D-League Playoff Update

Playoff First Round Results

Round 1:
April 15 – (4) Los Angeles 102, (5) Colorado 95
April 15 – (6) Sioux Falls 101, (3) Dakota 89

Playoff Second Round Schedule
Round 2:
April 18 – (4) Los Angeles @ (1) Idaho, 930 p.m. ET
April 19 – (6) Sioux Falls @ (2) Austin, 8:00 p.m. ET


SECOND ROUND PLAYOFF PREVIEW: A look at the second round playoff match-ups…

Los Angeles @ Idaho: After winning the first playoff game in D-Fenders franchise history, All-Development League team members Sean Banks and Jelani McCoy travel north to face Randy Livingston and their rival Idaho Stampede in the second round of the 2008 D-League Playoffs presented by Delta. The teams have battled for first place in the Western Division all season long, with Idaho edging Los Angeles out for the top spot in the final games of the season. Idaho leads the season series 5-3 despite the D-Fenders winning the teams’ final regular season meeting on April 2. The stakes are higher now, with a spot in the D-League finals on the line.


Sioux Falls @ Austin: Following a win at Dakota on Tuesday, Sioux Falls travels to Austin to take on the Toros in a second-round playoff contest. Austin, who swept the Skyforce 2-0 in the regular season, looks to continue their winning ways and advance to the D-League finals for the first time in franchise history while Sioux Falls looks to stay alive and have a chance to be crowned D-League Champion.

ALUMNI ACHIEVEMENTS … Here's a look at D-League Alumni in the final night of the NBA regular season:

Forty Three players with D-League experience competed in 14 NBA games on April 16th, five as starters. Here are the highlights:

- Matt Carroll scored 19 points in 44 minutes as a starter for the Charlotte Bobcats on the last night of the regular season.

- Washington’s Andray Blatche finished with a 20-point, 11-rebound as the Wizards head into the playoffs.

- Milwaukee's Ramon Sessions continued his assist tear as he dished out 14 last night to go with 25 points and seven rebounds in a 53-minute overtime outing.

- Brandon Bass of Dallas scored 13 points and grabbed 12 rebounds in 30 minutes for Dallas.

PLAYOFF TIME!

NBA DEVELOPMENT LEAGUE PLAYOFF SCHEDULE SET
Western Division Champion Idaho, Southwestern Division Winner Austin Are Top Seeds


The Idaho Stampede and the Austin Toros have secured the top seeds and a bye in the opening round of the 2008 NBA Development League Playoffs presented by Delta. The D-League playoffs will begin on Tuesday, April 15, in Bismarck and Los Angeles.

The first round of the 2008 D-League Playoffs will see the third seeded Dakota Wizards hosting the Sioux Falls Skyforce, the sixth seed, at the Bismarck Civic Center while the fourth seeded Los Angeles D-Fenders will host the fifth seeded Colorado 14ers at STAPLES Center in Los Angeles. Both games will take place on Tuesday, April 15.

The second round kicks off on Friday, April 18 when the Stampede hosts the winner of the Colorado/Los Angeles game in Boise, ID. Second round games continue on Saturday, April 19 when the Sioux Falls/Dakota winner will travel to Austin.

The winners of the second round games will play a best-of-three Finals that will begin at the lower seeded team and travel to the higher seeded team for game two and three, if necessary. Fans can watch the D-League Playoffs and Finals by logging onto www.d-league.com/watch to see all the games streamed live, for free, on NBA Futurecast.


2008 NBA Development League Playoffs and Finals presented by Delta
First Round:
April 15 – Colorado @ Los Angeles, 6:30 p.m. ET
April 15 – Sioux Falls @ Dakota, 8:00 p.m. ET

Second Round:
April 18 – Winner of Colorado/Los Angeles @ Idaho, 9:30 p.m. ET
April 19 – Winner of Sioux Falls/Dakota @ Austin, 8:00 p.m. ET

Finals:
Game 1 – Date/Location TBD
Game 2 – Date/Location TBD
Game 3 (if necessary) – Date/Location TBD

FRIDAY NIGHT LITES:

FRIDAY NIGHT HIGHLIGHTS …The top performers from Friday’s D-League games:

- Carlos Powell finished with 30 points, Rod Benson had 17 points and 14 rebounds and Kevin Lyde scored 26 and had 14 boards for Dakota.

- Desmon Farmer of the Vipers scored 27 points and dished out nine assists while Stanley Asumnu scored 18 and grabbed 12 rebounds.

- Andre Barrett scored 29 points and passed 13 assists while Ian Mahinmi scored 28 points and grabbed 10 boards for Austin.

- Colorado’s Justin Cage scored 23, while Roderick Riley had 21 points and 10 boards and Eddie Gill had 20 points, 11 boards and nine assists.

