Seven games tonight, featuring matchups that are repeats of games from the last several days.  Will the outcomes change? 

Maine Red Claws at Springfield Armor

The Red Claws won the last game in a walk, but Springfield actually played them close in the second and third quarters.  Some warning signs for Maine from that game are the poor three-point shooting (just 1-12) and the huge disparity in foul shots - they likely won't get that advantage again.  The Armor have to rebound a lot better to stay in this game, and they also need to get a larger contribution from their bench - Springfield reserved totaled just 11 points, six boards and two assists.  That starts with Major Wingate, who fouled out much, much too quickly.  Kentrell Gransberry isn't really a guy who can play 35 minutes and James Cripe hasn't contributed much this year, just 12 points and nine rebounds over three games.  Wingate is talented, and if he can stay on the court he can help his team.

Rio Grande Valley Vipers at Tulsa 66ers

Antonio Anderson and Moses Ehambe got double technicals in the fourth quarter of last night's game, so both teams will have to make sure they keep cool in this one.  RGV's three-point shooting has steadily increased over the first three games of the season, and even in the last one when they shot over 40 percent as a team, Garrett Temple missed seven of his 11 outside attempts. That could go either way, with Temple making a higher percentage or the rest of the team not picking up his slack.  Wasn't that insightful?  Joey Dorsey started the last game slowly, and Byron Mullens and DeVon Hardin were able to combine for 18 rebounds.  Dorsey will have to pick his game up tonight.  Latavious Williams has gotten DNPs in the last two games.  Free Latavious Williams!

Erie BayHawks at Sioux Falls Skyforce

Greg Stiemsma rebounded and defended pretty well when these two teams played last night, but I'm still skeptical that he can keep it up.  His 16 rebounds were more than three times his previous high this season, and he averaged just six a game last season.  He's also been pretty terrible offensively so far, shooting just .273, so if the Erie big men can keep him off the boards (and they at least have the talent to do so) they could fare better in this one.  The BayHawks actually started strong in the last game but faded over the course of the game.  Cedric Jackson has been steadily improving as a point guard, increasing his assists with each game and cutting down on his turnovers.  Jackie Manuel has been shooting over his career average in every area, and Ivan Harris is starting to get on track.  This rematch could go the other way.

Austin Toros at Albuquerque Thunderbirds

Albuquerque won last night with a strong fourth quarter performance and solid games from two guys who have a history of inconsistent performances, namely Yaroslav Korolev and Keith McLeod.  McLeod had the third-worst field goal percentage on the Thunderbirds last season among guys who played more than 10 games, and the second-worst eFG; Korolev has a history of poor shot selection in the NBA and in Summer League.  Carlos Powell should be a call-up candidate, certainly (and I will have a list of those coming, I'm just waiting until teams have played more than a handful of games), but Austin has a lot of talent of their own.  Malik Hairston is on assignment and is capable of dropping 40 on any given night.  Alonzo Gee is a very solid offensive player, and while Curtis Jerrells has his off nights he runs the pick and roll fairly well.  The addition of Hairston should be enough to keep Albuquerque from sweeping this mini-series.

Dakota Wizards at Idaho Stampede

The Wizards won this game in part by limiting the number of possessions - each team had 104, which is generally high but fairly low for a Bob MacKinnon-coached team like the Stampede.  Dakota also either forced or were the recipients of poor outside shooting nights from Idaho's Anthony Tolliver, Mildon Ambres and Roberto Bergersen, while shooting almost 69 percent from behind the arc themselves.  That high shooting percentage isn't all that sustainable, but the Wizards have perhaps the strongest group of defenders in the D-League, and Curtis Withers should play a lot better than his six-point, five-turnover outing.  Idaho has gotten good performances so far from Mike Gansey and Sundiata Gaines, who could start for most, if not all of the rest of the league.  Like Albuquerque last night, the Wizards used a terrific fourth quarter to take the last game, but they'll do well to not dig themselves into a hole once again.

