same time. Gill is struggling right now he already has 4 turnovers, but he does have 4 points. (One turnover was Dominique Coleman not paying attention so I'll spot Gill one)

Coach said before the game that Jared could have 25 assists in this game... well he has 5 already. Not quite on pace for 25... but pretty close. The Vipers have closed the gap.. but need more defensive stops... or of course Colorado could miss a few shots...(sigh) wishful thinking sometimes.

End of 1st Qtr. Colorado leads 30-20

The Vipers can't buy a bucket tonight. We've seen a couple airballs and a ton of shots that haven't been close. Colorado does a nice job of switching up their defenses. Half court trap, zone defense, etc. RGV is shooting a terrible 29% right now. They need to find some offense somewhere. so far Jawad Williams leads the team in scoring with 6. 

Can I just say that Eddie Gill is another one of those players you love when he is on your team, but loathe when he is a opponent. Not just because he's good... which Gill is. But he's good and he plays hard, and with a little bit of a swagger...I love to hate Eddie Gill. He reminds me a little bit of Stockton...you know as a player you love to hate.

8:52 remaining 2nd Qtr Colorado leads 42-24. 

12-4 run to start the second period for Colorado. They are absolutely relentless. They just keep coming at you and THEY DONT MISS SHOTS. They are like the Mike D'Antoni Phoenix Suns... a ton of points... no defense. Maybe that's why their the best regular season team in D-league history. But with no championship to show for it.  Did I mention every 14er who has entered the game has scored. This may be a long night.

 

6:34 remaining 2nd Qtr Colorado leds 50-24. 

Did I say 12-4 run? I meant 20-4 run. No offense...We've been scoring at will lately. Just not tonight. Colorado is not good defensively we just cannot make shots. RGV is 11/38 from the field. Math majors that's 28.9 %. Last time a team won shooting under 30% from the field. They were still shooting at peach baskets with no holes on the bottom. 

By the way Sonny Weems is REALLY GOOD! He has nine points, two alley oop dunks, but the second was not intended to be an ally-oop just a pass to him in the lane. But he was so athletic he caught the ball while jumping and still elevated above the rim for he Jam. With the way the Nuggets have been playing lately. I think they should call him back up, like tomorrow.  Please?!

Ok It's official. The 14ers are the Utah Jazz of the D-League. For a team who is up... 58-33 as I write this, they COMPLAIN about EVERY CALL. Pick your Jazz team.. the late 90's team or the current Jazz team. They are exactly the same. I know. I know I am a Rockets fan, so I am supposed to hate the Jazz... but the 14ers are the Jazz... don't try to argue this point with me.... jus't don't. I mean D-league fans of other teams....do you or do you not hate the Colorado 14ers... I rest my case.

Halftime - Colorado leads 63-45.

In the imortal words of this guy "AYE AYE AYE AYE AYE" We just cannot buy a bucket right now. Meanwhile the 14ers continue to do what they do. Score, SCORE  and SCORE MORE!! It will be interesting to see what happens to the rights to all of the players if the 14ers don't come back. Six 14er players have eight or nine points. No one is in double-figures for them. Lucas and Weems both have five assists.

On the Viper end of things Jawad has been getting to the foul line where he was 8-8 to aid in his 14 point first half. RGV still shooting an AWFUL 33.3 % from the field including 1/10 from downtown. RGV will have a tough time coming back in this one sorry to say. Unless Colorado misses a bunch of shots.. and when I say a bunch... I mean like...35+ The 14ers don't surrender big half time leads... they just don't. The Vipers may have to play for Thursday now and watch their minutes for guys like Jordan, Williams, and Strickland.

FYI last time we were here , there was no William T. Goat and no dancers. Today we have both. Too bad they are performing in front of a crowd of about... 200, and I am not joking. This is the best facility in the D-League. I hope I get to come back. SOMEONE BUY THE 14ers!!!

Jordan out 2-3 Weeks and other Rumblings.

The Vipers continue to be snake-bitten... No pun intended... I am really bad with that. Jordan suffered a high left ankle sprain in the third quarter on Wednesday night's loss to Tulsa. Jordan is expected to miss three, perhaps even four games. He did not travel with the team yesterday and is in RGV recuperating.

Obviously this is tough for both Jordan..who had been playing out of his find the last few games for RGV. Also the Vipers will have to entrust Mo Carter with the offense for the time being.... did I mention the next four games are against Austin (1st SW Division) and Colorado (2nd SW Division) who the Vipers are a combined 0-4 against this year... YIKES.

