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Playoff Recap: Austin 119, Idaho 116

This was an exciting game, one which unfortunately I was only able to watch intermittently.  Oh well.  The Stampede looked like they were in firm control of this thing, up by 12 after three quarters, but Austin stormed back, led by Marcus Williams and Malik Hairston, as you'd expect, and the Toros outscored Idaho by 12 in the final quarter, with a three by Williams sending the game into overtime.  Neither team shot the ball very well there, likely due to fatigue (Williams and Hairston played all 53 minutes), but the Toros were just better enough to come away with the victory.

Notes on individual player performances below.

Star-divide

Look, Marcus Williams is fantastic, alright?  You know this by now and I'm almost getting tired of writing it.  33 points on 24 shots, including making all six of his threes, nine rebounds and eight assists.  The six turnovers aren't great, but I'm not going to kill him for it when he was so good towards the end of the game.

Malik Hairston?  Also very good.  34 points on 22 shots, Hairston also made four of his five threes, made all six of his free throws, had six rebounds, seven assists, two blocks and led all players with four steals.  The Spurs sure do know how to pick 'em, don't they?

Justin Bowen played in this game.  Who is Justin Bowen, you ask?  He's a small forward who's a decent rebounder but not a very good three-point shooter, and did most of his filling in for Eric Dawson.  He shot 5-7 (including a nice putback dunk late in the second quarter) with five rebounds in 26 minutes.  Not bad for someone who heaven knows when he last played in a game.

A word about the Austin guards.  They, uh, weren't very good.  4-11 shooting (including 1-5 on three-pointers) for Squeaky Johnson, 1-4 for Stanley Burrell.  I know it doesn't matter as much when Marcus Williams is running the show, but they really need to do better than that if the Toros are going to have a chance against Colorado.

On to Idaho, who really did play well.  They shot 50 percent from the field, had assists on 24 of their 44 field goals, but the Toros just shot the ball better.  As with Austin, the guards were the problem here.  Roberto Bergersen missed all of his field goals.  That's right, Bergeron had one turnover and still managed to have more of those than shots made.  Kevin Burleson was slightly better, I guess, shooting 5-13, but he and Bergeron had fewer assists combined than backup Jamaal Tatum, who had eight, and good for him for taking some kind of control over the proceedings.  Of course, he also shot 4-10, but I'm trying to praise him here.

Lance Allred is a really solid pivot man.  20 points and 11 rebounds for him, along with three blocks, including two straight in overtime, but Dwayne Jones is a tough guy to compete with on the boards.  By my count, though, Allred didn't take a single shot in the fourth quarter.  He was causing problems early in the game, but the Stampede failed to get him the ball towards the end.

Brent Petway fouled out with just under three minutes left in the fourth quarter.  Overall the fouls were pretty evenly distributed among the two teams.  21 called on Idaho, 18 on Austin, but Austin only shot one more free throw.  Still, Nick Buchert was involved in the game, so you have to wonder if Petway was the focus of any shenanigans.  He was also called for palming in the first quarter.

Mohammed Abukar, I'm sorry I ever doubted you.  It really looked like he was the guy who'd come from nowhere and win the game for his team, particularly in the second quarter  when he shot a perfect 9-9.  36 points on 17 shots for Abukar, including making four of his six threes, and while he didn't really fill up the stat sheet in other areas, he was a scoring machine for 12 minutes.

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This was one of the most exciting games

I’ve ever watched on futurecast. It was a real gem.

by Aisander D on Apr 16, 2009 10:51 AM EDT reply actions   0 recs

Yes

Myself and The Deester were getting along so well until last night!

Blogging at RidiculousUpside

by Scott Schroeder on Apr 16, 2009 2:32 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

The last 2-3 minutes of regulation...

through the OT was comparable to a game in the first weekend of the NCAA tourney. Big shots, wacky plays, and a lot of energy and excitement. And it was pretty obvious that Marcus Williams was a stud and everyone else (with the exception of Hairston) was following in his wake. Very NCAA tourney-esque, but with a hint of HS basketball thrown in, since they were playing at the local rec. center.

by Aisander D on Apr 16, 2009 2:35 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

My YMCA has a bigger court.

and a track around the top. And a sky box.

by Aisander D on Apr 16, 2009 3:02 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

well...

