The Halifax Rainmen had a rough start to their season, losing their first two games, two players to suspensions and one player to injury, not to mention the fact that they struggled on defense and from three point land.
This is certainly not what Rainmen fans were looking for out of their team but keep your heads up as I anticipate far better things from the Rainmen very soon as they play the final three games of their current four game home stand. They do not play again until Thursday when they host the Moncton Miracles, so this gives them lots of time to work out the kinks in practice and some home cooking should give them an added boost!
I like getting off on the right foot so I will start by focusing on the positives from these first two games, then I will look at the Negatives. Unfortunately there are more negatives than positives to talk about this week, so bear with me and here’s hoping next week will see a pleasant turn of events!
The Good:
Scoring: We know our team can score and they had no problem doing so in their first two games. Taliek Brown (PG), Rodney Buford (SG) and Lawrence Wright (SG/SF) combined for a total of 114 points in the two game series. Keep a close eye on these three players in Thursday’s game vs. the Moncton Miracles!
Signing Joey Haywood: Haywood (PG) is a Saint Mary’s University alumni (Let’s go SMU!) and AUS scoring champion for the past three years. His 575 points last season set a new AUS single season scoring record and I’m sure he will be an excellent addition to the team. Haywood came off the bench behind Taliek Brown Saturday night and should continue to do so. That being said, he should prove to be an excellent scoring spark as a sixth man off the bench… think of him as the Jamal Crawford of the Halifax Rainmen.
The Bad:
Defense: The Rainmen do not play again until Thursday, so this will give them a couple days to reflect on their poor defensive showing thus far. Coach Claros emphasized the importance of improving on defense following Thursday night’s game and I’m sure he will dot he same thing at practice this week.
The Rainmen are currently ranked last in the league in points against (227) and let the Lighting torch them from behind the arc, especially in Saturday night’s game when London shot 50% from three point land making 12 of 24 three point attempts.
Three Point Shooting: Not only did the Rainmen struggle with defending the three pointer, they also had a hard time getting their own shots to fall from beyond the arc. After their first two games they are shooting 29.5% from three point range and have only made 13 of 44 three point field goal attempts.
Injuries: Christian “T-Bear” Upshaw will miss four to six weeks with a broken arm he suffered in the third quarter of Thursday’s game and former NBA’er Eddie Robinson is currently out with an injury. The signing of Joey Haywood lessens the impact of the injury to Upshaw and ensures we still have the required two Canadian born players on the roster.
Suspensions/Release: Returning Rainmen players Eric Crookshank and Deandre Thomas were suspended following Thursday night’s game “due to a violation of league and club policies”. Crookshank only received a one game suspension—which he served on Saturday—and he will be back in the lineup Thursday versus Moncton. Thomas on the other hand was suspended indefinitely and then later released by the team. This means Abdullahi Kuso is now the only player the Rainmen have listed as a Center thus someone will have to step up and take over as the backup center, my bet is on Eddie Robinson once he returns from injury.
Final Thoughts:
I hate to see the negatives out shadow the positives this week, but unfortunately that’s the way it had to be. Nevertheless, I am looking forward to seeing the Rainmen bounce back next week and I hope to see some good competitive basketball as they play their next three home games at the Halifax Metro Center. Remember, we have a lot of new players so it’s going to take them some time to gel and build chemistry; be patient, keep your head up and let’s go Rainmen!
Upcoming Games:
Thursday November 10 - Moncton Miracles @ Halifax Rainmen 7:00pm
Sunday November 13 - Summerside Storm @ Halifax Rainmen 2:00pm
Friday November 18 - Saint John Mill Rats @ Halifax Rainmen 7:00pm
