Three seems to be the lucky number to win an NBA Championship or at least go deep into the playoffs.  Look at this year’s NBA Championship: the Boston Celtics have Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen and Paul Pierce.  The Los Angeles Lakers have Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol and Derek Fischer.  Sure, both teams have crucial players other than the Big Three, whether that was Rajon Rondo, Kendrick Perkins, Ron Artest, or Andrew Bynum.

Three never had such a big impact until the Thursday of July 8th when LeBron James decided to take an earth shattering deal with the Miami Heat to be with Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh.  Three of the best players in the world on one team.  Everyone has an opinion on the matter and this could change the face of the NBA for years to come.

So, why does the standard number of great players on one team always seem to be three?  The answer is simple: salary cap.  The NBA announced that the cap space for the 2010-11 season will be an astounding $58.044 million.  To make a Big Three, the team needs to have big name players.  Big name players mean a couple things: a boost in revenue from jersey sales, attendance etc. and a shot at the title.  But, it also means that most of the $58 million in cap space will be eaten up.

The Heat have already made moves to cut salary space when they shipped off Daequen Cook a month ago and recently traded Michael Beasley to the Minnesota Timberwolves.

With a roster seemingly becoming smaller by the day, this could mean great things for the NBA D-League in the near future and over time.  Facing a three-headed monster in James, Wade and Bosh is going to take a lot of skill and the term “Big Three” may just be starting.  Teams are going to do anything they can to cut salary room and bring in a Big Three of their own to compete with the Heat.

What does this mean for players like the Iowa Energy’s Curtis Stinson or Denham Brown?  It could mean their shot at the NBA.  A team like the Heat are going to have to sign some players to minimum contracts to fill out their rosters and this could give players in the D-League their shot to play in the NBA.

What the Heat did by signing the Big Three might have started a chain reaction among teams fighting to be among the elite for years to come.  It may just oust bench players eating up a couple million dollars of the salary cap and bring in a couple young and bright players like Stinson or Brown to the team for their shot at the NBA.

Only time will tell.

Just a few weeks ago, Cartier Martin was draining big shots in Des Moines for the Iowa Energy.  Saturday night, while the Energy were beating Ft. Wayne in front of nearly 7,000 fans, Cartier was scoring 13 points for the Golden State Warriors against the Phoenix Suns.

Also of note, Anthony Tolliver and Martin both got the start in the game.  Energy fans might remember a time last season when those two were starting for the Energy.  Now they are starting for the Warriors in the NBA!!

P.S. Get your tickets now for February 6th.  Ames High School plays in the pre-game at 5pm.  Energy game at 7pm.  One ticket, both games!

The Iowa Energy trailed the Erie BayHawks 56-26 with 1:37 remaining in the first half. Approximately one hour later, Iowa left Erie with an improbable 100-95 victory to raise their record to 10-1. So, how was a team that was down 30 points come all the way back to win a game on the road?

Lets break it down:

Mini-run to end 1st half: While it didn’t seem like much at the time, the Energy went on a 7-2 run in the final 1:30 of the half to get the lead to 25 points. Sure, that is still a seemingly insurmountable lead, but the fact that the Energy went to the locker room with a drop of momentum didn’t hurt.

Defensive pressure to start 2nd half: Iowa started the second half on defense, and the tone was set from the start. The Energy forced Erie into a 24 second shot clock violation. The defensive pressure continued in the quarter as Iowa opened up the 2nd half on a 14-4 run.

Tyndale’s big shot: The shot probably went unnoticed to many, but Mark Tyndale drained a 3-point shot at the end of the 3rd quarter to draw the Energy within 9 heading into the 4th quarter. From a psychological standpoint, getting the game into single digits was a huge boost for the Energy.

Marvin Philips shows his outside game: In a 3:36 stretch of the 4th quarter, Energy reserve Marvin Phillips scored 8 points, including two deep jump shots. Phillips is well known for his powerful dunks and his high flying rebounding, but the deep shooting was a new touch to his game. Philips’s final basket of the game, a layup with 6:03 remaining, gave the Energy an 81-80 lead.

