Strike That, Reverse It

So, if you scroll down a little bit you'll see I said Maine is the new beast of the East because they got Morris Almond and T.J. Cummings.

Um, yeah. Strike that, reverse it. They're still overrated.

The Red Claws lost to Tulsa 113-107 this morning. Normally I'd look at that score and say, Maine played a competitive game against a tough Western Conference  foe, on the road, where the Vipers have lost twice. That's impressive.

Until you notice that it took a massive comeback by Maine to lose by just six. That Tulsa outscored Maine 35-21 in the first and 31-23 in the third.

Until you see that Maine had 51 rebounds (19 offensive) and still lost to a Tulsa team that had 34 rebounds (five offensive).

Until you see that Tulsa shot the [insert favorite euphemism here] out of the ball and got to the line 37 times (hitting 30 shots), doubling Maine's output from there.

Until you see that Maine made 22 turnovers (compared to 15 by Tulsa).

Until you see that Tulsa blocked eight shots while Maine blocked one.

So was the game really that close? Maine outscored Tulsa 37-25 in the fourth. Maine showing the ability to rally or Tulsa taking the foot off the pedal while up by a bit?

The Vipers watched that game today on NBA Futurecast to scout Maine. So I would imagine the lesson they learned was as long as you don't ease up, they can put away Maine and keep them away. Play 48 minutes of basketball and the Red Claws are cooked.

And in case your worried that this will become bulletin board material to amp up Maine, then I say this: If they need to read my blog post to get amped up to play the best team in minor league basketball, then they've got bigger problems. My guess is that's not the case, and I don't mean to suggest it is. Just heading that off at the pass.

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Of course, before we can preview this weekend accurately we need to know what the Vipers roster will look like. The Rockets traded three and acquired four today. Garrett Temple's 10-day contract is up, so does that mean he's the fourth leaving to make space? Is he going to be back in the Valley on Saturday? He's played well for the Rockets over the last two games. So might someone else get waived? There are a few guys, specifically bigs on the Rockets roster with expiring contracts, who don't/might not play. One of them could be waived so Temple could get another 10-day contract or perhaps so Will Conroy could get another GATORADE Call-Up. Or, on the other side of the ball, with a suddenly full roster, does that free someone up (ie: Jermaine Taylor or Jordan Hill) to be assigned? I don't know. I honestly don't right now. Things will become clearer in the next 24-48 hours. Stay tuned.