D-League Playoffs: Recapping Luke Harangody's Weekend, Among Other Things

The NBA Development League Playoffs featured four solid matchups in the first round and, following this weekend's games, two of the best-of-three series are still in progress. The Los Angeles D-Fenders and Bakersfield Jam have both advanced to the semifinals on one side of the bracket while the other side will be determined with a pair of games on Monday night.

It's a bit difficult to recap everything that happened over the weekend so, in lieu of that, your's truly will be going back to the tried and true method that's worked in past years: bullet points featuring the Monstars!

The biggest star of the weekend was probably Canton Charge standout Luke Harangody considering he did work in both the NBA and the D-League, compiling three starts in three nights (and going for a fourth Monday evening). Harangody led the Charge to a win on Friday night, led the Cleveland Cavaliers with 16 points and 10 rebounds in a win on Saturday night and then nearly carried Canton to a series-deciding win on Sunday night over the Springfield Armor.

Trey Johnson led the Bakersfield Jam to a 93-91 victory in Bismarck and, while his box score line is not exactly extraordinary, the guard who started the season on the roster of the New Orleans Hornets showed that he's deserving of being back in the NBA while helping his team eliminate the Dakota Wizards. Johnson scored 24 points on 9-of-20 shooting, hitting teardrop floater after teardrop floater in the paint to stifle the Wizards any time the momentum started to build in the Bismarck Civic Center.

JamesOn Curry gets my third weekend MVP vote as he willed his Armor to a win over Harangody's Charge on Sunday night. The veteran guard Tweeted about his playoff intentions last week and made sure his season didn't end sooner than planned, scoring a game (and season)-high 30 points to go with seven assists and five rebounds in an overtime victory.

I'll likely have more on the Dakota loss -- which was likely the last D-League game I'll ever be able to attend in my hometown -- sometime this week. It was, unfortunately, an end of an era.