Brian Shaw: Ignite must adjust ‘mentality’ over last three games
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — Entering play on Monday, the NBA G League Ignite had an opportunity to improve their playoff positioning with just four games left in the season.
Instead, the Ignite suffered their fifth loss of the season, and third by at least 20 points.
The Ignite dropped to 7-5 after losing to the Delaware Blue Coats, who had seven players score in double figures. Rayjon Tucker led the Blue Coats with 21 points, while Michael Frazier II had 20 points and Braxton Key chipped in 19 points during the 120-92 win.
“I’ll take this one,” Ignite head coach Brian Shaw said. “I have to do a better job of preparing our team for what they are going to face. I kinda felt this one coming on from this morning when we had our film session and our shootaround.
“Our energy was really low. It was low even before the game today. Our care factor today seemed non-existent in terms of our body language out there on the floor. We didn’t take it personally enough when they were just putting their head down and driving to the basket.”
Delaware faced little resistance throughout the contest after scoring 69 points alone in the first half. They shot 48.6% from 3-point range (18-of-37) and led by as many as 34 points before the Ignite cut into the deficit in the fourth quarter when the game was out of reach.
Jonathan Kuminga scored a team-high 19 points, 11 rebounds and four assists to lead the Ignite as veterans Brandon Ashley and Cody Demps each scored 14 points. Ignite prospects Jalen Green and Isaiah Todd each finished with eight points.
“We just weren’t really playing hard,” Kuminga said of the performance.
a @JonathanKuming6 block leads to a @IamAmirJohnson score pic.twitter.com/MDV1BhxUuJ
— NBA G League (@nbagleague) March 1, 2021
Following the loss, the Ignite slipped to seventh in the standings, just half of a game ahead of the Lakeland Magic. The top eight teams from the regular season will advance to a single-elimination playoff as each game will become more meaningful with the season winding down.
The stated objective of the Ignite this season was to provide a chance for the prospects to develop and get a taste of playing at the next level. While wins and losses were not necessarily important, the team is still aiming to make the playoffs.
“Obviously, we want to win every time we step onto the court,” Shaw said. “I’ve said it from the beginning that winning and losing isn’t really what it is about, but we want to be pros and we want to come out and do our jobs.
“It’s their first opportunity to face how it’s going to ramp up as we get down the stretch of the season. It’s not going to get any easier. It’s going to get tougher and tougher. We just have to adjust our mentality and get ready for that.”
The Ignite return to action on Wednesday vs. the Agua Caliente Clippers.
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