Utah Flash at Bakersfield Jam

I really don't know what to write about the Jam.  They had a fairly weak roster to begin with, and take out Robert Swift and suddenly they have problems in the middle as well.  Bakersfield coach Will Voigt got a technical in the last game and was ejected in the game before that, but at some point you have to stop going to the "get mad enough to maybe wake your team up" well.  The Flash have a very talented roster top-to-bottom, even without Luke Nevill and Gavin Grant; Orien Greene has played well after a shaky first game, Lee Cummard seems to have figured out how to contribute off the bench, and Jason Richards has been racking up the assists compared to his playing time.  A lot of things will have to go wrong for them for the Jam to get their first win tonight.

Los Angeles D-Fenders at Reno Bighorns

The thing about having inconsistent scorers is that they do play well on occasion - such is it with LA's roster.  Dar Tucker is shooting just .150 on three-pointers so far, and it's not like he hasn't been shooting them; who knows, maybe he's due.  Reno seems to have found its footing a little bit now that they can help dictate the pace of the game rather than have to race to keep up.  LA's Michael Fey was scoring pretty well until he met up against Rod Benson, who shut him down in the last game.  Benson's been a rebounding monster so far and incredibly efficient offensively, so he'll again be a handful for Fey and Longar Longar.  Reno's Russell Robinson hasn't been shooting particularly well (from inside the three-point line, anyway) but seems to have gotten his turnovers under control.  Then again, it was tempting to say that Desmon Farmer's nine turnover game came because he was playing against Idaho, then he goes out and turns it over eight times against the D-Fenders.  I also wouldn't expect another nine blocks from Cezary Trybanski, nor will Ryan Forehan-Kelly go 0-the game again.  The D-Fenders can win this one if some of their questionable shots go down, but they're called questionable for a reason.

Now this is more like it; five games, some nice matchups.

Reno Bighorns at Los Angeles D-Fenders

Reno is still looking for their first win, and it may just come tonight.  Reno's first pair of games came against Idaho, who force teams to run with them, but the Bighorns should be able to play closer to their preferred style here.  Michael Fey has had a nice start for the D-Fenders, but Rod Benson should be able to defend him pretty well.  They've also acquired Doug Thomas, who I like a little better than Brian Laing (who was waived) coming off the bench.  If Desmon Farmer can keep the turnovers down, I like Reno's chances.  After the last game, though, that's a big if.  The D-Fenders have point guard Gabe Pruitt back, and they also have several guys tall enough and athletic enough to guard Marcus Hubbard wherever he goes on the floor.  They have talent, but the fact that Pruitt is still getting acclimated means their offense could struggle.

Erie BayHawks at Sioux Falls Skyforce

There should be some good individual matchups in this one, with Greg Stiemsma having to guard Erie's talented new center John Bryant, and the BayHawks' Donell Taylor likely spending some time checking Reggie Williams (at least he should be).  Keith Brumbaugh and Pete Campbell have each shot the ball pretty poorly so far this year for Sioux Falls, but if they can contribute in other areas the team should be okay.  Outside of Jackie Manuel's first game, the BayHawks haven't gotten much help for Taylor and Bryant.  They'll need someone to pick up the slack (ideally Ivan Harris, who hasn't hit a three yet) to stay in this game, given how many guys can score for the Skyforce.

Springfield Armor at Maine Red Claws

This is already being called a rivalry game, which I guess it is for regional purposes, but let's see how they play against each other first.  Maine has a stacked roster now, with five six seven players with some NBA experience (assignees Bill Walker and Alexis Ajinca plus Billy Thomas, Mario West, Will Blalock, Noel Felix and Trey Gilder).  It's true that said experience only amounted to about a dozen games for a few of those players, and that Mario West was awful as a pro, and that Blalock has been less than impressive so far this season, but that's still a lot of talent.  As for the Armor, well, they've reportedly signed Major Wingate, a talented center who never showed up to Maine's training camp.  Plus they have an NBA guy of their own in JamesOn Curry, never mind the fact that he's shooting 31.8 percent from the field and 21.4 percent on threes so far.  Actually, you probably should mind that.  Even more importantly, Curry has just one more assist (nine) than turnovers (eight) this season.  Perrin Johnson and Maurice Maxwell have switched off having good and bad games for Springfield, but who are we kidding; this one could get ugly.