It’s actually a very nice facility for a DIII school. It’s not like the Toros were going to sell it out anyway—the place holds 1800 and only 850 showed up. It’s on the outskirts of Austin and is a bit of a drive, compared to their usual facilities downtown. But it was a good place to watch the game.

by flustermon on Apr 16, 2009 3:23 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

I know, we're just joshing around...

Other than the angle of the Futurecast cameras, I’m sure it was a fun venue to actually view a game in. Being there live would have probably been a great basketball experience.

by Aisander D on Apr 16, 2009 3:34 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

Personnel decisions

Not having Lanny Smith in there for most of the 4th quarter was a huge game changer. Lanny was very instrumental offensively and defensively in creating that 19-point lead. He didn’t play enough in the 4th. Yes, Tatum had 8 assists but his shot selection was horrible, which really hurt in the end.

The lead escaped them because Gates put in guys who were not "on" at all last night for much of the 4th quarter. He also put in guys who were very careless with the ball—or at least careless with the clock. Why Tatum was taking shots with 20 secs on the shot clock when they were up by 4-6 with 2 mins to go is not smart—and Tatum didn’t play smart all night. Why did Gates choose Tatum to take the last shot? Lanny or KB should have made that last move.
BERGERSEN (not Bergeron)defended Marcus Williams well all night—but he was sitting on the bench for much of the 4th, when Williams went off.

Gates took Allred out right before the Toros got the offensive rebound-kickout to Williams for the 3 to win. Hmm, you think Allred might have been able to box-out Dwayne Jones better than Jason Ellis? Sure, it was an obvious over-the-back, but the Stampede are playing in the next round if Gates leaves Allred in the game.

My one liner on why they lost: The personnel decisions of Bryan Gates. And please, someone, please tell Gates to stop his whining—it really doesn’t help with the development of the young guys.

by flustermon on Apr 16, 2009 1:02 PM EDT reply actions   0 recs

Fixed the Bergersen/Bergeron error

Writing these late at night doesn’t always work so well.

I think on the whole you’re probably right about some of the moves, but I’m not totally with you on Lanny Smith. His final line looks okay, but he also missed a jumper and picked up two fouls within the first two and a half minutes that he played. Then when he finally did see the floor in the fourth quarter, he missed another jumper and got the ball stolen from him in less than a minute. As poor as Tatum’s shot selection was, the other guards weren’t playing any better.

Now writing for Ridiculous Upside, where we knew who Mike Taylor was before you did.

by Jon L on Apr 16, 2009 1:17 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

If the guards weren't playing well

Why didn’t he have them get it inside to the the big men, or even Abukar, the hot hand?

I’m pro-Gates, really, but I think he gave this one away.

Blogging at RidiculousUpside

by Scott Schroeder on Apr 16, 2009 2:06 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

I agree with that

In my recap I said Allred should’ve gotten more touches in the 4th. My point here was that sitting Lanny Smith wasn’t as big of an error.

Now writing for Ridiculous Upside, where we knew who Mike Taylor was before you did.

by Jon L on Apr 16, 2009 2:14 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

True..

But with Tatum jacking some shots up, Lanny might have been able to come in and distribute.

It’s all in hindsight, of course, but jus’ sayin. Plus, Lanny’s my boy.

Blogging at RidiculousUpside

by Scott Schroeder on Apr 16, 2009 2:25 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

I said this last night....

Tatum needed to stop shooting after halftime….I think he had one layup that I remember was a good play. Burleson also needed to stop. He was like 5-13 for the game.

by Aisander D on Apr 16, 2009 2:40 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

He was exactly 5-13!

I never really liked Burleson this season. If Idaho wouldn’t have traded Demetris Nichols for him (granted they had Luke Jackson at the time) this team would have been better, I think.

