The Sioux Falls Skyforce are an affiliate of the Miami Heat; the Westchester Knicks are ... well, you can guess. Game 1 of the their D-League playoff series went almost as poorly as the last time a Knicks franchise opened up the postseason against a Heat franchise. (Note: Steve Novak shot 2-2 from three in that game. Who says he can't get his shot off in the playoffs!!!?!?)
By the end of the first quarter the W-Knicks were staring down the barrel of a 33-18 deficit. Try as they might, they couldn't quite get the deficit down to single-digits, settling instead for a 109-95 defeat.
The Skyforce is famous for possessing the stingiest defense in the D-League, but they blitzed Westchester on the other end of the court, shooting 55% as a team. They missed 13 of 31 free throws, otherwise this score would have looked a lot worse.
Highlights
Thanasis Antetokounmpo
Jordan Bachynski
Jimmer Fredette
Travis Trice
Westchester's bench was particularly unplayable in Game 1. Jordon Crawford and Ra'shad James are both fun bench guards, but they were far too small to get shots off against the larger Skyforce backcourt. And forward Darion Atkins has regressed mightily on the offensive end. The starting five of Jimmer, Trice, Keith Wright, Thanasis and Bachynski will have to come up huge in Game 2 (Friday, 8 PM) if Westchester is to stave off elimination.