ChumpDumper
11-30-2005, 02:30 AM
[I know it's late, but what the hell – I had alot to do out of town and they don't play again until Sunday. I'll be quicker about it next time.]
The Austin Toros couldn't overcome both their own mistakes and solid play by their opponents, dropping their home opener to the Fayetteville Patriots 100-95.
Former Sacramento King and current Patriot forward Erik Daniels impressed on both sides of the court. His 21 points on 50% shooting wasn't such a surprise – the first-year D-League player is averaging 22 through four games – it was his work on defense that raised more than a few eyebrows in the Austin Convention Center. The 215-pound forward spent much of the evening guarding the Toros' main post threat Marcus Fizer, himself seasoned for five seasons in the NBA for the Bulls and Bucks and a relatively safe bet to return to the big league, provided his recovery from knee surgery stays on track. Daniels held his own against Fizer down low despite giving up at least fifty pounds in the matchup, fronted the larger Toro and denied him multiple touches. That, coupled with quick double teams when he actually could get his hands on the ball, limited Fizer to 15 points on five of eight shooting to go along with seven rebounds in 26 minutes.
Austin coach Dennis Johnson was philosophical about Fizer's troubles, attributing most of them to his joining the team only four days before. “....with us getting Marcus in this week and kind of force-feeding him on the floor, we knew we would run into some problems. But with a few days off before our next game, we hope to be able to work those problems out.” For this game, however, Johnson was resigned to using Fizer late as a decoy to draw attention away from fellow big man Scott Merritt, then removed him altogether for a smaller lineup in the final minute while the game was still in question.
Both teams started out shooting well and not defending particularly well, the Patriots sustaining their sharpshooting a bit longer in the second quarter, achieving a 55-48 lead at the half.Offense for both teams ground to a near-halt in the third, due in no small part to a D-League version of the twin tower lineup briefly employed by the Patriots. 6'11”, 320 pound Roderick Riley and 6'11”, 240 pound Nick Billings combined to shut down the offense on both sides of the court. Roderick himself shot 1-8 from the floor in his 29 minutes, hounded effectively by the much lighter Merritt.
The Toros began to fight their way back in the game with a run to end the third quarter, sparked by the bench play of guard Ezra Williams, who continued his torrid scoring with 11 points in the final stanza, including two clutch three-pointers that kept the Toros within striking distance. The home team even took a brief one point lead at 78-77, but the Pats got hot again from the perimeter and hit nearly all their free throws to close out the game, punctuated with a dagger three pointer from Carlos Hurt (14 points) at the 1:38 mark.
The Toros could see the comeback as a silver lining to an often sloppy game. They were undone by turnovers (19) and a poor showing at the line (19-31). They did show some balance in their scoring, as five players reached double figures: Williams, Fizer, Andre Emmett (16), Derrick Zimmerman (16) and rookie Jamar Smith (10), who also led the team with eight rebounds off the bench.
"[The comeback] shows you how talented this team is," Zimmerman said. "If we do it the right way, we're going to be tough to beat."
[ChumpDumper stole quotes from nba.com and the Austin American-Statesman]
Notes:
The announced attendance of 2,505 looked pretty accurate. It may seem a modest total, but the converted exhibit hall only has a capacity of 3,200. It's a very intimate setting which can get appreciably loud, and there really aren't any bad seats in the house.
The Toros seemed to be going out of their way to accommodate fans after the game. All the players were available to sign autographs, as were head coach Dennis Johnson, assistant coach Johnny Moore, Spur legend and Austin resident James Silas, and visiting dignitaries Otis Thorpe and Rudy Tomjonovich. The line stretched nearly to the end of the concourse. Derrick Zimmerman hustled outside to a schoolbus parked on Fourth Street to sign autographs for apparently all the kids inside.
Dos Equis available on draft, but sales cease at the end of the third quarter. :drunk
The Austin Toros couldn't overcome both their own mistakes and solid play by their opponents, dropping their home opener to the Fayetteville Patriots 100-95.
Former Sacramento King and current Patriot forward Erik Daniels impressed on both sides of the court. His 21 points on 50% shooting wasn't such a surprise – the first-year D-League player is averaging 22 through four games – it was his work on defense that raised more than a few eyebrows in the Austin Convention Center. The 215-pound forward spent much of the evening guarding the Toros' main post threat Marcus Fizer, himself seasoned for five seasons in the NBA for the Bulls and Bucks and a relatively safe bet to return to the big league, provided his recovery from knee surgery stays on track. Daniels held his own against Fizer down low despite giving up at least fifty pounds in the matchup, fronted the larger Toro and denied him multiple touches. That, coupled with quick double teams when he actually could get his hands on the ball, limited Fizer to 15 points on five of eight shooting to go along with seven rebounds in 26 minutes.
Austin coach Dennis Johnson was philosophical about Fizer's troubles, attributing most of them to his joining the team only four days before. “....with us getting Marcus in this week and kind of force-feeding him on the floor, we knew we would run into some problems. But with a few days off before our next game, we hope to be able to work those problems out.” For this game, however, Johnson was resigned to using Fizer late as a decoy to draw attention away from fellow big man Scott Merritt, then removed him altogether for a smaller lineup in the final minute while the game was still in question.
Both teams started out shooting well and not defending particularly well, the Patriots sustaining their sharpshooting a bit longer in the second quarter, achieving a 55-48 lead at the half.Offense for both teams ground to a near-halt in the third, due in no small part to a D-League version of the twin tower lineup briefly employed by the Patriots. 6'11”, 320 pound Roderick Riley and 6'11”, 240 pound Nick Billings combined to shut down the offense on both sides of the court. Roderick himself shot 1-8 from the floor in his 29 minutes, hounded effectively by the much lighter Merritt.
The Toros began to fight their way back in the game with a run to end the third quarter, sparked by the bench play of guard Ezra Williams, who continued his torrid scoring with 11 points in the final stanza, including two clutch three-pointers that kept the Toros within striking distance. The home team even took a brief one point lead at 78-77, but the Pats got hot again from the perimeter and hit nearly all their free throws to close out the game, punctuated with a dagger three pointer from Carlos Hurt (14 points) at the 1:38 mark.
The Toros could see the comeback as a silver lining to an often sloppy game. They were undone by turnovers (19) and a poor showing at the line (19-31). They did show some balance in their scoring, as five players reached double figures: Williams, Fizer, Andre Emmett (16), Derrick Zimmerman (16) and rookie Jamar Smith (10), who also led the team with eight rebounds off the bench.
"[The comeback] shows you how talented this team is," Zimmerman said. "If we do it the right way, we're going to be tough to beat."
[ChumpDumper stole quotes from nba.com and the Austin American-Statesman]
Notes:
The announced attendance of 2,505 looked pretty accurate. It may seem a modest total, but the converted exhibit hall only has a capacity of 3,200. It's a very intimate setting which can get appreciably loud, and there really aren't any bad seats in the house.
The Toros seemed to be going out of their way to accommodate fans after the game. All the players were available to sign autographs, as were head coach Dennis Johnson, assistant coach Johnny Moore, Spur legend and Austin resident James Silas, and visiting dignitaries Otis Thorpe and Rudy Tomjonovich. The line stretched nearly to the end of the concourse. Derrick Zimmerman hustled outside to a schoolbus parked on Fourth Street to sign autographs for apparently all the kids inside.
Dos Equis available on draft, but sales cease at the end of the third quarter. :drunk