Coach Moser has been workin the phones a lot so I expect some moves to be made...I don't know what he has planned, but all I can say is stay tuned.

OTHER NOTES

A lot of people have been asking me about any new teams for next year in the D-League....I think there may be some interesting changes next year and they don't just include expansion cities, but perhaps some teams being re-located, sold, or folding. The state of our US economy has not been kind to minor-league sports and lets face it, there are some teams in this league that just don't work. There are some markets with little to no fan support, and others who do really well. Minor league teams will always last until the fans stop coming or the sponsorship pool runs dry.

This news broke about Colorado...I have to say it doesn't surprise me. Broomfield is way to close to Denver and if I have a choice of wether to go to a Nuggets game or a 14ers game... what do you think I am going to choose. The development around the arena is going to be awesome... but they almost built the event center too close to Denver and not around anything else. The fact is they should have built that arena closer to Boulder. It looks as if Rio Rancho, NM is having similar problems with their CHL team. Global keeps building these arenas where no one lives. Rio Rancho is too far outside Albuquerque for them to draw much from those bigger cities into the suburbs.

But, back to Colorado, I think the D-League has a few options... (also it depends on who is managing the building)

1. Sell the team to the Nuggets and have them operate it and keep it in Broomfield

It seems as if Kroenke sports group may be interested in managing the facility. If that happens I would also expect the Nuggets to buy the 14ers and keep them alive in Broomfield. The development will eventually happen around there and if it is a separate front office... (currently their front office works hockey, basketball, and events at the same time)

2. Sell the team to the Nuggets and move them to Loveland, CO

Loveland-Ft. Collins would be a nice little extension of the Nuggets much like Austin is for the San Antonio Spurs. It is far enough away that it is a separate market of fans who aren't likely to make the drive to Denver everyday. But its close enough that everyone in Loveland who is a basketball fan is a Nuggets fan. The CHL team at the BEC has sold out every game since they opened the building 6 years ago. The D-League would salivate at selling out half the games in the same period. The one problem is... the Eagles are king in that building. Battle for quality dates would be tough...but if the Nuggets own the team that may not be a problem and the Eagles sellout no matter what day of the week they play....Personally I love this scenario because Loveland-Ft. Collins are SPORTS FANATICS and I think the Nuggets would be looking great to their Ft.Collins fans if they put their owned and operated team in their backyard.

3. Fold the team.

This is the worst case scenario. I think the D-League likes being in Colorado...somewhere in Colorado. But if something can't be worked out, and if the Nuggets don't want to buy the team...then the team will go away. I expect the D-League and the NBA will do everything they can to keep the team somewhere in Colorado... but again you never know.

EXPANSION

The team that will be coming in for sure is Portland, Maine and that is no secret. As for other teams joining. Halifax wants in BAD. But they are so remote, I doubt the other teams would want to add them into the fold. I wonder if you could take a boat to Halifax from Portland? I keep hearing a lot of the same cities we always here. Frisco, TX, Trenton, NJ. Springfield, MA, Hamliton, Ontario. But nothing is really concrete. Honestly people just aren't willing to buy teams right now. It is a HUUUGE investment. Unless NBA teams (who are trying to save money themselves right now) buy D-League teams... I expect expansion to slow down a little bit. But, I have been wrong before.

The D-League wants to be strong in the markets they are in, and they want to strengthen the relationship with their NBA affiliates. Expansion just for the sake of expanding would not be smart right now. One thing I would like to see the league do one the league is above 20 teams. Have two conferences with two divisions each. Either East and West or North and South conferences. Stay with the 50 game schedule. Have two showcases and play only within your conference to cut down on crazy travel. Triple-A baseball has two different leagues who don't play each other... the D-league should look at it like that. This is no longer a bus league and you can save a lot of franchises from going under if you help cut down their travel.

That's all for now.. I'll have another post from the arena tonight.

66ERS BIG FOURTH QUARTER ENDS VIPERS WIN STREAK

January 21, 2009

HIDALGO, Texas-

Keith Clark scored 19 of his game high 25 points in the second half as the Tulsa 66ers ended the Rio Grande Valley Vipers two game win streak with a 113-103 win at Dodge Arena Wednesday night. The win by Tulsa ends a three game losing streak and it’s the 66ers first win over Rio Grande Valley this season.

