The NBA D-League season is well underway. How are things going in the little brother league?
Christmas was the marquee day of the NBA season, and it marked the six-week point for their little brother, the D-League. Teams have played at least fifteen games, giving us an idea of how the season is going to look from here.
Some things are playing out as expected; the two teams that met in the D-League Finals last season are both leading their divisions, and last year’s top scorers can be found around the top of the list yet again. But there are also some surprises nestled into the early-season results, as well as some hints at what is to come.
Let’s take a quick look at who the league’s quality teams are, who is going to bring up the rear, and which players may get a call-up in the coming weeks.
The Good Teams Are Good, the Bad Teams are Bad
Last season the Sioux Falls Skyforce led the league in wins and took the trophy after a win over the L.A. D-Fenders in the D-League Finals. While conference realignment means the two teams cannot meet for a rematch, the two teams do boast the best records in the league at 13-4.
In total, seven of the league’s 11 teams with winning records hail from the Western Conference, apparently just as true in the D-League as in the recent NBA. This has also pushed the West’s worst teams into the ground, as the league’s two worst records belong to the West’s Iowa Energy and Salt Lake City Stars.
In the East it’s more of a parity game, with the standings bunched together more tightly. The Central Division doesn’t have a single team with double-digit losses on the season, while the other three divisions each boast two such teams. In the Atlantic, no team has more than ten wins, and the last-placed Erie Bayhawks are only 4.5 games behind the first-placed Maine Red Claws.
The East’s parity keeps every team alive for the playoffs, as no team is more than four games out. In the West a handful of teams are already as-good-as eliminated from the postseason. While the standings will most likely separate out as games continue and the league’s best teams break away, the dynamic of call-ups and assignments could continue to keep us guessing as the season progresses.
Which Stars Could Have Their Number Called?
The amorphous nature of assigning players means that on any night a D-League team could be playing with the end-of-the-bench players from an NBA team. While this helps with the development of the NBA players, it often decreases minutes and opportunities for D-League players trying to build a career.
Regardless, a number of players fighting for the right to make an NBA roster are impressing fans and scouts alike on a nightly basis.
Manny Harris of the Texas Legends is the league’s scoring leader as of Tuesday night, dropping 25.7 points and snaring 8.7 rebounds per game. Harris is a true D-League veteran, bouncing between the D-League and playing overseas for the last six years. In the Legends’ season opener, Harris set a franchise record with 49 points against the Maine Red Claws.
Right behind Harris is Quinn Cook, a recent national champion with the Duke Blue Devils and two-way leader for the Canton Charge. Cook is averaging 25 points per game for the Charge, the next step after winning Rookie of the Year last season in the D-League. Backcourt injuries in the NBA could lead teams to take a look at the guard once 10-day contracts start up next month.
Third on the scoring list is last year’s scoring champion and D-League phenom Vander Blue. The former Marquette Eagle is averaging 23.2 points per game for the West-leading D-Fenders. After spending time in training camps and Summer League the past few seasons, Blue is another player with a shot at getting a call-up.
The league is filled with a wide variety of talented players, from former NBA veterans in Jordan Crawford and Damien Wilkins, to former college stars building towards an NBA career in Wayne Selden or Phil Pressey. It’s likely a number of guys will get their number called in the coming months.
How Are the New Teams Doing?
This season saw three new teams join the D-League, all direct-affiliates playing within a stone’s throw of their parent teams. The Windy City Bulls, Greensboro Swarm, and Long Island Nets all joined the Eastern Conference and are seeking to build from expansion draft to playoffs.
As could probably be expected, none of the teams currently boast a winning record. The Windy City Bulls are closest at 6-9, and they recently acquired NBA veteran Will Bynum to provide backcourt help as they seek to chase down the playoff teams ahead of them.
The Long Island Nets have won four of their last five to climb back to respectability after a 2-11 start, including a win over the division-leading Maine Red Claws right before Christmas. The lack of talent haunting their parent club has kept many guys in the rotation for the Brooklyn Nets, restricting the players moving down to Long Island.
The Greensboro Swarm have been the most impressive of the expansion teams, riding one of the best backcourts in the D-League to a 6-12 record that doesn’t speak to how competitive they have been. After an 0-5 start the Swarm are 6-7 in the last 13, with five losses by five points or less, four coming against teams with winning records.
In total, the D-League is often neglected by NBA fans, but it’s a secondary source of exciting basketball and tightly-fought contests. For those in a city with a D-League team, take advantage of an inexpensive venue for professional basketball. For those who are not, fire up YouTube nightly to check out the action. And keep an eye out as D-League players begin heading up to the top league and making their way into games.
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
