Flash vs Energy – Game 1 – Round 1

Game Preview

The D-League playoffs kick off tonight in Orem at 7pm with the top-seeded Iowa Energy taking on the seventh-seeded Utah Flash. The whole top-teams-pick-their-opponent thing is one of my favorite parts about the D-League, and it’s going to be interesting if the Flash take any motivation about being picked out of order.

The realities of the the D-League, with call-ups and player transfers usually means that the best teams at the end of the year are the ones most likely to have lost their best players to the NBA. That’s true tonight as the Energy will have to play without Othyus Jeffers (playing for the Jazz), Cartier Martin (slumming with the Wizards), and Earl Barron (doing work for the Knicks). On the other side, the Flash have been fierce at home over the last few weeks, punctuated by their three game sweep of the Idaho Stampede. I’m looking forward to a similar vibe in the arena tonight.

Since this is a three game series, unless the Flash can steal a game in Iowa tonight will be their last home game of the season. It might be your last chance of the year to see Matt Harpring’s doppelgänger Jordan Brady.