The Vipers led at half time after outscoring Tulsa 25-18 in the second quarter to lead 59-50 at the intermission. Vipers point guard Jared Jordan was on pace to shatter his career high point total he set in Tuesday’s win over Anaheim. Jordan would leave the game with 8:40 remaining in the third quarter with an undisclosed foot injury and did not return. Jordan finished with 18 points and four assists.

The Vipers held an 94-90 lead with 6:06 remaining in regulation after a Trent Strickland dunk. Tulsa then went off on a 13-0 run over the next 3:26 seconds, with seven of the points scored by newly acquired Gary Forbes, to take a 103-94 lead with 2:40 to play in the game. Forbes finished with 14 points in his Tulsa debut.

Marcus Hubbard tallied his first double-double of the season in the Viper loss. Hubbard scored 11 and hauled in a career-high 17 rebounds. Alpha Bangura’s streak of 20+ point outings also ended on Wednesday as he scored 19 points in the loss. Quin Humphrey and Stanely Asumnu scored 13 and 12 points respectively for Rio Grande Valley.

The Vipers will travel to Austin on Friday night as they face the Southwest Division leading Austin Toros with a 7:30 tip-off time at the Austin Convention Center. The 66ers will travel to Orem, UT on Friday night to face the Utah Flash.

Vipers versus Colorado 1-14-09 Pre-Game

Live from Dodge Arena... it's The RGV Vipers versus the Colorado 14ers. Let me just say this, if I was a fan of the Vipers, and I'm not, since I am employed by the team, I would HATE the Colorado 14ers!. They are the mongoose to our snake..Ok yeah that was a bad joke... but, they DOMINATE RGV. The Vipers are 1-9 lifetime against Colorado including two losses this season. They are good and they lead the league or are among the league leaders in every major offensive categories, they score, they go to the line, they distribute. However, they don't play defense, which may bode well tonight.

Clay Moser, not to be confused with Robert Loggia, told me they have added a new offense, one that encourages consistent ball movement and discourages stopping the ball. We will see how it works tonight.

As for Colorado, they are in second place in the division and have played great basketball, but like RGV have had a ton of changes lately. Gone are James Mays, Cheik Samb and Sonny Weems. Sean Williams is with the club from the New Jersey Nets and he along with Josh Davis, who has been incredible lately, will be Eddie Gill's go to guys tonight.

Don't forget you can follow all the action on Futurecast , or you can get the live box and play-by-play here  or check out Todd Mavreles' live game blog

Dorsey Recalled...Other Rumblings

The Rockets recalled Joey Dorsey after Friday's game in ABQ. Yes I know... I would have had this up sooner, only I wasn't with the team, the stats from the game didn't come out till the wee hours of the night because of some problems with their stats computers and only the D-league even so much as posted it on their website. Never the less Dorsey went up to the big club for a little bit. They are at home, they may need his body in practice for a bit, maybe he is working with this guy on the finger wag after a shot block... but who knows..I am fairly certain he will be back, and very soon. But at least he gets to enjoy the NBA life again for a little bit.

Now to the Vipers who will face Colorado on Wednesday night, they need some work and they desperately need a win. The chemsitry wasn't there with Smush and now they are looking for it with who is left on the roster. I think Coach Moser wants to make a move, only the choices are pretty slim for players who are in the pool and the Vipers are still near the bottom of the waiver pool. The Vipers were looking for a 6-0 maybe 5-1, or 4-2 stretch over the last six, but if you would have told me that the club would go 1-5 I would have thought you were crazy. But the T_birds are on fire now, thanks to Will Conroy and Keith Mcleod, and where the heck is Reno comin from... WOW.

Colorado is the opponent tonight... They had a couple thrillers with Austin the last couple of games. They are shorthanded tonight with only eight dressed for the game. 

I am looking forward to seeing Marcus Hubbard for the first time tonight. He joined the club at the D-League showcase, I think he is going to start.

The Vipers need to make some player moves, but who needs to go?

SMUSH PARKER TO CHINESE BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION

I am not the first to break this story but here it is. I just got off the phone with Head Coach Clay Moser and he confirmed a report Todd Mavreles had that Vipers guard Smush Parker has left the team to play for a squad in the Chinese Basketball Association believed to be the Guangdong Tigers. Smush averaged 17.2 points 4.5 rebounds and 7.5 assists per game. Smush also led the league in turnovers at 5.1 a game.


