AUGUSTA -- The Maine Red Claws played in front of an audience for the first time Thursday night when they played an intrasquad scrimmage at Edward Little High School. They'll play another scrimmage Sunday night at Portland High School.

They will take another, bigger step Monday night at the Augusta Civic Center.

The Red Claws will play for the first time against an NBA Development League opponent when they host the Springfield Armor in an exhibition game Monday night at the Augusta Civic Center. Tickets are still available for the game, which tips off at 7 p.m.

"A lot of times, players perform different under the lights," Red Claws coach Austin Ainge said. "This is another step in our evaluation in forming our final team."

Maine opens its first season in the NBA D-League next Friday at Sioux Falls. The Red Claws play their first home game Dec. 4 at the renovated Portland Expo against the Armor, who are coached by former Boston Celtics guard and slam dunk champion Dee Brown.

The exhibition game in Augusta is the only exhibition the Red Claws will play in their inaugural season.

"We are hoping to get a little measurement of where we are at," Ainge said, "and what we need to work on."

The Red Claws roster features a number of players with NBA and/or NBA D-League experience. Former University of Kansas star Billy Thomas, whom the Red Claws acquired in an expansion draft, has seen time with the Washington Wizards, New Jersey Nets and Cleveland Cavaliers of the NBA. He also played last season for the Colorado 14ers, who won the NBA D-League title.

Also, Noel Felix saw time in the NBA with the Seattle SuperSonics (now the Oklahoma City Thunder) in 2006, and Will Blaylock was in training camp with the New Jersey Nets this fall.

"We have a lot of veteran guys, guys who have won in the D-League," said Ainge, the son of Boston Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge. "Experienced guys make my job a lot easier."

The Red Claws are affiliated with the Boston Celtics and the Charlotte Bobcats. According to NBA D-League rules, both teams can send their first- and second-year players to the Red Claws. Teams cannot assign more than two players to their affiliate at a time and a player can only be assigned to the affiliate three times during the season.

The Red Claws do not have any players signed with either the Celtics or the Bobcats to start the season. Each player on the Red Claws is essentially an NBA free agent.

"I think the exciting thing about our league is the 10 players we open the season with are technically free agents," Red Claws president and general manager Jon Jennings said. "On any given night you could watch our point guard play in Portland and then get called up to play in San Antonio."

The roster also includes Lawrence High School and Maine Maritime Academy graduate Matt Clement, who was selected by the Red Claws in the eighth round of the league's draft.

"Matt is playing very hard and we are very proud of him," Jennings said. "He plays his role perfectly.

"In terms of the team, we will be making cuts and we are still assessing everyone. I'll tell you he has every reason to be proud of the camp he has had and I think if he wants to continue and he doesn't make our team, he has a pretty decent future."

Augusta Civic Center director Dana Colwill said Thursday about 1,000 tickets had been sold to the game. There will be approximately 5,500 tickets available for the game. Colwill said there should be plenty of tickets available Monday.

Before the game, the Red Claws will hold a lecture-style clinic from 3:30-4:30 p.m. and an autograph session from 4:30-5 p.m. also at the Civic Center. Both events are open to all fans with a ticket to the game.

Scott Martin -- 621-5618

smartin@centralmaine.com