After the Red Claws won their home opener Friday night, Coach Scott Morrison showed them two films at practice Saturday.
The first portion contained footage of what Morrison called Selfish Team: “All they saw was the basket,” he said.
The second portion showed crisp ball movement, players attacking the paint and kicking the ball to the wings or the corners when defenders collapsed on them.
“If we play like that,” Morrison said, “we’re going to be a tough out.”
Sunday afternoon at the Expo, the Red Claws pulled away in the second half for a 116-93 victory over the previously unbeaten Grand Rapids Drive before a crowd of 1,869.
Adbel Nader led the way for the Claws (4-1) with 33 points. He also had four assists (up from zero) and three fewer turnovers than he did in Friday night’s 114-98 victory over Long Island.
“He’s a big-time threat to score,” Morrison said, “but with that comes the responsibility to know when to make the pass, when defense comes to help and puts two guys on him.”
Two of Nader’s assists came in the opening four minutes.
“I was just trying to make the extra pass and get my teammates involved early,” said Nader, who also had nine rebounds. “Get them going, then I’ll get going.”
Jalen Jones contributed seven assists to go along with 13 rebounds and 15 points. For the second game in a row, Jones threw down an emphatic dunk in traffic. It came in the final minute of the first half and helped send the Claws into the break with a 62-57 lead.
“I like to drive strong,” said Jones, sporting a cut over his right eye from Friday night’s game. “I like to give the crowd excitement. That’s a part of my game, athleticism, so any time I get a chance to go to the rim, I’m going to try to finish strong.”
Grand Rapids (2-1) opened a seven-point lead after the first quarter (30-23) and was ahead 34-30 early in the second after a drive by Jordan Crawford, the former Celtic whose 36-point effort with Fort Wayne helped eliminate the Red Claws from the 2014 playoffs.
Nader sparked a 13-0 run by drawing a foul and sinking two free throws. Nader, Jones and J.J. Panoske each hit 3-pointers as the Claws took the lead for good.
Panoske, a 6-foot-11 center who played at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, contributed three 3-pointers and three offensive rebounds in a little less than 12 minutes in relief of starter Asauhn Dixon-Tatum.
“He had the most to learn, probably of everybody, in terms of terminology and our system,” Morrison said of Panoske, who after showering pulled on the jersey of Green Bay Packers receiver Jordy Nelson. “He ran a much different system in college. But he’s been very receptive. He’s worked hard. It was good to see him have a good game.”
The Claws held Crawford to 14 points on 6-of-18 shooting, but Kevin Murphy came off the bench to score 21 points as the Drive fought back to within 67-63 early in the third quarter. Damion Lee responded with a pair of 3-pointers and Jones followed with a drive and a pull-up jumper that restored the margin to double digits for the rest of the game.
After giving up 152 points at Rio Grande Valley in their only loss, the Red Claws have held consecutive opponents under 100 points. Grand Rapids managed only 15 points in the fourth quarter and 36 after intermission.
Perhaps Saturday at the movies will be a regular feature for Morrison and the Red Claws.
“We weren’t perfect,” Morrison said, “but the stretches of the bad team were much smaller (on Sunday).”
NOTES: Dallas Lauderdale (foot) remained inactive and is likely to remain so another week to 10 days. … Panoske said his fiancee is a neighbor of Nelson, who “comes over for Christmas and stuff. A very down-to-earth guy.” … Lee had a scary moment late in the game when he was undercut by Drive guard Ray McCallum and landed on the same wrist that Lee had broken in college. After a review, the foul was judged to be not flagrant. “Give McCallum credit for hustling back,” Lee said. “I don’t think it was a dirty play.”
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