A day after acquiring Archie Goodwin, the Greensboro Swarm fell to the Texas Legends and will now shift their attention to the Austin Spurs.
The Greensboro Swarm (2-7) lost their second straight road game, this time at the hands of the Texas Legends (3-3), 121-106 on Thursday night. The game was played on the same night that both teams’ respective parent squads, the Dallas Mavericks and the Charlotte Hornets, were facing off.
The Swarm had another balanced scoring effort, as six players reached double figures in scoring, but were unable to keep pace with the Legends. Texas got 31 points and 11 rebounds from Pierre Jackson, as well as 23 points and seven dimes from Manny Harris to win their second straight home game.
Greensboro was once again led in scoring by guard Xavier Munford, who put up 19 points, seven boards, and four assists. He was joined by the recently-acquired Archie Goodwin (18 points on 4/17 shooting and six boards) and Perry Ellis (17 points, 10 boards off the bench). Rasheed Sulaimon, Mike Tobey, and Prince Williams each added 10 points.
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The biggest story of the game was Greensboro’s poor shooting percentage, especially from three-point range. The Swarm shot 37/93 (39.8%) and only hit two of their 23 three point attempts (8.7%). Meanwhile, the Legends only hit 9/25 threes (36%) but it was enough to give them a spread, and they ran with it. Jackson, and NBA veterans Quincy Acy (16 points) and Tony Wroten (11 points) all hit two three-pointers apiece.
Texas simply played at a faster pace, as they racked up 42 fast break points to Greensboro’s 18. The Swarm only coughed the ball up 14 times and nearly matched the Legends in points in the paint (62-60), but the Legends used three consecutive 30-plus point quarters to keep Greensboro at bay. Their largest lead of the game was 26.
On the bright side of things, the bench finally showed up for the Swarm and produced two double-figure scorers. Meanwhile, Ralston Turner (8 points) and Shonn Miller (8 points, 9 rebounds) continued to show their growth late in the game.
Hopefully, the addition of Goodwin and his NBA experience will help the team keep up with and contain future opponents. Greensboro is not likely to shoot that poorly from the floor on a regular basis.
Sights Set on Austin
The Swarm will conclude their three-game road trip in Austin, Texas on Friday night. Austin comes into the game having had a week’s worth of preparation. The team last played on November 25, an 119-106 win over the Grand Rapids Drive.
The Spurs have numerous players on their roster who were NBA draft picks and are competing on assignment. Austin averages 104.3 points, 41.7 rebounds and 19.5 turnovers per game. They are currently led in scoring by Davis Bertans (22.0 PPG, 6 RPG, 3 steals), though he has only played one game (was recently assigned on Nov. 27). Dejonte Murray, their other main assignee, is averaging 16 points, 7.3 boards, and 7.7 assists through three games.
Austin’s main rotation players (those who have played at least five games through December 2) include Patricio Garino (15.6 PPG, 4.8 RPG, 44% from 3P), Jarell Eddie (14.3 PPG, 4.7 RPG), Cheick Diallo (14.3 PPG, 6.7 RPG) and Cory Jefferson (12.3 PPG, 4.8 RPG). The team’s main strength is their defense; the Spurs are 9th in the league in opponents’ points per game, holding them to an average of 104.0 points per game.
Overall, the Spurs are a long team that depends on scoring from its big men, so Mike Tobey, Shonn Miller, and Perry Ellis will have their work cut out for them. It will be imperative for the Swarm’s help side defense to be ready to hedge on screens and to slide over when players penetrate the lane. Look for the Spurs to have a lot of ball movement and ball screens like their parent team and to get up a lot of quick shots. The Swarm will have to ramp up the pace in order to score more and keep the Austin defense on their heels.
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This is not necessarily a make-or-break game for Greensboro, but the team needs this win badly so that it can finish this road trip with a win. Look for Goodwin and Munford to score and for the bench to come in prepared. This matchup should be fast-paced and fun to watch, so tune in to YouTube or Facebook Live at 8:30 Eastern Time to see these two teams face off.