THOUGHTS FROM KEY ARENA

Thoughts from a pre-season Sonics game ………

• Ray Allen is fun to watch any time any place. Nightly he does something that makes the ticket price worth it.
• Robert Swift is not rebounding as well as he needs to. If he doesn’t rebound the team can’t get in transition. In Portland, Swift’s inability to rebound stalled the entire running game and at times tonight the same is true. In addition, Swift’s conditioning must improve.
• Foul trouble is going to be a significant issue for Nick Collison this year. If he is going to develop the way the Sonics hope he is going to have to stay on the floor and that may be tough with some of the match-ups he will have at the 5.
• I can’t believe I am about to type this … it might be momentary insanity ….. I think Flip Murray is going to be ok as the ½ back-up guard. He won’t be AD, he won’t be as versatile. He won’t be able to do the ½ role against every one, but for the most part I think he will be alright. At the end of the 1st Quarter the Sonics called 1-4 flat for Flip and he just crushed his defender and got fouled on his way to pack it.
• Damien Wilkins looks to be playing with a good deal more confidence then he had most of last year.
• Before the game Bob Weiss reminded his team that their motion offense and their flex offense are not equal opportunity offenses. This team will always still revolve around Lewis and Allen and they will create the opportunities.
• Talking to Weiss before the game I got the impression he was hoping to drive his vets hard and have them get fatigued so he could get them back into the mindset of conditioning at practice. These are the subtle ways Weiss will pull strings this season. Don’t forget Weiss is a pool shark – card player and he will work his players in the same manner.
• Michael Cooper will be the head coach of the NBDL team in Albuquerque that the Sonics send their players to.
• For all the talk of a soft Weiss. The Sonics blew a defensive assignment and gave up a dunk to Marion and Weiss immediately called a timeout and jumped the guys who blew the assignment pretty hard.
• Alex Scales looks like Martin Lawerence. Someone else suggested Stephen A. Smith.
• I am concerned that nothing looks easy for Robert Swift. No movement, no action, nothing he does looks like he is comfortable out on the floor. In fact everything looks a bit painful. In contrast, Johan Petro movements and actions look natural.