Blogging at RidiculousUpside

by Scott Schroeder on Apr 16, 2009 3:39 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

Yeah I like Nichols game

much better. He seems more consistent.

by Aisander D on Apr 16, 2009 3:50 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

good discussion...

Yes, Lanny did not take the opportunity when it was given to him in the 4th (He also missed a crucial free throw at the end). BUT! Had Gates put Lanny in BEFORE Austin had that freakish momentum, I’m sure Lanny wouldn’t have felt like he had to “press” to keep that very small lead. Lanny should have been put in when Hairston made the 3 to cut the lead to 11 with about 5 mins to go. Instead, he went in when the lead was 4-6 with about 2mins to go, after he had been sitting on the bench for over 20mins (real time). I am confident Lanny would have managed the clock better than Tatum did.

As someone who was in the gym, watching the game up-close-and-personal, I’d have to say that “heart” plays a role in this as well. A lot of “heart” was sitting on the bench as the lead was wasting away (Roberto and Lanny, mainly). Sure, Roberto’s stats weren’t top notch, but at least he would have been able to hold it together, unlike some guys. Some of the guys who were on the court during the meltdown didn’t really take it as seriously as others.

And having Tatum be the #1 option on the final possession after everything that happened during the game is more evidence supporting the fact that Gates is the reason for the loss. Couple that with his own emotional meltdown as they lost the lead didn’t help matters.

by flustermon on Apr 16, 2009 3:21 PM EDT reply actions   0 recs

Are you an Idaho fan in Austin?

If so, interesting.

As for Lanny, he’s a rookie, and he will make rookie mistakes, so I can’t give him the free pass that it seems we’d like to do. Tatum is a good point guard as well, but also had bad decisions. Unless somebody has a wayback machine, I think that discussion will have to be left alone.

Heart is what wins D-League games. The more ‘heart’ players a team has, the further they’ll make it. The D-League is fun is like that. I think Allred really wants to win as well, but Berto is probably the heart of the Stamps.

I can’t blame Gates solely for the loss. He got his guys this far after they were seemingly ready to shut it down mid-season. It’s tough to not put any blame on the players shoulders, at least those that were on the floor.

Plus, Marcus Williams is a stud.

Blogging at RidiculousUpside

by Scott Schroeder on Apr 16, 2009 3:35 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

Idaho fan in Austin

I don’t live in Austin. I was visiting. But I also root against anything that has to do with the Spurs, so it was added insentive to root for the Stampede.

I probably shouldn’t say this, and it’s pretty harsh, but being that the venue was VERY personal for the fans, I was able to see Gates act very unprofessionally in front of his players—I was immediately behind the Stampede bench and heard every word and saw every facial expression. I’ve seen the Stampede play a few times and never really liked the coach’s decisions in the past, but that was just “Xs and Os”, but after last night I lost respect for the guy as a professional. I don’t know him as a man, and I’m sure he’s a great guy. But I’m just giving an outsider’s view.

As for the officiating, I didn’t think it was too bad except on two instances: Lanny Smith was tied up with a Toro and he was on the floor, clearly calling time out and the refs didn’t do anything—this was within 2 minutes, I believe. The other call was the blatant over the back by Jones which allowed Marcus to hit the 3. And another happening, which may be ticky-tack and homecourt advantage, was when Idaho had the ball and called a timeout with 25.5 secs remaining. The whistle blew and the clock went down another 2 seconds to 23.5. Not that it mattered too much because of the fantastically crappy shot that Tatum threw up there with about 8 seconds to go.

Yes, Marcus is a great player. Would you not agree that Roberto did at least a decent job on him defensively? If so, Roberto’s absence in the 4th quarter is mind-boggling.

by flustermon on Apr 16, 2009 3:56 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

I'll pass on judging Gates

I’ll agree with the Lanny Smith turnover. I remember that play now that you mention it. I couldn’t tell he was calling for a timeout, but it did seem everyone had stopped and then Austin came up with the ball. My futurecast decided to buffer (giggity) during the final play, so I didn’t see that one. The last play you reference probably didn’t hurt Idaho, in retrospect.