- Jeff Horner scored 21 points and dished out nine assists and Dough Thomas had 14 points and 11 rebounds for the Iowa Energy.

- Idaho’s Luke Jackson scored 22 points and Jason Ellis finished with 12 points and 25 rebounds for the Stampede.

- Will Blalock had 24 points and Marcus Campbell finished with 17 points and 13 rebounds for Anaheim in a win over Los Angeles.

ALUMNI ACHIEVEMENTS … Here's a look at D-League Alumni in Friday night’s NBA games

Twenty Eight players with D-League experience competed in 12 NBA games last night, seven as starters. Here are the highlights:

- Kasib Powell scored 11 points and grabbed seven boards as one of four former D-Leaguers seeing action for Miami, including Earl Barron who finished with 22 points.

- Milwaukee’s Ramon Sessions scored eight points and dished out 14 assists in a 43-minute start for the Bucks.

D-LEAGUE PLAYOFFS 101: The 2007-08 D-League Playoffs will begin shortly after the regular season concludes on April 12 and will consist of three rounds. The first two rounds are single elimination, while the Finals will be a best-of-three series. The three division winners, as well as three wild card teams, will qualify for the 2008 D-League Playoffs (which are presented by Delta Airlines). Tie breakers are, in order, head-to-head record, winning percentage against teams .500 and above, and point differential. The two division winners with the best records will receive byes in the first round.

THOMAS WINS AWARD

COLORADO 14ERS GUARD BILLY THOMAS
RECEIVES 2007-08 JASON COLLIER SPORTSMANSHIP AWARD

Colorado 14ers guard Billy Thomas has been named the recipient of the 2007-08 Jason Collier Sportsmanship Award, as voted by the NBA Development League head coaches. The award honors the player who best represents the ideals of character and conduct on and off the court. Thomas, who earned in 2002-03, prior to it bearing Collier’s name, will be honored by the league at the 14ers final home game tonight

Thomas has enjoyed success on the hardwood as well. A 2008 D-League All-Star, has played in 34 games for the 14ers where he is averaging 16.4 points, 3.9 assists and 3.6 rebounds in 37.3 minutes. His best game of the season came on March 29, when he scored 34 points against the Tulsa 66ers. A two-time GATORADE Call-Up, Thomas has played in 10 NBA games this season (four with New Jersey and six with Cleveland).

“It’s a credit to Billy and his sense of community and respect for the game that he receives this award,” said Joe Wolf, Colorado general manager and head coach.

“This is the second time Billy has been voted by our coaches to receive this award,” said Chris Alpert, D-League’s Vice President of Basketball Operations and Player Personnel. “He is not only a tremendous basketball player (as evidenced by his two call-ups this season, one to the New Jersey Nets and one to the Cleveland Cavaliers), but he is also a terrific ambassador of the game who has tremendous respect for the game, his teammates, referees, and opponents.”

The name of the Sportsmanship Award was changed in 2006 to honor former D-League, Houston Rockets and Atlanta Hawks center Jason Collier, who passed away suddenly on October 15, 2005. Collier was a first team 2003-04 All-D-League selection as a member of the Fayetteville Patriots, but more importantly, a player and person who exemplified the qualities of a faithful teammate, husband, father, son, brother and friend. He was ready to begin his sixth NBA season at the time of his death. Current San Antonio Spurs forward Ime Udoka was the initial winner of the award in 2006.

Wednesday Night LITES ...

WEDNESDAY NIGHT HIGHLIGHTS … The top performers from Wednesday’s D-League games:

- Mateen Cleaves led the way for Bakersfield, scoring a game-high 21 points and dishing out 12 assists. He was one of three members of the Jam to finished with a double-double, as Nick Lewis scored 19 points and grabbed 18 boards and Justin Reed finished with 12 points and 14 rebounds in the win over Los Angeles.

- Los Angeles’ Jelani McCoy finished with 19 points and 11 rebounds, Cecil Brown scored 18 and Brandon Wallace and Sean Banks each contributed with 11 points in the loss to Bakersfield.

ALUMNI ACHIEVEMENTS … Here's a look at D-League Alumni performances in Wednesday night’s NBA games:

Twenty three players with D-League experience competed in eleven NBA games last night, five as starters. Here are the highlights:

- Rafer Alston rejoined the Houston lineup last night, finishing with 18 points and five assists while teammate Steve Novak finished with 17 points for the Rockets.

- Former ND hotshot Matt Carroll scored 17 points and grabbed six rebounds for the Charlotte Bobcats.

- Philadelphia’s Louis Williams scored 12 points and dished out seven assists for the 76ers.

Sean Banks of Los Angeles D-Fenders Named D-League Performer of the Week

Sean Banks of Los Angeles D-Fenders Named D-League Performer of the Week

NEW YORK, NY – Sean Banks of the Los Angeles D-Fenders was named D-League.com Performer of the Week for games played during the week of March 31. Banks averaged 32.0 points and 6.5 rebounds in two games for Los Angeles.