Tulsa 66ers at Rio Grande Valley Vipers

Tulsa won a few days ago, but if you didn't read my write-up of the game (and it's understandable if you didn't; it's really long), there weren't a whole lot of players I was all that impressed with.  Mustafa Shakur is good, certainly, but the Vipers have some defenders (like Antonio Anderson) who could keep him in check.  Joey Dorsey and Mike Harris also should kill Byron Mullens and DeVon Hardin.  Moiderize them.  Either Dorsey or Harris could end up with 30 rebounds and 10 blocks.  Heck, both of them could.  The Vipers have had some players with turnover problems and they haven't been hitting their threes, and the 66ers have some shooters who could get hot, but the skill gap in the middle is just too large.

Austin Toros at Albuquerque Thunderbirds

I was made a fool of the last time I said this, but I'm going ahead with it anyway - Kevin Pittsnogle could be a key player in this game.  The Toros just don't really have anyone who can guard him on the perimeter (caveat coming) if he's shooting the ball well.  Dwayne Jones is rooted to the paint, Justin Bowen is really more of a small forward (though he can get up to block Pittsnogle's shots) and David McClure is too spazzy.  The Toros also don't really have anyone who can adequately guard Carlos Powell.  For Austin, they need to get Alonzo Gee involved early and keep looking for him even if he's not hitting shots immediately.  More specifically they need to keep running him off of screens, where he does his best shooting.  He's the best player on the team, and there were multiple possession stretches against Tulsa the other night when he was flat out ignored on offense.  This could be a fun game.

Another day, two more games.  I'd obviously prefer that there be more, but I suppose it is still the middle of the week, and D-League games are D-League games.

Fort Wayne Mad Ants at Iowa Energy

If the internet is to be believed, Iowa may or may not be with the services of Courtney Sims and/or Cartier Martin for this game.  Whether they're there or not probably changes how this game goes.  How's that for analysis?  Chris Hunter is apparently still playing for the Warriors on their hardship roster exemption (though if you ask me, it's the Golden State players who should be claiming a hardship, am I right?), and Earl Barron should be able to handle Sean Sonderleiter defensively.  Sims being around, though would mean that Iowa has a frontcourt guy that Fort Wayne won't be able to handle themselves.  No, Alade Aminu is not ready yet.  Sims isn't a monster defensively, but he still should be able to cover Rob Kurz pretty well.  Fort Wayne has some additions of their own, and while Rod Wilmont will probably be decent, I'm not a huge Oliver Lafayette fan, and I'm worried now that he'll take shots away from guys like Kurz and Kyle McAlarney (and even Ron Howard) who should be getting the bulk of the attempts.  Assuming that neither Sims nor Martin will be on the floor, the Mad Ants should be able to stay in it if they can clamp down on the Energy's many shooters and make Curtis Stinson take on most of the scoring load himself.

Utah Flash at Bakersfield Jam

The Jam have to win a game at some point, right?  They'll be joined by John Williams, who played for coach Will Voigt with the PBL Vermont Frost Heaves last year.  Williams was a good three-point shooter there and in college, and outside shooting is something this team needs (among other things), because they guys they have now aren't consistent with it.  Williams won't solve all of Bakersfield's problems, but he should help, and if Luke Nevill is out again and Utah struggles with their shots again tonight, the Jam could be in this thing.  And if you think I'm kidding about the Nevill thing, I'll remind you that Bennet Davis and others had a hard time guarding Joe Dabbert in the Finals last year, so if those guys are forced to play some center again then Robert Swift might do alright.  Utah has a lot of talent on their roster, though, and so far they've been able to compensate for rough nights from various players, so they probably will be fine.

Tulsa 66ers at Austin Toros

I will more than likely be in attendance at this game, and quite frankly I don't expect to see much of a different result than last night's game.  Moses Ehambe should play better for Tulsa, but other than that their raw big men are still raw.  Talented, certainly, and maybe Mullens will rebound a little better too, but Dwayne Jones should still dominate the boards, and the 66ers don't really have anyone who can guard Alonzo Gee.  If Curtis Jerrells turns the ball over at the rate of the first two games and the other guys on the roster don't hit their shots then Tulsa could be in it, but otherwise Austin should be able to handle them pretty well.