Roberto did a decent job on him, I will agree with that.

Blogging at RidiculousUpside

by Scott Schroeder on Apr 16, 2009 4:04 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

understood

great discussion.

by flustermon on Apr 16, 2009 4:10 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

Quin had himself an emotional meltodown as well.

I think it was after a Hairston charge. We should be glad that the refs weren’t quick with the technicals, it could have gotten ugly.

by Aisander D on Apr 16, 2009 3:35 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

That's because of our old friend

Mr. Nick Buchert! Great job, Nicholas!

Blogging at RidiculousUpside

by Scott Schroeder on Apr 16, 2009 3:36 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

I was agreeing with what you said

There’s been no beef between me and Nick for which I need to mend fences.

Blogging at RidiculousUpside

by Scott Schroeder on Apr 16, 2009 3:46 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

True.

The calls last night were pretty even. I think there was maybe one that I was upset with. But that’s pretty much any game at any level.

by Aisander D on Apr 16, 2009 3:48 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

There was a call on Petway

2 minutes late that I didn’t agree with.

Blogging at RidiculousUpside

by Scott Schroeder on Apr 16, 2009 3:49 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

Yeah I think that was th one.

Unless there was one both you and I were buffering through.

by Aisander D on Apr 16, 2009 3:51 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

Gates Is Disaster

I still question Gates’ decisions and substitutions. For instance, in terms of offensive production, why isn’t Abukar playing more minutes. The guy can be a scoring machine if he has more touches of the ball. He is not selfish and is a great passer. I think he should be a starter. What do you think?

by aayaaf on Apr 16, 2009 7:08 PM EDT reply actions   0 recs

He's not a Gates player

If he was better on defense and rebounding, he would’ve started for Idaho.
He can score with touches, but he doesn’t bring much else to the box score.
I’m not going to throw Gates under the bus for this one – he rode Abukar as much as he could last night.
Also, as a starter this season, he just 22% from deep – that’s not going to get you more starts..

Blogging at RidiculousUpside

by Scott Schroeder on Apr 16, 2009 7:36 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

Interesting high-scoring game. Abukar, really? Maybe we found ourselves a nice PF. And Williams can really ball, no doubt

Wrote a fanshot on Blazer’s Edge to send some people over to your recap
http://www.blazersedge.com/2009/4/16/840795/blazers-d-league-affiliate-idaho

Greg Oden = Robert Parish (HOF, 4x NBA champion, 9x NBA All-Star). The only other rookie with more than 500 points, 400 rebounds, and 65 blocks in under 1400 minutes played. Since 1946.

by Norsktroll on Apr 16, 2009 7:37 PM EDT reply actions   0 recs

Sigh...

….would have been nice to watch the game but instead I had to listen to it with the Toros announcers – they were actually pretty good but was not exactly how you want to hear the details of the game, particularly one like this.

This was not Gates finest hour and some of the other Stamps did not pick a good night to be “off” – and damn it, it is tough to stomach a loss when your team is up by 19 in the second half. But all in all, it was a good year and I am not going to throw anyone under the bus either.

Gates likes to play “hot hands” and move guys in and out a little much for my liking and he got burned by it last night. However, that tactic has won for him before so I can’t blame the method, only lament that the time it did not work was a playoff game.

Scott, you are right about Abkar. I saw him get on occasional rolls offensively and the dude is literally unstoppable. However he needs to bring “more to the table” consistently if he is going to play up – and play in the DLeague. Regardless, he was an absolute stud last night. Tatum and Smith, both great talents that came a long way this season but when you live by the youthful talent sometimes you die with the youthful decisions.

I am not going to crab at the refs because when you play on the road, that is what happens. The smooth path would have been the 2 seed – and that could have come from winning one more game in the regular season.

So it is what it is. I got my money’s worth and I can’t wait for the rest of the playoffs. We’ll get to what the Stamps need to do for next season during the dog days…

Rumble

by Rumble on Apr 16, 2009 8:23 PM EDT reply actions   0 recs

still unanswered...

