SIMULBLOG FOR SONICS V. MEMPHIS

GRIZZLIES 100 SONICS 96 -- FINAL SCORE
Their were portions tonight where the Sonics played like they had it, the magical it.
The defense was terrible for the majority of the night.
Pau Gasol was the best player on the floor
Wilkins did well at the point tonight.

Grizz 98 Sonics 96 with 3.3 seconds left in the 4th Quarter
Sonics got killed down 2 on a unlucky bounce. They forced Bobby Jackson into a tough shot and he got it blocked but he got it back and flipped it to Dahanty Jones and he scored as the shot clock expired.
Ray took one of those pull up 3’s early in the clock that when they go down is awesome but this one rimmed out and it left Seattle down 6 with 2:00 left and Memphis had the ball.


Grizz 92 Sonics 88 with 3:25 left in the 4th Quarter
This was about as low as the team had been, Sonics have two stops in the 4th Quarter, it had become disgusting and Bobby Jackson just went waltzing through the lane with no resistance.
Then a spark. Wilkins jumped into a passing lane and had an impressive dunk going the other way. It got the crowd sparked. Then the ball bounced their direction because of hustle by Wilkins and then Flip played defense and hit a three off a lewis doubleteam in the post.


Grizz 88 Sonics 77 with 7:05 left in the 4th Quarter
Sonics have no offensive rebounds in the second half. The Grizz are 29th in the NBA in defensive rebounding.
The Sonics aren’t playing like a team any longer. It is so obvious when you see it that when it doesn’t happen it looks even worse.
Pau Gasol is conducting every thing and the other guys are knocking down the shots. He is either finding the open guy or every guy is open.


Grizzlies 82 Sonics 77 with 8:42 left in the 4th Quarter
Shane Battier has 5 three’s he is having a big time night.
The defense is not nearly as good as it was earlier in the half.
Luke Ridnour has played just 5 minutes tonight all in the 1st half.


Grizzlies 75 Sonics 68 at the end of 3rd Quarter
In the first half Gasol had 9 to 10 scoring attempts. The key to the second half is keeping those down in the second half. In the third quarter he had 2.
Nick Collison is short arming his jumper and has missed two open shots that he has to make
Same story as the first Q when Flip enters the world falls apart. In his two minutes the Sonics were outscored by 5 points. It can’t be all him or could it be?


Sonics 68 Grizzlies 68 with 2:27 left in the 3rd Quarter
The shots the Grizzlies are making are shots you can live with. They are tough looks by their least good offensive players and they won’t go in all night long.
The Sonics are not getting beat at the basket. They are cutting off the lanes. They are playing a lot of zone and keeping the Grizz on the outside.
The Sonics are blasting Gasol. The book on Gasol is he gets tired and soft if you work on him. I wonder if that isn’t true about any player and once a player gets labeled that way he gets blasted every night


Sonics 64 Grizzlies 63 with 5:50 left in the 3rd Quarter
There is the lead. Ray Allen 3.
Great basketball by Seattle to open the half.
They look better as team. Their interaction has been strong. Their communication looks better. It is really encouraging.

Grizzlies 61 Sonics 59 with 7:28 left in the 3rd Quarter
Battier just fouled Reggie coming down to dig and after the play Eddie Jones looked at Battier and was like “dude that is Reggie Evans and Battier said I know.
The Sonics are playing great basketball to open the half. They are playing smart, like teammates and it will pay off. Great picks, great plays, good defensive intensity.
Gasol is killing them in the post – he is getting doubled every time and he is doing a great job of finding the open man.


Grizzlies 55 Sonics 50 at the half
The last two possessions have shown how good Battier and Jones are defensively. Allen and Lewis will have to stay calm and together all night because nothing will be easy.
Lewis just made another stupid play, fouling out of frustration while in the penalty. He has made more of those recently then I am used to.
Bob Weiss has done a great job calling timeouts in between a players free throws to ice him for the second one and forcing him to miss
Off Efficiency numbers – Grizzlies 126 Sonics 123 – league average is 102.


Grizzlies 49 Sonics 45 with 2:20 left in the 2nd Quarter
Sonics have gotten sloppy with the basketball
Vlady is a shadow of the player he was last year. He was the key for the team last year and without him they have to find an entire new identify.
Wilkins adds a great energy to the team


Grizzlies 30 Sonics 26 at the end of the 1st Quarter
Reggie’s offense is much better but when he faces a team with shot-blockers he has to realize he can’t get the shot off.
Flip enters the game and the other teams point guard scores back to back baskets and the Sonics go from being up 1 to down 4. That is in one and half minutes of action. Nice work.
I

am not sure if Flip's shoulders hurt from shooting so much but he seems incapable of raising his arms to effect a shooter.
Sonics defense was not in the arena in the first quarter. They got just 5 stops in the entire quarter.


Sonics 24 Grizzlies 23 with 1:52 left in the 1st Quarter
The last two possessions show you how great Rashard has become offensively.
Rashard went to the post on Shane Battier who is one of the best defenders in the NBA and their was nothing Battier could do to defend his hook to the middle.
The next possession Lewis was on the perimeter one on one on Gasol and drove baseline to beat Gasol when the help came he dished out to the wing and then the Sonics great ball movement lead the ball back to Rashard who was in the corner for a 3. That is awesome


Grizzlies 19 Sonics 14 with 5:25 left in the 1st Quarter
Gasol is awesome so far.
You wonder why Atlanta is Atlanta they traded Pau Gasol for Abdur-Rahim. Ouch
Sonics are going to bring the double to Gasol everytime. It is going to come from the top.
Memphis is blitzing Ray Allen which means doubling him off the pick n roll. This is popular manner of defending the Sonics.
The amount of Grizzlies arms around the basket is just amazing. Whenever Seattle goes to the basket they are in the midst of a jungle of elbows and arms. It is a remarkable contrast to what happens around the Sonics basket


Storylines
1) Grizz's will be without Damon Stoudamire, done for the season and Mike Miller. Where will they get their three point shooting?
2) Great defenders on the Sonics stars -- Eddie Jones on Ray and Shane Battier on Rashard.
3) Damien Wilkins at the point guard. Will this be the answer?