Little bit of luck: You don’t make a comeback like this without a little luck. With the Energy down by 3, Cartier Martin missed a 3-point shot with only seconds left. Iowa quickly fouled Erie’s Martin Zeno with 1.9 seconds left. All Zeno had to do was make 1 of 2 free throw shots to seal the win for the BayHawks. His first shot clanked off the rim. The second…ditto. Iowa called a timeout and moved the ball to halfcourt….setting up…. “Big Shot”

Cartier Martin does it again: Recently acquired Cartier Martin got a second chance to tie the game, and this time, he didn’t disappoint. Just as the final buzzer sounded, Martin’s 3-pointer ripped through the net, sending the game to extra time. In his 22 games with the Energy last year, Martin became well known for hitting HUGE shots at HUGE times. It looks like that magic touch has continued.

Stinson takes over OT: Energy point guard Curtis Stinson was largely responsible for the first four points of OT. He found Tyndale open under the hoop to take the lead a couple minutes into the extra session. One possession later, he nailed an open 20 footer to put the Energy up four. Earl Barron’s free throw shooting would put the game on ice for the 10-1 Energy.

Coaching: Huge credit to Nick Nurse, Nate Bjorkgren and Keith “Lefty” Moore for pulling this one out. It would have been easy to wave the white flag and be happy with a split of two games in Erie. That is not the way these guys operate. Going back to Martin for the game tying shot after he missed seconds earlier took a lot of guts.

So there you have it. What a game. What a run!

The Energy are home on Tuesday night (Dec 29th, 7pm) to host Ft. Wayne. It’s a 2-for-1 Tuesday meaning all sideline seats are 2 for the price of 1.

Get your tickets today at www.dahlstickets.com or by calling 515-564-8550.

P.S. Ft. Wayne recently signed former Hawkeye Jared Reiner….so come on out and see him this week!

What a week! It’s been a lot of fun in the Energy offices over the past week. From our great home opener last week to the “Blizzard of the Century” this week, it’s been a wild ride. Just in case you’ve been stuck in a snow-cave, here is the latest news on the Energy front.

Phoenix Sun Taylor Griffin is coming to Des Moines!

As most of you know, the Energy is affiliated with the Phoenix Suns and Chicago Bulls. This allows those NBA teams to assign their young players to the Energy to get them valuable playing time. Suns GM Steve Kerr announced this week that Suns rookie Taylor Griffin has been assigned to the Energy for this weekend’s games against Dakota. Taylor was the Suns 2nd round pick and just happens to be the older brother of the #1 pick in this year’s draft, Blake Griffin. They both starred at Oklahoma, leading them to the Elite 8 of last year’s NCAA tourney. Taylor is a great athlete and will be a fan favorite. Read more about him HERE.

Cartier Martin is Back!

More great news came out earlier this week, when the Energy announced that we are re-signing Cartier Martin. Cartier was our 1st pick in last year’s D-League draft and played in 20 plus games, before being called up by the NBA’s Charlotte Bobcats.

He is an explosive scorer and averaged 20.6 points and 5.4 rebounds during his time in Des Moines. Cartier played his college ball just a short drive away at Kansas State.

Energy Undefeated, atop the Power Rankings!

The Energy are off to a torrid start, beginning the year 4-0 after sweeping series against Springfield and Fort Wayne. The Energy are in sole possession of first place in the D-League’s Eastern Conference standings and are also the only undefeated team in the D-League.

In the most recent power rankings released by the league, it was no surprise to see the Energy at the top. Coach Nurse and the staff have a great group of players and hopefully we remain at the top all year. This year’s squad is a blast to watch, come on out to Wells Fargo Arena to see for yourself. You won’t be disappointed!

They are incredible to see in person. Tickets start as low as $8 for the entire night! Call us at 515-462-2849 or go to www.dahlstickets.com You won’t want to miss it.

The Energy look to remain undefeated on Sunday afternoon in a rematch with the Mad Ants. Tip-off is at 4pm. See you there!

We are back from our weekend trip out to Springfield and we are happy to have picked up a couple wins.

It’s hard to gauge really what happened as everyone in the D-League is feeling out the level of competition right now and we are in that boat too.  So as we love the wins, not everyone will be convinced that they were great wins yet. But the thing that I am happy with is this:  we played really hard, we played collective defense, and we shared the ball.  At this point in the season out of training camp, that is what we are after.

Building chemistry and cohesiveness is an elusive thing sometimes in our league.  So am I happy?  At this point, all ten guys are on the same page.   We did face some challenges, going on the road, playing two games in 36 hours, traveling on Thanksgiving etc…and we handled most of that really well.  We had good performances from a lot of different guys.  So, no need to mention anyone specifically this time.

