After trailing for most of their do-or-die playoff game Saturday afternoon, the Maine Red Claws sprang to life near the end of the third quarter.
They closed out the quarter with a surge that brought a crowd of 2,437 to life and, when Omari Johnson followed a Romero Osby miss with a forceful two-handed dunk, threatened to blow the roof off the Portland Expo.
Except … Johnson missed. His dunk attempt banged off the back rim, the margin remained double digits instead of shrinking to eight, and the Claws wound up losing 121-111 to the defending NBA D-League champion Fort Wayne Mad Ants.
The finest season in Red Claws history had come to an abrupt end. The top overall seed fell in two games – the first went overtime – to the No. 4 Mad Ants.
“They all should be very proud of their season here,” said a gracious Conner Henry, the Fort Wayne coach and a former Celtic, after the game. “Scotty did an unbelievable job to keep them together, but it was clearly a huge hit when you lose the MVP of the league.”
Scotty, of course, is Scott Morrison, the rookie head coach of the Red Claws whose transition from college (Lakehead University in Thunder Bay, Ontario) to professional ranks resulted in a 35-15 record and an opportunity to coach the winning East team in the D-League all-star game. The MVP of the league – which won’t be announced until next week – could be Tim Frazier, the charismatic point guard from Penn State who earned three NBA call-ups during the season.
The last of those call-ups – by the Trail Blazers – came with three games remaining in the regular season. Davion Berry and Jason Calliste filled in ably at the point, but neither had Frazier’s uncanny knack for slicing into the lane and either converting an easy basket or finding an open teammate behind the 3-point line.
“It wasn’t a lost cause,” said Morrison, who pointed out that Maine was 6-5 without Frazier, “but obviously we were better with him.”
The biggest difference in the two-and-out playoff series, Morrison said, was that Fort Wayne could switch defenders whenever Maine set a screen and still remain between dribbler and basket. That wasn’t always possible when Frazier was the dribbler.
“There’s probably only one or two guys on the other team who can keep him in front,” Morrison said. “So when they switch someone on (him) that is not one of those two guys, he can usually get something easy for himself or for somebody else on a defensive rotation.”
Frazier was one of 48 players called up from the D-League to the NBA this season, up from 37 a year ago. Chris Babb was a Celtics call-up for the second year in a row and joins James Young in Boston after the 2014 first-round draft pick spent 19 games with the Claws.
The Celtics also assigned Marcus Smart, Phil Pressey, Dwight Powell and Andre Dawkins to the Red Claws for various lengths.
“In its current state, the D-League is probably more valuable for guys being assigned to get minutes,” rather than from a development standpoint, Morrison said. “Rather than (Major League Baseball) where they’re looking for the next Mookie Betts, it’s more a sense of developing guys they already have.”
As for players not called up, several will receive invites to the NBA’s summer league. Lucrative overseas jobs may be an option. The Red Claws retain the rights to remaining players on their roster, although some may opt for deals overseas.
Morrison said he plans to be in Boston as an observer for the Celtics’ playoff run.
“I’m hoping to be back (in Portland next season),” Morrison said. “Obviously, like every person in the D-League, you’re hoping that an NBA team gives you a call. But I’m hoping (the Celtics’ front office) is happy with my effort and willing to give me another shot.”
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