That's the news. Here is my commentary and is not the opinion of anyone else but myself.

This is not a shock to me that he is gone. According to Coach Moser a team in Italy had a standing offer for whenever he was going to take it. But the team in China kept in contact with Smush's agent and finally it was an offer he couldn't refuse. Funny though how his departure coincided almost to the day of his terrible D-League Showcase Performance in which representatives from every NBA team were there. It didn't look like a call-up was coming his way so he took the money. Honestly, this is what I thought would happen, if he didn't get a call-up by the Showcase or didn't play well, he was going to bolt.

Its no secret that Smush didn't really gel with this Viper squad. He was lackadaisical with the ball, (leading the league in turnovers) had spurts where he didn't get his team mates involved, rarely passed the ball into the low post, and took horrible shots. Some games he was great but to sum it up the only thing he was ever consistent in, was being inconsistent. His NBA shot may not have passed him by, he is still a great athlete, but for this season Smush has to focus on why he is struggling and fix that. He will have a chance to do that in China now.

How does this affect RGV? Well you lose your top scorer and assist man, but there are people to pick up the slack. I am curious to see Jared Jordan as the starter, I though he was very good in his two starts. The question is, can he play extended minutes? His only back-up right now is Craig Winder who has been a DNP three times this season and is NOT a point guard. Alpha and Trent need to pick up the load scoring wise. They have been.. but they will need to even more so. Alton NEEDS to get more touches and stay out of foul trouble, and Quin needs to shoot the dang ball when he is in the game.

Clay also confirmed to me that that they are 11th on the waiver wire pool, so still a long way to go if a solid player comes into the pool.

I want to thank Smush for helping us create a little buzz...but he didn't fit...The Vipers will have to move on.

D-League Showcase Preview;

Greetings Viper Enthusiasts:

Well that time of year has come, and its come a little bit earlier. The 2009 NBA Development League Showcase kicks off in Orem, Utah tomorrow morning. Kudos to the Utah Flash for hosting the event this season. I traveled to the Showcase last season and it takes quite a bit to put it on. You have to have all 16 teams, D-league front office staff, Scouts and General Managers from all 30 NBA clubs in hotel rooms. Oh did I mention all the referees, referee evaluators with the NBA, Media relations staff for all the teams and team Presidents and Owners from all 16 D-league clubs. Yeah and that is just lodging. Food has to be ordered, games need to be scheduled. All the games will be aired on Futurecast, many teams local radio outlets will need to pick up the feed for their local broadcasts. Game Notes printed...etc etc etc..... Trust me it is a lot of work and much of it is worked on by the host franchise, while already having their games to worry about.

I will not be going to the Showcase this year. My duties with FOX Rio 2 and the fact that some of the best play-by-play guys in the D-league will be handling the duties for the league and we can pick up the feed we felt it best that I forgo this trip. I do like visiting with all the other folks in the league, but since I travel to just about every game I can chat with them when I visit all the other buildings.

But I digress. Coach Moser was very disappointed at the Vipers effort on Saturday night. I can't blame him. He has referred to his team, as a Jekyll and Hyde team. Usually this season its been a tale of two halves. Last night it was a tale of two games. The Vipers played great on Friday, built a huge second half lead, actually dominated a third quarter and showed how much better they were than what I belive to be a TERRIBLE Albuquerque team. Then on Saturday we just did not show up mentally. Coach Moser told me in the post game interview that team lacked the maturity at this point to win back-to-back games. It takes a certain moxy to string wins together, right now the Vipers are mediocre, because they don't have that moxy. Will they find it...I guess we will have to wait and see, but this is a stretch of games where they can put a little cushion between themselves and the bottom of the division, they need to take advantage of it so they can be one of the eight teams in the playoffs and not on the outside looking in again.

Here are some thoughts on the Vipers and the showcase.

• Vipers vs. Reno - Monday 8:15 CST
• Viper Reunion
• Jesse Smith played in all 50 games for Rio Grande Valley in their inaugural season and has started all 14 games for the Reno Bighorns this season. I was very fond of Jesse as a player and as a person. He is a quiet and a little reserved; but very intelligent and a genuinely nice person. I had hoped he would return but it was not in the cards for us. I am glad to see he is doing well stats wise, too bad his team is struggling. but, lets hope they don't turn the corner against RGV.
  
