Miami 305 made the playoffs in their second season in the Big 3 league. They started 1-3 and showed the “championship grit” to make the playoffs and defend last season’s title. They played against the Dallas Power in the second semifinal game today at the American Airlines Center. Miami was the only team to beat Dallas this season.
Miami runs out of gas, season ends
Reggie Evans played in the first half of the semifinal for the 305. He had not played due to a foot injury but was able to fill a roster spot in place of Joey Dorsey (injury.) He played with fire and energy. Listen to him with 305 emcee “Tattoo” below at the 5:01 mark in the video. The 305 players were “working the refs,” intimidating the Power players and sharing the basketball.
Michael Beasley played an exceptional first half. He was displaying every offensive tool in his arsenal that made him the #2 pick in the NBA. The left hander seemed purposeful in his play and determined to take the 305 to their second consecutive Big 3 Championship game.
The score was 25-20 for Miami at the half. At the start of the second, Miami was up 27 when Dallas started to fall apart. Dallas Coach Nancy Lieberman called a timeout to calm her players. The players told her that they would draw up a play, so she left the sideline at that moment. Dallas kept playing even though they looked listless.
Dallas won on consistency
The score was 36-31 in favor of the 305 when Michael Beasley went to block a shot at the rim and felt a pop in his back. He was writhing in pain on the floor and went to walk around the arena with trainers. Mario Chalmers came was in the game for Beasley, but started to get dominated by Elijah Stewart.
Stewart outhustled Chalmers for rebounds and scored on second chance points. Stewart scored a game high 20 points. The whole 305 team appeared to tire from their attempt to “win the game in the first half.” Dallas went on a 19-0 run to win the game 50-36. Beasley returned briefly when Dallas was up 10 but was no longer a factor.
When Dallas was up 10, the Miami players were shooting airball three-pointers. They were late to cover the weakside of the court and letting the Dallas players score easy layups. There may have been an issue when Reggie Evans was substituted in the second half and he was arguing with 305 Coach Michael Cooper before he sat.
The 305 only scored 11 points in the second half. The “silver lining” was that, after winning the Big 3 Championship in their first season, they made the playoffs in their second season. Now for the third, they must release Chalmers, Evans or Williams. The 305 were poor in assists this season and it showed in today’s game. Beasley left and none of the other players played together to cut the deficit.
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