The Iowa Energy defeated the Maine Red Claws 101-94 on Saturday Night at Wells Fargo Arena. The Energy scored the first basket of the game on an Othyus Jeffers steal and layup, but did not lead again until the fourth quarter. Maine led after the first quarter 34-17, with Iowa shooting 30 percent in the quarter. The Red Claws took a 56-41 lead into halftime. Maine's Chris Babb scored 16 of his team high 21 in the first half. The Energy stormed back in the third quarter, outscoring Maine by 11 and trailed 74-70 heading into the final quarter. Kalin Lucas hit a runner in the lane to give Iowa the first lead since the first quarter. Iowa outscored Maine 9-0 in the final 2:48 of the game and the Energy (9-4) pulled away for the 101-94 victory over the Red Claws (5-6). Babb had 21 points to lead Maine. Frank Gaines had 17 points. Damen Bell-Holter contributed off the bench with 12. Jeffers led the Energy with a game high 26 points and 16 boards. Varnado had another double-double with 16 points and 13 rebounds. Kalin Lucas finished with 15 points and 5 assists off the bench. The Energy will hit the road for 5 games before returning home on Sunday, January 12th with a youth jersey giveaway presented by Dahl's. Purchase your Energy tickets at IowaNBA.com or call 564-8550. Press release from the Iowa Energy
Re: Energy Come Back to Defeat Maine 101-94 Teague played 16 minutes. 2-8 from the field. He hit his 3 point attempt. 4 Rebounds, ZERO assists. One turnover, 1 steal
Re: Energy Come Back to Defeat Maine 101-94 I wonder what happened there? It seems like there's a story behind those numbers. I wonder if he's injured? I watched most of the previous game because apparently it's my method for self-soothing when visiting the mother in law's. Teague looked about 10x faster and more NBA ready than any other player on the court; which really makes you question the level of ball in the D-League. I feel like at some point every year I wonder why I don't watch D-League basketball, then I watch a game, and then I remember. They don't even have big men in that league. The teams are basically running a bunch of guards and maybe one or two severely undersized power forwards. Regardless, I came away thinking that a developmental assignment for Teague was better in theory than in practice. I didn't see much he could take away from playing there. There are no big men; no real offensive sets; and there are stretches each game where nobody hustles. Teague's chances for turning his career around are running out.
Re: Energy Come Back to Defeat Maine 101-94 kuly1990 mentioned at RealGM that the announcers said that Teague was favoring his ankle, implying that he had sprained it. That makes sense. D-League coaches feed the NBA players on their rosters minutes regardless of whether they merit the time.
Re: Energy Come Back to Defeat Maine 101-94 I asked in the game thread: why is Kirk playing? Forget about the 1-9 shooting... well, let's not. Teague should be able to at least match that. The thing is, Kirk isn't exactly a core type player - he's long past his prime. It isn't even clear if he'll be coming back next season, so what's the point? We have DJ who's better and who's getting less minutes. You'd think we want to play him so he'll want to come back. Teague could be getting his developmental minutes in practice with Thibs' tutelage, and in losses like tonight. One thing we know is Teague will be with us next season.
Re: Energy Come Back to Defeat Maine 101-94 Teague's in Iowa because it's where he can get some playing time. Teague can't get playing time here because it got to the point where if you give Thibodeau any alternative to playing Teague, any alternative at all, he'll take it. Teague's really bad at (NBA) basketball...maybe irredeemably so. With all but Rose in uniform, Hinrich didn't play any SG. He still got 40% more minutes than Augustin. It'll be interesting to see if this changes.
Re: Energy Come Back to Defeat Maine 101-94 Nazr Mohammed is really bad at NBA basketball... maybe irredeemably so. A C shooting .340 from the field?
Re: Energy Come Back to Defeat Maine 101-94 I wonder if Teague is a head case in addition to being awful at basketball. His Twitter feed is bizarre.
