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Florida Flame Update

March 31, 2006 - NBA G League (G League)
Florida Flame News Release


Florida (22-21) opens a four-game road trip this Saturday, April 1, as the Flame travels to face the Arkansas RimRockers (23-21). Tip-off at Alltell Arena in Little Rock is 8:30 p.m. ET. All the action for Saturday's game can be heard live on Kingdom FM 91.5. Following that contest, the Flame will round out its road swing with games at Arkansas on Sunday, April 2, at Fort Worth on Tuesday, April 4, and Tulsa on Wednesday, April 5 before returning to Southwest Florida for the regular season finale against Fayetteville on Saturday, April 8.

With five regular season games remaining, the Flame (22-21) is currently tied for fourth place in the D-League standings with Austin (23-22) and Arkansas (23-22). Florida and Austin trail the two teams tied for second place, Roanoke (24-21) and Albuquerque (23-20), by one game.

Flame Notes:

Back in the Win Column: With a 96-82 victory over Roanoke on Tuesday night, the Flame snapped a season-high six game losing streak overall and on the road. It was Florida's first win since a 99-90 victory over Fayetteville on March 7 at Germain Arena. It was also the Flame's first road victory since a 92-83 decision at Tulsa on January 28, a span of two months.

Where They Stand: With five regular season games remaining, the Flame (22-21) are currently tied for fourth place in the D-League standings with the Austin Toros (23-22) and the Arkansas RimRockers (23-22). Florida, Arkansas, and Austin trail the two teams tied for second place, Roanoke (24-21) and Albuquerque (23-20), by just one game.

Losing Trend: Florida has lost 11 of its last 13 games overall.

Glad To Have You Back: Since returning from a foot injury that caused him to miss eight games from February 23-March 18, Bracey Wright has averaged 22.0 points, 7.3 assists, and 4.7 rebounds in the Flame's last three games. The 6-3, shooting guard on assignment from the Minnesota Timberwolves has led Florida in scoring in all three games. Wright returned to post a game-high 26 points with six rebounds and five assists on March 24 versus Roanoke. In the Flame's last contest at Roanoke on March 28, Wright tallied a team-high 20 points in the Flame's 96-82 win. The D-League's #2 scorer (21.8 ppg), Wright is averaging 23.0 points, shooting 47% from the field (66-140) and 48% from three-point range (12-25) in his last nine games played.

Duane Surpasses Dwayne: Duane Erwin set a Florida Flame team record with 22 total rebounds at Roanoke on Tuesday, March 28. The mark surpasses the previous record of 21 total rebounds set by Dwayne Jones on December 11, 2005 at Austin. The D-League record for total rebounds in a single game is 26 set by Huntsville's Rodney Bias on March 24, 2005 versus Florida.

All-D-League Honors: Two former members of the Florida Flame, guard Andre Barrett and forward Theron Smith, have been selected to the 2005-06 All-NBA Development League Team as voted on by the league's head coaches. Barrett was named to the First Team, while Smith was named as an Honorable Mention selection.

Stoking the Flame: Since being inserted into the starting lineup 11 games ago, Stokes has averaged 14.5 points, 6.3 assists, and 1.9 steals per contest. The 6-5, guard/forward has scored in double figures in his last nine games and is averaging 14.7 points, 10.3 assists, and 3.3 steals in the last three games as the Flame's starting point guard. Stokes set a Flame team record with 17 assists versus Roanoke on March 24. The mark surpasses the former record of 15 assists set by Andre Barrett on January 8, 2006 against Austin. Stokes also tallied a season-high with 24 points versus Fayetteville on March 9.

Barrett Call-Update: After earning a second 10-day contract with the Toronto Raptors on March 26, Flame point guard Andre Barrett is averaging 3.7 points, 2.4 assists, and 14.0 minutes through seven games with the Raptors. In nine NBA games overall this season, Andre is averaging 3.9 points and 2.1 assists in 13.3 minutes per contest. Barrett earned his first GATORADE NBA Call-Up with Phoenix on March 1 and appeared in two games with the Suns, averaging 4.5 points, 1.5 rebounds and 1.0 assists per contest. Following his release from Phoenix on March 14, Barrett was signed to a 10-day contract with the Toronto Raptors on March 15. In his first game with the Raptors, Barrett tallied four points, six assists and one steal in 15 minutes versus the Detroit Pistons on March 15. Barrett posted a season-high nine points on 3-of-7 shooting along with three rebounds and two assists in 19 minutes for Phoenix versus the San Antonio Spurs on March 9.

Leach Responding: Flame center George Leach has increased his production with increased playing time over the last 14 games. In that stretch, Leach is averaging 12.2 points, 6.8 rebounds, 2.2 blocks and shooting 57% FG (73-128). Leach posted his fourth double-double with 16 points and 12 rebounds at Roanoke on March 28. On March 24, Leach tallied his third double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds versus Roanoke. Leach also posted a season-high 19 points with 8 rebounds and 5 blocks versus Fayetteville on March 5 and tied a Florida Flame record with six blocked shots versus Fort Worth on February 23.

Reestablishing the Bench Mark: After being outscored by the opponent's bench in 10 straight games, Florida's reserves have outscored the opponent's bench in each of the last 3 contests by an average of 19.0 to 15.3 points per game. Overall, Florida's bench has been outscored in 28 of the Flame's 43 games this season. Over the last 13 contests Florida's bench has been outscored by an average of 36.5 to 25.2 points per game.

All-Time Wins Leader: Flame Head Coach Jeff Malone is now tied with Tulsa 66ers head man Joey Meyer are the NBA Development League's all-time winningest coaches, each claiming a total of 124 regular season victories in their five-year D-League coaching careers. Malone's 124-117 record in the NBA D-League places him seventh all-time in winning percentage (.515).

Road Work: The Flame will close out the 2005-06 regular season with four of its last five games on the road.

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