• Vipers need a win, and should win. They have better bigs than Reno. They have better guards. No excuse if you don't get this win. NONE
• Reno does not come to Dodge Arena this season because of this match-up. RGV won't see Reno again until April 2nd
  

THUNDERBIRDS DOMINATE BOARDS, BEAT VIPERS 116-10

HIDALGO, Texas-

Albuquerque guard Will Conroy, the D-League’s leading scorer, tallied a game high 25 points and dished out 10 assists in the Thunderbirds 116-105 victory over the Rio Grande Valley Vipers Saturday night at Dodge Arena. The Thunderbirds led the game by as many as 26 points en-route to just their third victory of the season. Rio Grande Valley lost their first game of 2009 and fell to 7-9 on the season. The Thunderbirds dominated the glass by outrebounding the Vipers 47-31.

The Thunderbirds scored at a frantic first half pace and did not let up. Cory Underwood’s jump hook with 4:40 remaining in the second quarter capped off a 10-2 run and gave the T-birds a 45-35 lead. The Vipers would not get within eight points the rest of the game as the Thunderbirds continued to put the offensive pressure on into the third quarter where they outscored RGV 32-26 and led 93-73 going into the final period.

All five starters and scored in double figures and forwards David Monds and David Noel hauled in double-doubles to help in the Thunderbirds victory. Monds scored 21 and brought down 13 boards, while Noel dropped in 21 points and 11 rebounds. Cory Underwood added 19 points shooting 8/10 from the field.

Smush Parker scored 18 points and dished out five assists to lead the Vipers in the defeat. Quin Humphrey and Alpha Bangura each chipped with 14. Houston Rockets assignee Joey Dorsey played 27 minutes and scored 11 points and tallied six rebounds in the Viper loss.

The Vipers and Thunderbirds will both travel to the D-League Showcase in Orem, Utah. The Vipers will face the expansion Reno Bighorns on Monday night at 8:15 pm CST. The Thunderbirds face the Sioux Falls Skyforce at 11:00 AM MST on Monday.

Vipers Knock of T-birds 108-96

HIDALGO, Texas-

Smush Parker and Joey Dorsey each tallied double-doubles and the Rio Grande Valley Vipers dominated a third quarter for the first time in a long time en-route to a 108-96 win over the Albuquerque Thunderbirds Friday night at Dodge Arena. The Vipers out scored the Thunderbirds 31-18 and handed Albuquerque their second straight defeat and their tenth loss of the season.

The Thunderbirds kept the game close early with a strong second quarter performance. RGV built a five-point lead after the first, but the Thunderbirds answered back with a 29-point second to take as much as a four point lead in the period, and a two point halftime deficit.

Vipers forward Trent Strickland and guard Alpha Bangura scored 11 and 10 points respectively in the third quarter surge. RGV closed out the period on an 8-2 run and took a 14-point lead into the final period where they lead by as many as 27 before closing out the 12 point victory.

Parker scored 19 and dished out 13 assists for his fifth double-double of the season. Dorsey hauled in his first career double-double with a 16 point 12 rebound performance. Kurt Looby was a basket shy of a double-double as he hauled in 10 rebounds, his second career double-digit rebound performance. Will Conroy scored 26 points to lead the T-birds in scoring.

The same two squads will battle again Saturday night at Dodge Arena with tip-off scheduled for 7:00 pm. Saturday will also be Affiliate Night Presented by Adidas. The Vipers will be wearing the home uniforms of the New Orleans Hornets which will be auctioned off after the game. The Vipers fans will also be entertained by Hugo the Hornet and the HoneyBees Dance Team.

Vipers vs. T-Birds 1-2-09 3rd Qtr

8:37 remaining 3rd

T-Birds 57
Vipers 53

The T-Birds have started the 3rd on a 10-5 run and now lead it by 4. David Noel has five 3rd Qtr points for ABQ. The Vipers have Alton Ford on the bench with 4 fouls


2:47 remaining 3rd

Vipers 71
ABQ 62

Wait... are the Vipers dominating a third quarter???? Ok maybe not but they are winning one and going on a nice run to take their largest lead of the game at 9. Trent Strickland is starting to heat up with eight 3rd quarter points.

End of 3rd Qtr

Vipers 79
T-Birds 65

Ok the Vipers just DOMINATED a third quarter. They outscored ABQ 31-18 in the period and finally were able to get Trent Strickland and Alpha Bangura involved the offense. Strickland scored 11 points in the third period, Bangura scored 10 of his own..Nice third quarter.. lets keep it up