IBA: Legends Beat Capitals 135-105, Advance to Semifinals

The 3rd-seeded Albany Legends beat the 6th-seeded Lansing Capitals in the first round of the IBA playoffs yesterday and the final score was 135-105.

Lloyd Johnson led the Legends with a team-high 33 points. Kyle Downey chipped in with 24 points and Shea Bromirski finished with 20 points. Adam Abdourahamane scored 18 points and E.J. Gallup scored 16 points in the win.

For the Capitals, Terrance Shaw scored 33 points in the loss. David Williams finished with 19 points. Though their season is over, their fans have to be happy with Shaw's play over the course of the season. In my opinion, he was one of the best players in the IBA this season.

I think the key to the Legends winning this game (which could have gone either way) was Downey, Bromirski, and Abdourahmane stepping up in the absence of Tadre Sheppard and Tiki Mayben. Downey and Bromirski combined for 44 points to make up for the loss of Mayben. Abdourahmane, who usually just plays the role of rebounder and post-defender, scored more than usual to help make up for the abscence of Sheppard.

I predicted in my last article on the Legends that they would lose in the semifinals, which will take place later tonight. I'm not so sure anymore though because the Legends will be playing the 7th-seeded Kenosha Ballers who upset the 2nd-seeded Los Angeles Lightning who had a 12-2 regular season record before losing in the first round of the playoffs yesterday. Considering that the Ballers had a losing record during the regular season, I think that the Legends will beat them in the semifinals tonight.

The Albany Legends (11-5) will play the Kenosha Ballers (8-8) at 10 pm tonight. One of the keys to the game for the Legends will be defending Devron Bostick. As of June 13th, Bostick was ranked third in the IBA in points per game behind Lloyd Johnson and the league's reigning MVP, Ryan Edwards. If the Legends can step up their defense and lock Bostick down, they'll have a better chance of winning. Other keys for the Legends include Johnson keeping up his high level of play, Gallup's 3-point shooting, rebounding, and making up for the losses of Mayben and Sheppard.

I think the Legends will win. If they do, they'll play either the Gary Splash or the 1st-seeded Kankakee County Soldiers. If they play the Splash in the championship, I think that they'll win, but if they play the Soldiers instead, it will be much tougher for them. But it's a bit early for talking about the championship right now because the Legends need to win in the semifinals first.

Have any thoughts on the Legends beating the Capitals in the first round of the playoffs? Think the Legends will go all the way? Leave a comment below and tell me what you think.

IBA: Legends Lose 2 Out Of 3 Road Games To End Regular Season

The Albany Legends finished out the 2012 regular season with three road games in a row on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. They lost the first two, and then won their regular season finale in a blowout.

Before they left on the road, the Legends switched up their roster a bit. Tadre Sheppard, Shagari Alleyne, Tiki Mayben, and T.J. Czeski were gone while Shea Bromirski, Brian Hanuschak, and Brian Ormon were added to the roster.

This proved to be key for the Legends. I wasn't too worried about Alleyne and Czeski not being with the team anymore. They are both serviceable and helpful players, but are replaceable. However, the losses of Mayben and Sheppard, both starters this season, would prove to be significant in the fate of the Legends during their three road games. Sheppard is a crazy-athletic double-double machine with a field-goal percentage that's off the charts. Mayben is a talented point guard who can distribute the ball and have scoring outbursts as well (He scored 50 points in a loss to the Soldiers this season).

Bromirski and Hanuschak are both from Saint Rose and were presumably college teammates of Zach Bye. Bromirski is a 6-0 guard who can score and pass the ball well. Hanuschak is a 6-7 forward who can score and rebound well. Both of them played well in college, but seem undersized on the pro-level.

Ormon is a 6-7 forward like Hanuschak except Ormon is older. He was born in 1984 while Hanuschak and Bromirski should both be about 22 years old. I couldn't find too much info on Ormon, but it seems like he is a scorer and a rebounder. Ormon played high school basketball at Schenectady High School.

Game 1: Monday, June 18, 2012 - Lansing Capitals 147, Legends 132 (LOSS)

The Legends lost their first road game of the season to the Capitals, who had been swept in a 3-game series vs. the Legends earlier this season.

Lloyd Johnson scored 43 points and E.J. Gallup scored 30, but it wasn't enough. In their professional debuts, Bromirski scored 11 points and Hanuschak had 12 points and 9 rebounds. Adam Abdourahamane had 13 points and Kenny Tribbett scored 10 in the loss.

For the Capitals, Derick Nelson scored a team-high 28 points. Terrance Shaw had a double-double with 27 points and 20 rebounds. Dave Williams also had a double-double and finished with 24 points and 11 rebounds.

Player of the Game: Terrance Shaw (27 points, 20 rebounds, 1 assist)

Game 2: Tuesday, June 19, 2012 - Battle Creek Knights 119, Legends 109 (LOSS)

The Legends should have won this game, considering that the Knights had a 2-11 record before the game and the Legends had swept them in a 2-game series earlier this season, but they didn't. Lloyd Johnson had another Lloyd-Johnson-like game and scored a game-high 32 points, but the Legends lost again. Josh Jones scored 24 in the losing effort.

Game 3: Wednesday, June 20, 2012 - Legends 150, Battle Creek Knights 99 (WIN)

The Legends must have been fired up before this game. They were on a 3-game losing streak, their longest of the season, and didn't want to end the regular season by getting swept by one of the worst teams in the IBA.

Albany went on to beat the Knights by 51 points in a blowout win. Lloyd Johnson had a triple-double and finished with a game-high 45 points, 10 assists, and 10 rebounds. E.J. Gallup scored 44 points and made 12 three-pointers in the win. Zach Bye had a double-double with 14 points and 12 rebounds.

Star of the Series: Lloyd Johnson (averaged 38.5 points in the 2-game series against the Knights)

I think that the key to the Legends losing to the majority of their road games was the absence of Tadre Sheppard. He was one of the most important players on the team this season. Tiki Mayben is not as important because Lloyd Johnson can fill his role.

The 2012 IBA Playoffs start tomorrow. The Albany Legends (10-5) will play the Lansing Capitals at 3:00 pm on Friday in the first round. I'm predicting that the Legends will beat the Capitals and advance to the semi-finals, but will lose and not advance to the championship.. I think that Johnson's leadership, Gallup's 3-pointers, and Bye's deceptive rebounding skills will be enough to take them to the semi-finals, but they will miss Sheppard and won't be able to win it all. I could be wrong, but if the Legends want to win the championship this year, then somebody should buy Tadre a plane ticket to Gary, Indiana, and fast!

Sources:
http://ibaball.net/news-scores
http://www.timesunion.com/default/article/Legends-regular-season-finale-a-laugher-3650635.php
http://www.gogoldenknights.com/roster.aspx?rp_id=923
http://www.gogoldenknights.com/roster.aspx?rp_id=1280
http://www.usbasket.com/player.asp?Cntry=USA&PlayerID=144764
http://wasc.pointloma.edu/Content/Athletics/MensBasketball/Roster/Brian_Ormon.htm

Have any thoughts on the Albany Legends finished out their regular season on the road? Can the Legends win the championship without Tiki Mayben and Tadre Sheppard? Can Lloyd Johnson carry the Legends all the way? Leave a comment below and tell me what you think.