SerpApi.Org
The last time we were in Freedom Hall, Nate Sestina went nuclear, Chinanu Onuaku spit and Daniel Orton tried fighting The Ville’s entire roster in a massive win for the good guys. Things weren’t as fun this time around, with La Familia leaving Louisville with a big fat 20-point loss, falling 82-62.
How did it all unfold, setting up a rubber match in Lexington on Wednesday? KSR explains the loss in three quick steps.
Montrezl Harrell scored 77 points in 24 hours
When it’s your day, it’s your day. Montrezl Harrell suited up in a BIG3 game in Chicago on Sunday, broke the league record for points scored in a game with 42 — previously held by Isaiah Briscoe (37), ironically — and flew back to Louisville for a TBT game on Monday, scoring 35 points in that one.
That’s 77 points in a 24-hour window, for those keeping track at home.
La Familia held a 15-12 lead at the end of the first quarter, with Harrell scoring just two points in those first nine minutes. He would then go on to score 33 more the rest of the way, including a second-quarter stretch of 12 straight points to flip the momentum and stay in takeover mode through the final buzzer.
Harrell said after the game that he heard the noise on social media following his 12-point, five-rebound effort in The Ville’s loss on Saturday and wanted to make a statement, and he kept his word. Hopefully he doesn’t in the rematch on Wednesday, because La Familia didn’t appear to have a single player capable of slowing him down on the roster.
Key players didn’t bother to show up
Ah, speaking of which… roster issues. Those haven’t been very fun for Twany Beckham, Jon Hood, the eight players in that locker room who did follow through with their commitments, or anyone in Big Blue Nation. Kerr Kriisa, Reid Travis, Quade Green, Archie Goodwin and Marcus Lee were all committed to play at some point, but through two games, those five have combined for zero minutes.
There have been more FBI arrests than combined minutes for those five. How ridiculous is that?
We’ve known about Kriisa and Travis, plus Green, for the most part — the latter was randomly re-added to the roster last week before being taken off once again ahead of game one. Whatever, what can you do? Lee was added to replace Travis, but there has been no sign of him around the team. That’s killed the frontcourt depth, especially with Willie Cauley-Stein trying to play on a hurt ankle.
The real problem is Archie Goodwin’s no-show after previously committing to play Monday, especially with an excused absence already filed away with a wedding on Saturday. The team knew he’d miss the first game, with the understanding that he’d be ready to go in game two as one of the better players on the team. Then he allegedly missed his flight and couldn’t get to Louisville in time.
Jon Hood tried his best to be respectful after the blowout loss, but Aaron Harrison — back home with his newborn daughter — gave his social media followers a piece of his mind about the situation.
“I don’t see how you can say you will show up and be committed ….then don’t show at all the week of????” Harrison wrote. “We could’ve gotten different players that wanted to play and not play with ppl time. Sucka (****).”
Twany says La Familia has “six players on standby” for Wednesday in Lexington, but will any of them actually show? It’s a frustrating development that has undoubtedly taken some of the fun out of this event. They have to add someone, and preferably multiple pieces. If not, things could get tricky in the rematch.
TBT wanted a tiebreaker in Lexington
Scott Foster is “the extender” among refs in the NBA. You know when he’s officiating games in the NBA Playoffs, the team down in the series is gonna find a way to stay alive and keep that revenue rolling for the league.
I’m gonna selfishly blame Monday’s result on something similar with TBT — even if it’s A) stupid B) totally made up and C) a joke. Game one at Memorial Coliseum was a treat, so of course they’d try to run it back in Lexington at all costs to maximize local fan interest and ticket sales. It’s the only explanation for La Familia to go from taking an early lead to trailing by 14 going into halftime, then what felt like a hundred all of the second half.
We got it out of our systems; now it’s time to actually play the game, back with BBN on our side in a sea of blue. Nobody wants to win a playoff series or championship on the road in front of opposing fans, right? I’m telling myself that’s all this is and a few positive roster developments will emerge over the next 48 hours to make this something we all laugh about years from now as we celebrate all of our wins over Louisville.
Throw this film in the dumpster and keep working the phones. We’ve got a win-or-go-home game to pull off on Wednesday.