Dakota Wizards at Idaho Stampede

Similarly, I expect the Stampede to win again.  Curtis Withers should still do alright, but I'm not sure he'll be able to guard Anthony Tolliver out on the perimeter, and neither will new acquisition Connor Atchley (assuming he joins the team in time to play).  Idaho is probably due for a poor shooting night, but just as likely the Dakota perimeter guys get caught trying to play Idaho's game when doing so doesn't really suit their own style.  That means you, Romel Beck.  As I said, the Stampede can't hit their shots forever, and Dakota has some pretty solid defenders, but I expect Idaho to stay unbeaten for one more night.

Three of tonight's competitors are directly affiliated with an NBA team, while the fourth (Utah) probably has more of a connection with the NBA than the D-Fenders.  Of course, there's only one NBA player on assignment between all of them, but a lot of these players have either received NBA call-ups in the past or spent time on Summer League and training camp rosters; the fact that maybe all of these teams should be pretty good this year (I still can't get a good read on LA) is no accident.

Utah Flash at Los Angeles D-Fenders

Garret Siler is officially no longer on the Flash, for reasons I'm still trying to discern.  As I noted yesterday, though, he wasn't playing anyway, and Utah still has a lot of talent on their roster.  Los Angeles didn't have the best game a few nights ago but had the luxury of playing it against Bakersfield.  They'll need to play (mostly shoot) a lot better tonight, particularly since they won't be able to dominate the boards against a Utah frontcourt with Carlos Wheeler, Bennet Davis and Gavin Grant all playing pretty well.  The key for this game will be the backcourt play.  If Orien Greene can't get his shots down or keep the ball out of Bakersfield's hands, and if Lee Cummard continues to shoot poorly (4-11 over the first two games without a single free throw) then the Jam could be in it.  I'm not sure how likely that is, though, as the Flash have played pretty well without getting spectacular performances from everyone (Luke Nevill has been okay but not great), so a few of their guys could be due.

Tulsa 66ers at Austin Toros

Byron Mullens has been horrible offensively on his assignment but a beast on the boards.  I suspect he'll have a slightly tougher time tonight against Dwayne Jones, but then both Joey Dorsey and Mike Harris were able to get theirs against the Toros so maybe Mullens will grab 20 or something.  Mustafa Shakur and Moses Ehambe have played decently for Tulsa so far, but this is still a forward-heavy rotation.  Keith Clark has been fairly efficient so far, Larry Owens is a decent scorer, and at this point I'm obligated to mention Latavious Williams, who will attempt to go a third straight game (well, the 10 or so minutes of it that he plays, anyway) without a foul.  Oh, and he's also looking for his first (regular-season) field goal.  Austin is a team full of slashers so the interior defense of those forwards will likely be tested early and often.  Given that, expect some foul trouble from Mullens and maybe Clark.  Some of the non-Alonzo Gee players will have to step up for the Toros (namely Justin Bowen, Lewis Clinch and Russell Carter), but this should be a well-played game.

Not only were college football teams playing their in-state or otherwise hated rivals this weekend (USC/UCLA, Grambling St./Southern, Oklahoma/OK State...uh, Syracuse/Connecticut) but we have some regional rivalries in the D-League on tap for tonight.  Let's preview 'em.

Bakersfield Jam at Los Angeles D-Fenders

Los Angeles has to fly back to, well, Los Angeles for this one after playing in New Mexico last night, so don't be surprised if they get off to a rough start.  They have enough talent to compensate, though, especially matched up against the Jam, who played pretty poorly.  Reece Gaines had a decent offensive game the other night but he's never been consistent with that.  Jared Newson should do alright, but he's one guy.  Robert Swift, as we've seen, is still a work in progress on offense.  Bakersfield's hope should be that the D-Fenders are so tired they get off to a terrible start, and that the Jam's three-point shooters repeat their opening night performance.

