RED CLAWS BUST OUT OF THEIR SHELL IN PORTLAND

by Charles Crosby

To make it even sweeter Celtic legend Danny Ainge's son Austin is at the helm.

The inaugural game on December 4 was a festive, sold out event which featured a moving rendition of the national anthem, a color guard, plenty of half court entertainment when the boys were not on the hardwood, and a decisive 102 - 79 win over the Springfield Armor. William J. Ryan, Jr. Chairman, Maine Basketball, LLC and Jon P. Jennings, President and General Manager of the Red Claws

Celtic great Danny Ainge was courtside along with many of the team's owner, first district Congresswoman Chellie Pingree and other dignataries. There was magic in the air asmore than 3,000 fans streamed into the Portland Expo which underwent a major face lift before becoming home to the Maine Red Claws.

Before being selected as coach of the Ainge was a scout with the Boston Celtics, where among his duties he worked with Celtics Rookies J.R. Giddens and Bill Walker while they were on assignment with the Utah Flash of the NBA Development League. Walker, who wears number 14 for the Red Claws, played 29 games as a rookie for the Celtics, even seeing some time in the playoffs last year. The 6' 6" forward was the 47th overall pick in the 2008 NBA Draft (Washington) and traded to Boston.

For those who do not know how the NBA D-League works it is like the AAA for baseball and AHL for hockey.

Move over Pirates and Sea Dogs there is a new team in town. Portland can now boast of its own NBA D-League basketball team the Claws.

However, although the NBA D-League is similar, it is also very different. This season marks the fifth year that the league has utilized the NBA Affi liation System, with intentions to grow the relationship in the coming seasons. The relationship is negotiated with the NBA Players Association Collective Bargaining Agreement. Currently each team in the NBA D-League has one to three NBA affiliates who are permitted to assign players intheir first or second seasons to its affi liate. The Maine Red Claws are affi liated with the Boston Celtics and the Charlotte Bobcats.

To help understand the level of the players in the NBA DLeague, it helps to look at it through available roster spots. NBA teams are composed offewer roster spots than any of the three major league sports- the NFL has 53 roster spots, MLB has 40, and the NHL has 23. NBA teams have just 15 roster spots. In any other professional sport, the players you are watching today would be on a major league roster! This is part of the reason that the NBA D-League has been so successful - more than 15 percent of current NBA players have developed their skills in the NBA D-League.

The Maine Red Claws are now 7-2. They are home again on Saturday and Sunday, December 26 and 27 against the Bakersfield Jam and on New Year's Eve against the Iowa Energy. In January they are home every Friday night (January 1, 8, 15, 22, & 29) and on Sunday, January 31.