PORTLAND — The Maine Red Claws, looking to snap a three-game losing streak, are at home this weekend to face the Erie BayHawks (2-3), affiliate of the Orlando Magic, on Saturday at 7 p.m. and Sunday at 5 p.m.
The Red Claws are coming off a disappointing trip last weekend to Sioux Falls (South Dakota) where they were defeated twice by the Miami Heat’s Skyforce (4-2).
The Red Claws (3-4) occupy third place in the five-team Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference trailing division leader Westchester by 3 games. Each of the four division winners in the 19-team league, and four wild-card teams with the next best records regardless of division, will qualify for the playoffs which begin on April 5. Each team plays 50 games during the regular season which ends on April 2.
Rookie Jordan Mickey leads the Red Claws in scoring (17.9 ppg), minutes (34.8 mpg), blocks (a league leading 4.4 bpg) and rebounding (11.1 rpg). The 6-foot-8 forward played at Louisiana State for two years before being selected by the Celtics with the 33rd pick in the 2015 NBA draft. Mickey, the top shot blocker in the nation last year, is only the second LSU player – the other being Shaquille O’Neal – to block more than 100 shots in a season,
Second-year Red Claw forward Omari Johnson is second in scoring and rebounding at 13.1 points and 7.3 rebounds per game. The 6- foot-9 Indiana product, leads the team with 2.4 three point baskets per game.
Maine is under the direction of second-year coach Scott Morrison. This is the seventh season that the Celtics have used the Red Claws as their NBA Development League affiliate and the fourth in which Boston is Maine’s sole NBA affiliate with full control over the team’s basketball operations.
Radio broadcasts of each game can be heard live on WJJB 96.3 FM with Chris Sedenka (play by play) and Rick Simonds (analysis) calling the action. Sedenka, a 1999 Gorham High graduate, is a former co-host of the PM JAB sports talk show. Simonds was a very successful basketball coach at St. Josephs College, winning 11 conference titles in 23 years.
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