The Cleveland Cavaliers put Luke Harangody’s mind, body and spirit to the test – and Jay Larranaga loved it.
The Erie BayHawks coach applauded Harangody for playing four games in as many days with three being for the Canton Charge in the 2012 D-League playoffs.
“I think it’s awesome,” he said. “I think it’s a credit to Luke. The kind of player he is and the kind of professional he is that he was able to do that. That he played at a high level in all four games and helped his team get a win in three of the games including the game he played for the Cavs. The kid deserves so much credit.”
The Cavs recalled the former Notre Dame star up today before Cleveland plays the Philadelphia 76ers tonight at Quicken Loans Arena. In his game with Cleveland, Haranagody had 16 points and 10 rebounds in a 99-89 home win against Washington.
The Cavs had recalled Harangody the second time April 14th and sent him back down the Charge the next day for Game 2 of their best-of-3 series at second-seeded Springfield.
“It’s great for the D-League,” Larranaga continued. “Luke was the MVP for the Cavs one night and then is playing in the D-League playoffs the next night. It shows you how important NBA teams think the D-League is and the value of the D-League and the value of the playoffs and in these franchises just continues to grow and grow in the eyes of NBA franchises.”
In the four games, Harangody averaged 16.3 points, eight rebounds and shot 50 percent from the field.
The Cavs have reached the limit of number of times they can send Harangody down to the expansion Charge, who play Game 1 of the D-League semifinals Thursday night at 7:30 against Austin in Canton.
Cleveland owns the Charge. The Cavs were one of two affiliates for the Erie BayHawks in Erie’s first three D-League season.
The BayHawks are now in an hybrid partnership with the New York Knicks.
The Charge are a seventh seed while Austin, which beat fifth-seeded Erie in three games of their best-of-3 series, is a third seed.
Game 2 and Game 3, if necessary, will be in Austin.
