Playoffs hit home as Skyforce host Fort Wayne

The Skyforce host Fort Wayne at 7 tonight to open an NBA D-League semifinal series that has championship potential.

Both won six games in a row to end the regular season. They're the top seeds remaining in the eight-team tournament. Turnover has been minimal from talent-laden rosters.

They're similarly aggressive, and the survivor will have home-court advantage in the finals.

"We expect a fight," first-year Skyforce coach Pat Delany said. "We know it's going to be. There's going to be nothing given to us. If we want it, we're going to have to earn it."

These teams excel at taking, the top-seeded Mad Ants leading the league in turnovers forced at 20.2 per game with the fourth-seeded Force right behind at 20.0.

That figures to be the biggest difference for Sioux Falls in this series. First-round foe Canton excelled on the defensive end by being sound more than attacking. Fort Wayne wants to bring pressure and parlay that into easy offense. It has the horses to do so, too, boasting a roster that's a recognizable mix of veterans and next-level talents.

Forwards Tony Mitchell and Chris Porter plus post Tim Ohlbrecht have NBA experience, while guard Trey McKinney-Jones was in training camp with the Milwaukee Bucks. Guard Ron Howard recently became the career leading scorer in the D-League. Lesser-known guards Matt Bouldin and Sadiel Rojas combined to average 30.5 points, 14.5 rebounds, 8.0 assists and 7.5 steals in a quarterfinal sweep of Reno.

In addition to being more explosive than Canton, the Mad Ants are smart and physical. During the regular season, they led the league in points from the foul line at 22.9 per game.

"They get into their defense and rebounding thing because they've got big bodies – they're physical," Force forward Anthony Mason Jr. said. "We've got to match them on both ends."

Fort Wayne is in the semifinals for the first time in its seven-year history, while Sioux Falls hasn't been this deep since 2008.

The Force advanced through the quarterfinals despite getting clobbered on the glass by Canton, finishing minus-63 for the series. Sioux Falls also was hampered by up-and-down guard play. Starters Henry Walker and Larry Drew II both shot less than 28 percent from the floor over the three games.

Yet it didn't really matter. Sioux Falls claimed the series by winning both contests held at the Sanford Pentagon to improve to 21-5 in their first-year venue.

This time, the Force don't have the home-court advantage as Games 2 and 3 – if necessary – will be held at Fort Wayne. However, they're in position to gain an immediate advantage and give themselves two chances to win one road game.

"At the end of the day, each team's got to win two games to advance," Mad Ants coach Connor Henry said prior to practice Wednesday at the Pentagon. "I'm sure they feel like they can win two games on our court, and we feel like we can win a game here. We have to think that way."

The squads met five times during the regular season, Sioux Falls winning the first two and Fort Wayne taking the last three on its way to a 34-16 mark – three games better than anybody else in the league. But they haven't crossed paths since Feb. 22. There's more on the line this time.

"They're always on you, they're up underneath you and it wears on teams – physically, mentally," Delany said of the Mad Ants. "How we handle that pressure will be crucial to this series."

SKYFORCE VS. FORT WAYNE

Tonight: Fourth-seed Sioux Falls (33-20) hosts No. 1 Fort Wayne (36-16) at Sanford Pentagon, 7 p.m.

Season series: The Mad Ants won three of five games against the Skyforce.

Game 2: Saturday in Fort Wayne, 6:30 p.m.

Game 3: Monday in Fort Wayne, 6 p.m.*

*If necessary