Springfield trails 0-1 heading into Sunday night's home game.
Springfield Armor coach Bob MacKinnon knows his team must rebound better to beat the Canton Charge in Sunday night's D-League playoff game at the MassMutual Center.By JAY KING
Springfield Armor coach Bob MacKinnon attributes his team’s turnaround this season to hard work and mental toughness.
Those traits were noticeably absent during the Armor’s playoff opener on Friday night, but the Eastern Conference regular season champions have a chance to rebound Sunday in their first-ever postseason home game, against the Canton Charge at 7 p.m. at the MassMutual Center.
“When you play 50 games in a season, you’re due for a few clunkers every once in a while. It wasn’t the best time for ours, obviously,” coach Bob MacKinnon said after Springfield fell behind 1-0 in the best-of-three first round series with a 108-93 loss to Canton. “They played harder and they were tougher.”
The explanation for the loss is one that hurt MacKinnon, who has established a culture in which toughness is valued above all. Springfield, the D-League’s best-rebounding team during the regular season, was out-boarded 53-41, allowing 17 offensive caroms to the 7th-seeded Charge.
“It was the first time all year we’ve gotten out-rebounded by 12,” MacKinnon said. “Rebounding is just hard work, a willingness to get your nose dirty. We have a lot of guys capable of hitting the glass – Dennis Horner, Jeff Foote, Jamar Brown. Jerry Smith’s one of the best guard rebounders in our league. I don’t expect the rebounding battle to go like that again.”
The Armor will benefit in Game 2 from Canton’s loss of Luke Harangody. The former Boston Celtic was called up by the Cleveland Cavaliers after contributing 16 points and nine rebounds in the series opener.
MacKinnon didn’t know about Harangody’s call-up until Saturday afternoon.
“Is he gone? OK. Then we still have to make sure we do a better job with (T.J.) Campbell, (Antoine) Agudio and all the other guys who hurt us,” the Armor coach said.
Due to travel purposes, the top-seeded team in every D-League postseason matchup begins the series on the road. The format makes sense from a monetary and convenience standpoint, but gives an advantage to the lower-seeded team, which can get within one win of capturing a series by holding home court.
Including the Armor, three of the four higher-seeded teams returned home with 1-0 series deficits after falling on the road.
Explained Smith, “It’s tough because you start away and they get the opportunity to strike first.”
But the Armor host Game 2, and if necessary, Game 3, at the MassMutual Center, where they won 12 of their last 13 regular season games en route to an Eastern Conference-best 18-7 home record.
“Protecting your home court is always something that’s stressed. We’ve been great at home all season,” Smith said.
“We took one on the chin in the first game, but we believe we’re going to bounce back and get back to the things we do best.”