Long Season Ahead

The Westports KL Dragons hosted their first home game in the 2010/2011 season yesterday afternoon at MABA Stadium, Kuala Lumpur, which resulted in a loss to the Satria Muda BritAma from Indonesia. The guest squad jumped off to a fast start and never relinquished their lead throughout the entire contest. The final score was 77 – 68. The Dragons find themselves at the bottom of the league standings (ranked #5 out of 6), now that they have lost their first 2 games of the season; one at home and the other away.

The issue that plagued the Dragons last season is the same one that will bite them in the ass again this year. The Dragons lack a true center that can dominate inside the paint. It’s a fact that is hurting them both offensively and defensively.

The Dragons are a team of undersized point guards and forwards that don’t have the size or strength to pound the ball in from the post position. Nor do they have the emergence of a consistent double-figure rebounder, which means less second shoot opportunities and low scoring. All of which spells trouble for the Dragons’ offense, especially if the backcourt can’t find the inside of the net from the perimeter.

Defensively, the Dragons are getting hammered down low. With no shoot blocker in the middle to alter shoots, Dragon opponents fearlessly go head first straight into the gut of the Dragons’ defense. This void was very apparent in yesterday’s contest. Indonesia’s big men bullied and dunked on the Dragons’ interior defense repeatedly throughout the game. Trying to stop the harassment caused 3 Dragon players to foul out of the game. One Dragon player frustrated with trying to defend Indonesia’s starting center fouled out before the first half had even ended.

While the continued woes in the frontcourt have the Dragons’ head coach Goh Cheng Huat pulling out his hair and suffering from stomach alcers and nightmares, on a more positive note, the strong backcourt play of Guganeswaran Batumalai and Rudy Lingganay provides some limited relief for Dragons’ hopefuls.

But all in all, it looks like Dragons’ fans are in for a long arduous season.