Banks’ best performance of the week came on Saturday when he scored 38 points and pulled down eight rebounds against the Arsenal in Anaheim. In his first game of the week, a win at home on Wednesday over the Idaho Stampede, Banks scored a team-high 26 points.

On Sunday, the forward from the University of Memphis was named First Team All-NBA Development League. Currently in his second season in Los Angeles, Banks ranks third among D-League players with 22.4 points per game and previously earned Performer of the Week honors for the Week of Feb. 2.

Other top performers in the D-League last week included Anaheim’s Marcus Campbell, who averaged 18.5 points and 18.5 rebounds in two games; Mo Charlo, who averaged 23.5 points, 6.0 rebounds and 3.0 assists in two games for Anaheim; Tulsa’s Mike Hall, who averaged 26.7 points, 9.0 rebounds and 6.3 assists in three games; Fort Wayne’s Dahntay Jones, who averaged 29.0 points, 7.5 rebounds and 4.0 assists in two games; Utah’s Kevin Kruger, who averaged 23.0 points and 7.5 assists in two games; and Randy Livingston, who averaged 19.0 points, 8.7 assists and 7.5 rebounds in three games.

The NBA Development League is the NBA's official minor league, and the first-ever basketball league with direct affiliations to NBA teams. Now in its seventh season the D-League's goals are to provide affordable, NBA-caliber entertainment to fans of its 16 teams, as well as continue to develop players, coaches, referees and front-office personnel for the NBA. As the single source for in-season player "call-ups" to the NBA, fans of the D-League enjoy the highest caliber of basketball played outside the NBA. In fact, former D-League players represented 10 percent of NBA players on 2007-08 opening day rosters, numbering 44 in total. In addition, the D-League has produced 25 percent of current NBA referees and 17 current NBA coaches, including head coach Sam Vincent with the Charlotte Bobcats. The D-League is an innovative and rapidly growing sports property that also serves as an experimental testing ground for new initiatives like NBA Futurecast, which is the live web-streaming of all games available free to fans at d-league.com. The League also provides continuing education and professional development resources for its players, and is committed to serving its local communities through D-LEAGUE CARES and grassroots efforts.

Portland City Council Unanimously Approves Expo Lease for Maine D-League Franchise

This report from the Tuesday, April 8, 2008 Portland Press Herald:

PORTLAND — The Portland City Council unanimously agreed Monday to lease the Portland Exposition Building to a group of investors that wants to bring an NBA Development League team to Maine's largest city.

The agreement covers five seasons, 2009-10 through 2013-14, with an option to renew for five more seasons.

The team will pay $250,000 for building improvements and be responsible for all team-related operating costs at the Expo.

The investors have said they hope to become an affiliate of the Boston Celtics. The investors include Bill Ryan, owner of Oxford Plains Speedway; his father, Bill Ryan, board chairman of TD Banknorth; Jon Jennings, a former assistant coach with the Celtics; and state Sen. Barry Hobbins, D-Saco.

Under the proposed contract, the team will pay $2,100 per event for seasons 1-3, $2,200 per event for seasons 4-5, $2,300 per event for seasons 6-8 and $2,400 per event for seasons 9-10.

If the team surpassed minimum attendance of 2,900 per game, or 69,600 in a 24-game season, the city would get 50 cents on each additional ticket.

The Expo's capacity is 3,209 spectators. The most the city could make on the surcharge is $3,708 per season.

Under the proposed contract, the team will have priority scheduling after existing commitments, including elections. The schedules could include a maximum of five doubleheaders with Portland High School's basketball teams.

The city will move ahead with plans to borrow $650,000 to renovate the Expo's basement locker rooms, improving and expanding them to meet federal requirements to have separate facilities for girls. Improvements to meet NBA regulations would be funded by the team, city officials said.

The team will invest $250,000 in equipment and improvements to the Expo, including a regulation-size portable court and additional bleacher seating. If the team left the Expo for any reason, the improvements would stay, according to the contract.

The city will pay for maintenance and utilities. The team will pay a surcharge for additional lighting. The city will operate concessions, parking lots and garages, though the team will get any profits.

The team will pay for and retain control of ticketing, media rights, advertising and sponsorship. The team also will pay for at least one off-duty police officer to staff each event.

The team may terminate the contract after two seasons; the NBA may assume the rest of the lease. The city may terminate for breach of contract at any time.

The team will play at least 20 of its 24 home games per season at the Expo. The investors are exploring playing some home games in other Maine cities, such as Augusta and Bangor, according to Jennings, who would be the team's co-owner, president and general manager.

The team's colors will be green and white, like the Celtics'. The team will invite the community to participate in a naming contest, Jennings said.