Sioux Falls Skyforce at Dakota Wizards

Dakota is coming off of a disappointing loss last night, whereas the Skyforce are not only rested but are playing well.  The Wizards have some nice interior defenders, but I'm not sure they have anyone who can keep up with Reggie Williams.  Joe Krabbenhoft looks like a nice all-around player for Sioux Falls as well.  Then again, the Skyforce don't have a ton of people who can match up with Curtis Withers.  Keith Brumbaugh isn't much for defense, and while Raymond Sykes might be able to give it a shot, Withers looked very impressive last night.  Dakota will certainly be motivated to win this game and keep from starting 0-2, and if they can keep the fatigue to a minimum this could be a very good game.

Erie BayHawks at Fort Wayne Mad Ants

That's right, it's the third game in nine days for these two teams (including the preseason).  Fort Wayne shot the ball pretty poorly in the regular season opener, and I expect that to improve for a few reasons.  First, I can't imagine that Ron Howard's going to have the green light again after shooting 5-16, assuming he did in the first place.  Second, Rob Kurz can't possibly go another whole game without a field goal attempt, and Kurz is a good shooter.  Erie still has Donell Taylor, who plays some pretty good perimeter defense, but things should go a little more Fort Wayne's way.  Add to that the fact that I'm skeptical that Jackie Manuel can replicate his first game performance and the Mad Ants could pull this one off.  The John Bryant-Sean Sonderleiter matchup will be one to watch again, as they each recorded double-doubles last time out.

Now that the D-League season is officially underway, it's time for the rest of the teams to get in on the action.  Well, except for the fact that three of these games are rematches of last night's contests.  But you know, other than that.

Iowa Energy at Springfield Armor

What, again?  Last night's boxscore still isn't correct, but based on what's there Curtis Stinson and Pat Carroll had very good games, which makes sense given the Armor's lack of perimeter defenders at the moment.  Perrin Johnson shot the ball well (early on, anyway) for Springfield, and he could turn out to be the team's main offensive weapon rather than JamesOn Curry.  I also wonder for how long Kentrell Gransberry will start over James Cripe.  Cripe's pretty athletic and had a nice game (again, early on at least), while Gransberry can do some nice things, but he also doesn't have the most stamina in the world and almost no offensive game to speak of.  He's been working hard over the last few seasons, I'm just not sure he's starter material yet.  Both of these teams will probably be a little tired given the game's early start (it's actually underway as I write this), and I certainly don't expect another blowout.  Springfield could hang with the Energy if tired legs don't let shots go down.

Maine Red Claws at Dakota Wizards

Maine also could come out sluggish, given that they also played last night and had some (relatively minor) travel on top of it.  Add to that the fact that the Wizards have the defenders who can slow Bill Walker down.  Maine's hope should lie in the fact that Dakota doesn't really have a ruthlessly efficient scorer in the mold of Reggie Williams, so if Romel Beck decides to take the Red Claws on himself or if David Bell's shots don't go down the Red Claws could stay in the game.  Will Blalock also hasn't impressed yet this season, but he's talented and could be due for a nice game for Maine.

Utah Flash at Tulsa 66ers

Yet another rematch, and while I've tried to be hopeful for the teams that got blown out last night (like Springfield and Maine), I'm not sure the 66ers can pull this one off either.  They have some nice pieces - Moses Ehambe was scoring pretty well before Tulsa had to put up a lot of shots to try and get back in the game, Keith Clark is capable of putting some nice games together, Mustafa Shakur looks like a nice pickup at point guard - but Utah is one of the most loaded teams in the league right now, and they have a lot of frontcourt talent to throw at Byron Mullens and keep him shooting as poorly as he did last night.  The fact is, the Flash won by 15 last night without getting great games from Dontell Jefferson or Luke Nevill (offensively, anyway), so there's even some room for improvement for them.  Tulsa should improve over last year's poor season, but it's not hard to see them starting 0-2.

