The Greensboro Swarm will look to forget a blowout loss to the Canton Charge and prepare for the Grand Rapids Drive.
In professional sports, having a short memory is crucial. One can never be too high or too low after a win or a loss. The Greensboro Swarm will look to forget its last game, a 124-95 blowout loss to the Canton Charge. In that game, the Swarm struggled mightily on the glass and couldn’t defend the perimeter, as Canton had two players go off for 30-plus points. Here’s our unofficial scouting report on the next opponent on the table, the Grand Rapids Drive.
Scouting the Grand Rapids Drive
The Drive come into Friday night’s tilt with a record of 8-10 and sit in seventh place in the Eastern Conference. They are coming off two straight losses, a 106-104 loss to the Maine Red Claws and a 121-106 defeat to the Fort Wayne Mad Ants. Grand Rapids is 4-7 in home games, and Greensboro will look to deal them their eighth loss.
As a unit, the Drive are seventh in the league in scoring, averaging 109.3 points per contest. They are also 12th in the league in rebounding (43.8 RPG) and are 10th in points allowed by opponents per game (107.1 ppg). Grand Rapids also hits 45.2% of their field goal attempts and averages 12.2 three-pointers a game at a 38.9% clip.
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The Drive are led in scoring by Kevin Murphy, who brings 23.1 points and 5.5 rebounds to the table. Jordan Crawford follows with 22.7 points, and Ray McCallum is an all-around player averaging 19.6 points, 7.3 assists and 5.1 rebounds per contest. McCallum had a triple-double in the loss to Maine. Henry Ellenson (17.4 ppg, 9.8 RPG in five games) and Nikola Jovanovic (16.8 ppg, 11.8 RPG in four games) have been positive additions to the team when they have been on assignment.
Keys to the Game
If Greensboro wants to win, they must slow down McCallum. As an all-around player, it’s a given that he’s going to have an impact no matter what. But Greensboro should have intense ball pressure and bring the occasional double-team to keep McCallum out of the scoring column and force him to be a playmaker.
Also, Greensboro must force turnovers and score fast break points. The Swarm doesn’t score that many fast break buckets as it is, and Grand Rapids’ stifling defense will make life that much more difficult. Since the Drive is in the top half of the league in opponents’ points per game, Greensboro needs to be aggressive and drive at every opportunity. The Swarm are not a three-point shooting team and will need to score in the paint.
Aaron Harrison (20.6 ppg, 5.2 RPG, 3.3 APG) and Archie Goodwin (18.5 ppg, 5.1 RPG) must shoot the ball well for the Swarm. They need to spread the ball around more and lean more on the big men, as Christian Wood (17.2 ppg, 9.3 RPG) and Mike Tobey (11.8 ppg, 8.7 RPG) are turning heads with their performances. When they lead the charge and not the guards, Greensboro tends to have more success. However, it will be up to everyone to help the bigs rebound and box out.
Xavier Munford is the X-Factor for Greensboro. As long as he has the ball, the Swarm is in good hands. He is an all-around player like McCallum and doesn’t force many shots. He needs to have a good game to get his confidence back, and if Christian Wood and Mike Tobey stay consistent on the glass, the Swarm should have a great chance of winning. Boxing out is a must; the Swarm cannot allow 17 offensive boards like it did against Canton.
If the Greensboro Swarm can hit shots and get off to a fast start, it won’t have to rely on a huge comeback like it sometimes has had to do this season. Keeping it close should be the main focus. These two evenly matched and competitive teams should be entertaining to watch, and the two will take the court at 7 p.m. Eastern Time. Greensboro will look for their seventh win on the season and deal the Drive their third straight loss.
