The Maine Red Claws are off to steaming-hot start, continuing to cook their opponents at a historic rate.
With their 118-108 victory over the Westchester Knicks (the G League affiliate of the eponymous NBA team) at the Portland Expo Center on Nov. 24, the team is now owns its first-ever 5-0 start after debuting in the 2009-10 season.
Much of the feat can be attributed to an unusually talented roster populated by oft-injured lottery pick Romeo Langford and both of the team’s two-way players, center Tacko Fall and point guard Tremont Waters, along with a couple of players who were notable figures in the G League last season in forward’s Kaiser Gates and Yante Maten.
In Saturday’s tilt, Langford continued to rehabilitate a sprained ankle as Waters and Fall — an almost comical duo given the notable difference in height between the two (5-foot-10 and 7-foot-5, respectively) — helped carry the team to victory behind undrafted rookie Bryce Brown’s game-high 29 points.
Fall logged yet another double-double, pulling down 10 boards to pair with 11 points (scored on 4-of-8 shooting) in 19 minutes, while Waters scored 24 points while dishing out eight assists.
The LSU product is being called up to reinforce the parent club’s backcourt with former UConn standout Kemba Walker nursing a sprained neck sustained in the team’s game against the Denver Nuggets on Nov. 22, just ahead of the Red Claws’ showdown with fellow unbeaten G League competitor, the Memphis Hustle (also owning a 5-0 record) on Nov. 25.
It’s unclear if Waters will make the trip to Southaven, MS. for the early-season battle for G League supremacy but Maine will easily face their toughest test of the season whether the Connecticut native can make the game or not.
For Waters, having a chance to show what he can do on the sport’s highest level of competition at a moment his skills are truly needed is far from the worst consolation prize one could get in return.
In fact, it’s what the G League is all about: getting players onto the world’s largest stage to put their games on display.