We played really good team defense. We held the Armor to 73 points in the first game which has to be some kind of record for us.  We should look that up.

We are back at it in practice, and getting ready for Fort Wayne, who is very talented. They have a new coach in Joey Meyer, who is one of the best in this League.  He has a lot of talent and they are coming off a very impressive win versus a tough Erie team.

It’s dollar beer night too, and tons of other things going on.   Come on out and see this team, they play hard and play well together.  You will be proud of this team and how they represent Des Moines and the Energy.

See you Thursday.

Nick

Game 2 is Saturday at 11 am. Tune in to NBA Futurecast at www.nbdl.com or listen on 1700 The Champ.

Details: Energy @ Armor-6pm Start-Springfield, Mass.-MassMutual Center

Breaking down Springfield:

The Armor are one of two expansion teams in the D-League this year, joining fellow east coast squad, Maine. Springfield is coached by former NBA veteran, dunk champion and TV personality Dee Brown. Their NBA affiliates are the Nets, Knicks, and 76ers. Defense and versatility appear to be the themes for the Armor. In their lone exhibition game, they defeated Maine 86-78 and held the Red Claws to 41 percent shooting and forced 25 Red Claw turnovers.

The Armor are headlined by a familiar face in former Energy guard JamesOn Curry, who was Springfield’s 1st round pick in this year’s D-League draft. Curry averaged 12.3 points and shot 36 percent from three point range last year with the Energy.

Springfield Probable Starters:

Guard: JamesOn Curry-6′3 195 lbs. (Oklahoma State)

Guard: Adam Harrington- 6′5 200 lbs. (Auburn)

Forward: Perrin Johnson- 6′6 215 lbs. (Louisville)

Forward: Kentrell Gransberry- 6′9 270 lbs. (South Florida)

Center: James Cripe- 7′0 255 lbs. (Northern Kentucky)

Breaking down the Energy:

The Energy appear to be a team that can beat you a number of different ways. As they illustrated in their 99-89 victory over Tulsa in the only pre-season game- when eight players scored more than eight points. The Energy have a solid inside presence with Earl Barron, who has spent three plus years in the NBA with the Miami Heat. And they have weapons from the outside with newcomers Rashad Anderson and Pat Carroll, who can both fill it up from long range. Combine that with steady point guard Curtis Stinson and versatile players coming off the bench and Iowa is set up to have a very balanced club.

The Energy will be without big man Darryl Watkins, who did not make the trip due to a foot injury. Watkins is expected to be back for the home opener on December 3rd.

Energy Probable Starters:

Guard: Curtis Stinson-6′3 215 lbs. (Iowa State)

Guard: Pat Carroll-6′5 200 lbs. (St. Joseph’s)

Forward: Rashad Anderson-6′5 225 lbs. (UCONN)

Forward: Marvin Phillips-6′7 230 lbs. (Claflin)

Center: Earl Barron- 6′11 230 lbs. (Memphis)

Three things to Watch For:

1. Armor’s Debut- It’s the first game for the expansion Armor and expect the MassMutual Center in Springfield to be packed and rocking. The Energy will have to handle the atmosphere and the tough Armor defense and avoid turnovers, which can be problematic early on in the season.

2. Husky Hello- It will be a reunion of sorts for Iowa’s Rashad Anderson and Springfield guard Craig Austrie, who both played for Jim Calhoun and the UCONN Huskies. The two played on the same team in the 05-06 season when Anderson was a senior and Austrie was a freshman. That loaded UCONN team went 30-4 before being upset in the Elite 8 by upstart George Mason. Along with Anderson and Austrie, UCONN featured NBA players Rudy Gay, Hilton Armstrong, Josh Boone and Marcus Williams.

3. Long Range Connection

The three point ball will be a big key to the Energy all season long. Iowa hit 10 of 18 threes in their exhibition win and eight different Energy players knocked down a three. The Armor struggled mightily from deep, hitting only 3 of 18 shots in their exhibition win. But, JamesOn Curry is a streaky shooter and could be a thorn in the side of the Energy if he gets it going.

You can follow the action all year long in a number of different ways:

Radio – All 50 Energy games (home and road) will be on the radio.  Most of the games will be on 1700 AM “The Champ” while select games will be on 98.3 FM in Des Moines.

Web Streaming – Follow all 50 Energy games via FREE, live web streaming at www.d-league.com.  Audio and video of each game will air on your computer.