Rio Grande Valley Vipers at Austin Toros

Quin Snyder is a good coach, and Curtis Jerrells is a talented point guard, so it's entirely possibly that Austin will improve on last night's game (did I mention that they won?) and share the ball a little more, but Rio Grande Valley should be mad that they lost last night when so much went right for them.  I'm still not crazy about the Vipers' three-point shooters, but they should do better than 21 percent.  Joey Dorsey also should come out motivated to perform better offensively and also take some of those rebounds away from Dwayne Jones.  If the Vipers play just a little bit smarter and a.) not turn the ball over so much and b.) not foul so much, they could split this mini-series.

Los Angeles D-Fenders at Albuquerque Thunderbirds

The good news for Kevin Pittsnogle is that the D-Fenders don't really have a center who will demand a lot of his defensive attention, and also that it's hard to miss all of your shots two games in a row.  At some point one of them is going to go in.  Los Angeles also doesn't have a lot of players who can challenge Pittsnogle's outside shots, either because they're more post-oriented (Longar Longar) or because they're not tall enough (pretty much everyone else on the roster).  I know the Thunderbirds won in a walk last night with Pittsnogle playing terribly on the offensive end, but he could end up being the key player for them tonight.  Ryan Forehan-Kelly and Deron Washington both came off the bench in LA's preseason game, which isn't necessarily how I'd do it, but I also would expect them to play a little bit more.  Forehan-Kelly can help out in a lot of areas, and the D-Fenders could use his rebounding ability against Albuquerque, and Washington is more talented than a few of the guys who got the start ahead of him.  This game is itself a rematch of that preseason contest when Albuquerque won, 83-77, but even factoring in having played last night the Thunderbirds could easily repeat that outcome.

Reno Bighorns at Idaho Stampede

Finally, a game in which neither team played last night.  Idaho looked very impressive in the preseason, although I wouldn't expect Roberto Bergersen to make all of his threes again.  There will be some nice point guard matchups with Russell Robinson vs. Sundiata Gaines and Lanny Smith vs. Majic Dorsey.  I'd expect to see Marcus Hubbard spend some time checking Anthony Tolliver, at least while Tolliver is out on the perimeter, as Rod Benson and Cezary Trybanski are better at defending the post.  Given the pace at which Idaho plays now, Reno's Desmon Farmer could put up some really nice numbers, though he should be careful that they don't come at the expense of the rest of the team's offense and he needs to be careful about taking care of the ball.  That also goes for Hubbard, who should build on his solid preseason game and not get the itch to start jacking up threes just because the other team is doing it.  This could be the best game of the night.

It's here!  It's here!  Remember to join us at 7 pm eastern/6 central/5 mountain/4 pacific/3 Alaska/2 Hawaii/8 atlantic as I Open Source Live Blog the opening night games.  Tonight's the night, this is the thread.

Yes, yes, I know that the season starts two days from now, and that there's a preseason game tonight (LA vs. Albuquerque), but because tomorrow is Thanksgiving (perhaps you were aware?), and because few people will be reading the internet tomorrow or possibly Friday (when everyone will be wearing black all day, from what I understand) I thought I'd get this opening night preview up this afternoon for your perusal.  Don't worry, we will have an OSLB on Friday as I try to watch parts of all six games on Futurecast, and I'll try to catch any breaking news that might come up between now and then.  Because of the holiday I thought I'd give this preview a Thanksgiving theme, but I never got farther than naming the games after various food items.  Oh, and there might be some terrible puns thrown in as well.  Enjoy!

Soup: Iowa Energy at Springfield Armor

For the first game we'll go with a starter.  Something with butternut squash perhaps.  The Armor didn't exactly impress in their preseason game the other day, and although Craig Austrie was a decent defender in college, the Energy simply have too many shooters to be able to shut down their perimeter game entirely.  I'd say they also have the advantage down low, as Earl Barron should be able to shut down whatever the Springfield big men try to get going.  Things aren't entirely bleak for the Armor, I suppose, as JamesOn Curry could get his shot going early and score a bunch, but overall the Armor's roster seems a bit rickety.  But hey, pro basketball is back in Springfield, am I right?

The main course, sides and dessert after the jump.

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