When a team is up by 19 in the 2nd half, the good decision is to place conservative, smart players on the court who know how to handle the lead. This was not done. Too many times I saw shots go up with 18 seconds still on the shot clock, clank off the rim, Toros get the rebound and quickly come down and score.

It happened again, and again, and again. Yet Roberto and even Burleson and Allred sit on the bench for long periods. And I’ll pound the opinion that Lanny would have done better than Tatum in this situation because it appeared Tatum wanted to overcome his horrible shooting night with….MORE SHOTS!

And Rumble, the 4th quarter didn’t have the problem of moving guys in and out—he actually didn’t do that enough in the 4th.

by flustermon on Apr 16, 2009 9:41 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

Come on flustermon...

…You know the old saw about football “a prevent defense prevents victory.” Granted there comes a point where the opponent is the clock and there is no question that the young Stamps went into brain freeze. Should they have been out there? – clearly “no” by the end result. But don’t forget while the Stamps did themselves no favors it was the Toros who put up the points in a hurry and Williams – once he got it going on – was dang near unstoppable. And as a team, they have been that way all season. A team like the Toros are going to get their points and sometimes the get them all late in the game.

As for Gates player substitution pattern, I was expressly referencing his tendency to sub “offense” and “defense” late in games which sometimes looks great and sometime leaves him with the wrong guys in transition.

Look flustermon, you bought your ticket and like any of us fans, you have the right to second guess. All I am said and will say again, it that even though this was not one of Gates/Stamps better finishes I WILL TAKE THE RESULTS OF THE GATES LED LAST THREE YEARS and sleep very, very soundly thank you.

It is why the call the Developmental League (or that is what I told myself last night).

Rumble

by Rumble on Apr 16, 2009 11:26 PM EDT reply actions   0 recs

no problem

…and if I were a Stampede fan and looked at the season and last 3 years as a whole, I would probably agree with you. Heck, I’ll agree with everything you said. I was just giving an outsider’s view of what went down 1st-hand and I was frustrated because it was such an “in-hand” victory.

I honestly didn’t know there was this much passion for the D-League. It’s very encouraging.

I’ll give the Spurs a lot of blame for this as well for sending MWilliams back to Austin.

by flustermon on Apr 17, 2009 8:52 AM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

We're good...

…it’s probably best I wasn’t there.

The DLeague is a fun league to get behind. The play is legit, both from a talent standpoint as well as trying to play the right way. The guys have a future so when you see someone like Mike Taylor grow and mature – and then move on a make an impact – it is pretty cool. Tickets are a great value and at least in the Stamps case, they play in a nice arena with a professional game staff that makes the value proposition very high.

What sucks is the transient nature (see MWilliams) and that certain unevenness of the play, officiating and coaching that you don’t get as often at the highest level. It can drive a fan crazy.

by Rumble on Apr 17, 2009 12:05 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

Popovich is cunning....

they sent Williams back on purpose. Apparently he hates Bryan Gates.

by Aisander D on Apr 17, 2009 12:18 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

wow..

Really? I know there are a lot of “soap opera” dynamics in the coaching world but I wouldn’t have thought that Pop would even trouble himself with something like that. Wasn’t Williams sent down the day of the game? That would support your theory.

by flustermon on Apr 17, 2009 12:28 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

I don't think Pop knows who Gates is

But the Spurs are kind of mean in that regard. Last year they called up multiple players for 2 day contracts so the Toros could keep moving up to the top of the waiver, exploiting a new rule that was to help D-League teams recover from NBA call-ups.

Blogging at RidiculousUpside

by Scott Schroeder on Apr 17, 2009 12:32 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

Wow, did not realize that. Look at the Spurs, working the system.

by TorosGirl on Apr 17, 2009 1:51 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

Yeah I was just joshing

though I could see Pops doing something like sending Williams back to keep the Toros in the playoffs.

by Aisander D on Apr 17, 2009 12:43 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

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