Re: Energy Come Back to Defeat Maine 101-94 Yeah, Teague's twitter feed doesn't suggest he has a lot mental acuity. At first I thought his issue might be confidence, but now I wonder if the the lightbulb is just pretty dim. I don't think you have to be a genius to play NBA basketball, but there are almost certainly some mental traits you have to have a minimum amount of.....and Teague might not have them. I don't even think you can credibly tank by playing Teague. He's so obviously wet behind the ears that it screams "White Flag", which might not bode well for a veteran team that's coached by Thibs. Better to go down with an aging Cap'n.
Re: Energy Come Back to Defeat Maine 101-94 It's not like the Bulls to draft nitwits, except for Tyrus. You'd think they'd have a conversation with him before drafting him to see if the lightbulb was on.
Re: Energy Come Back to Defeat Maine 101-94 My understanding of the Teague selection is that the Bulls never brought him in for a workout because they didn't expect him to be around when they picked. They took him regardless because they thought he was the best talent left on the board. I don't think they interviewed him.
Re: Energy Come Back to Defeat Maine 101-94 I still don't get it. The Bulls interviewed lots of guys that went before they picked in previous drafts. Because you never know who's going to fall to you. If they weren't comfortable with the pick, they should have traded it.
Re: Energy Come Back to Defeat Maine 101-94 The flip side is there wasn't much talent drafted after him: Festus Ezeli looked like an NBA player before he lost this season to injury. I think he was a 5 and 5 guy and big enough to scare people in the paint. Jeffrey Taylor has looked good on defense but how upset are you going to get about a guy who scores 8.0 p on .376 shooting in 24+ minutes a game. Orlando Johnson has shown a little something with Indiana this season. Draymond Green? Tyshawn Taylor? Kyle O'Quinn? Bernard James? All of these guys could be out of the league within the next two years. Edit: It's one thing to say they shouldn't have given him an extension. (I thought they should; looks like they shouldn't have.) It's another thing to say they should have drafted someone else.
Re: Energy Come Back to Defeat Maine 101-94 We don't know how any of the players who might have been selected would fit in with our system. Surely contributing more than a 0.2 PER or some 3pt shooting could be found.
Re: Energy Come Back to Defeat Maine 101-94 http://articles.chicagotribune.com/...120629_1_nikola-mirotic-bulls-hope-gar-forman Bulls pick Teague in NBA draft Kentucky guard taken 29th to provide depth while Rose is out The Bulls like Marquis Teague's potential and quickness in transition. After using the 29th pick in Thursday's NBA draft on the 6-foot-2 point guard, they like what he eventually might be able to do backing up and possibly playing alongside Derrick Rose. They also like the fact he will be on his rookie scale contract for five seasons. Teague tested well athletically at the predraft camp with a 401/2-inch vertical leap and a 3.16 time in the three-quarters court sprint. The Bulls drafted him without working him out at the Berto Center, evidence they were surprised he was available. "We feel we got a real value in this pick," general manager Gar Forman said. "He's another guy who can break defenses down, get in the paint and make plays for himself and others. He has great speed and quickness and a really, really high ceiling." Teague, an Indianapolis native, averaged 10 points, 4.8 assists and 2.7 turnovers in helping Kentucky to the NCAA tournament championship as its starting point guard. He is not considered a strong shooter and connected on just 41.2 percent from the field and 32.5 percent from 3-point land. Forman said defensive concerns were allayed in part by a Thursday phone conversation with Kentucky coach John Calipari, who noted progress in his lone season. Teague's arrival almost surely spells the exit of C.J. Watson, who has a $3.2 million team option for next season. The Bulls previously explored trading into the lottery, dangling Deng as bait, according to league sources. But talks never grew serious with any lottery teams who could absorb most or all of Deng's $13.365 million salary into salary cap space, and those talks quieted over the last few days. ... Just 19, Teague is a project who projects into this future plan. "It's a big step going from colleges to pros," coach Tom Thibodeau said. "The fact he has played in big games helps. The fact he has been around the pro game helps. He has to learn our system and our players. He made very good progress throughout last season. We're expecting him to do the same. His quickness in transition and ability to get in paint is a big plus."
Re: Energy Come Back to Defeat Maine 101-94 What difference does it make if none of them are better than a vet minimum player?
